What is the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple?

Where can we read the story of the presentation of Mary in the Temple?

The presentation of Mary in the Temple is an episode which is not found in the four gospels.

It is extracted from Proto-Gospel of James (that is to say relating events prior to those mentioned in the stories of the four canonical gospels). Written in the 2nd century, probably in the Egyptian region, it is presented as the work of the apostle James the Less, son of Alphaeus. The oldest known manuscript bears the title: Nativity of Mary. The Church has not retained this proto-gospel as canonical, due to its late dating and the marvelous nature with which it is imbued.

What do we know about the presentation of Mary in the Temple?

The story relates that at the birth of Mary, Anne and Joachim, her parents, wanted to thank God. They dedicated their child to her by presenting her to the Temple.

Here is the extract from the Proto-Gospel of James:

“…Joachim said: ‘Let us take her to the temple of the Lord, to fulfill the promise we have made. Otherwise the Master would be angry with us and reject our offering.’

But Hannah replied, “Let us wait until her third year, lest she ask for her father or mother.” Joachim nodded: “Let’s wait.”

The child was three years old… And the priest received the child and kissed her, he blessed her and said: “The Lord God has exalted your name among all generations.

In you, in the last days, the Lord will manifest redemption to the children of Israel.”

And he made her sit on the third step of the altar. And the Lord God poured out his grace on her. And his feet danced and all the house of Israel loved him. »

What do we celebrate on the day of the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple?

Dbeyond the imagination of this apocryphal story (written considered not authentic), the feast of the Presentation of Mary is the symbol of the consecration of the Blessed Virgin to the Lord . It underlines the availability of the Virgin Mary to the divine will: Mary’s heart is entirely dedicated to God.

An event celebrated since 543 in the East…

Popular piety and Marian spirituality were marked by this feast. First in the East then in the West. From November 543, the Eastern Churches celebrated “Entry to the temple of the Most Holy Mother of God”, at the basilica of Sainte-Marie-la-Neuve, erected in Jerusalem on the hill of Zion opposite the Temple esplanade.

In the Byzantine Empire, we find reference to the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple from the 8th century. It experienced considerable development from the 11th century and became extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages.

…and in the 14th century in the West

The Feast of the Presentation was recognized by Pope Gregory XI in 1372. However, it will not be registered in the Western liturgical calendar only in 1585by Pope Sixtus V. Even today, this feast is honored by Christians. “May Mary teach us to receive with love those who come to our churches. »

Thus, on November 21, 2014, thePope Francis said: “Today, the liturgy celebrates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin at the temple: a young girl. And like a simple woman, like Anne, the Blessed Virgin enters at that moment. May she teach us all, all priests and all those who have pastoral responsibility, to keep the Temple pure, to receive with love those who come there, as if each of them were the Blessed Virgin.”