Today we celebrate the Introduction of the Most Holy Mother of God
When the Blessed Virgin Mary was three years old, her holy parents Joachim and Anna brought her from Nazareth to Jerusalem to surrender her, as promised, to the service of God. It took them three days to get from Nazareth to Jerusalem, but they did a good deed and the journey was not difficult. Many relatives of Joachim and Anna gathered to take part in the festival, in which the Angels of God also invisibly participated. The virgins went forward with lighted candles in their hands, then the Blessed Virgin, led on one side by Joachim and on the other by Anna. She was adorned with royal robe and ornaments, as befits a royal daughter, the bride of God. Many relatives and friends followed them, all with lighted candles. There were fifteen steps in front of the temple. The parents lifted the Virgin on the first step, and she then quickly climbed to the top, where she was welcomed by the high priest Zacharias, the father of St. John the Forerunner. When the high priest took her by the hand, he introduced her not only to the temple but also to the Holy of Holies, where no one ever entered except the hierarch. Saint Theophylact of Ohrid says that Zacharias was "out of himself and possessed by God" when he introduced the Virgin to the holiest place in the temple, behind the second curtain, this procedure could not be explained otherwise. On that occasion, the parents of the Virgin Mary, according to the Law, offered sacrifices to God, received a blessing from the priest and returned home, and the Blessed Virgin remained at the temple. She lived in the temple for nine years. Her parents visited her often while they were alive, especially the blessed Anna. And when her parents were called to present themselves to God, the Blessed Virgin remained an orphan and did not want to leave the temple or get married until her death. Because it was contrary to the Law and the custom in Israel, when she was twelve years old she was given to Joseph, her cousin from Nazareth, to live with him as a virgin and to seemingly satisfy the Law. Because at that time it was not known in Israel for girls to vow virginity for the rest of their lives. The Blessed Virgin Mary was the first such girl to be vowed for life, and she was followed by an unknown majority of virgins.