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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

When Mary was asked to be the mother of the Savior, she was completely free to accept or reject the offer. Her response, “Let it be done to me,” was a great act of faith. Because she did not understand what was happening, she must have known that there would be difficulties ahead.

She replied yes to the angel's announcement and agreed to become the mother of Jesus, and the Church has declared Mary to be the Mother of God. Because she was the first to say yes to the Messiah, the Church has declared her to be the Mother of the Church.

The feast of the presentation of Mary dates back to the 6th century in the East and the 15th century in the West. It is based on an ancient tradition that says Mary was taken to the temple in Jerusalem when she was 3-years-old and dedicated to God. What we celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God. Every moment since your Baptism, God invites you to be open to his grace and dedicate yourself to him, as Mary did.

from Saints and Feast Days , by Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio

Image credit: Presentation of Mary by Titian, 1538. Public Domain via Wikimedia.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple recalls – according to the apocryphal gospels, the day on which Mary, while still a child, was brought to the temple in Jerusalem to be offered to God. The Church wants to emphasize not so much the historical event in itself, of which there is no trace in the Gospels, but the total gift that Mary made of herself, by listening: “ Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it” (Lk. 11:28). This experience prepared the young girl from Nazareth to become the “temple of the Son of God”.

The celebration of this feast dates back to the 6 th century in the East with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New built by the Emperor Justinian I near the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem. There is evidence that various monasteries in Italy celebrated the feast in the 9 th century. It was not until the 15 th century that it was included in the Roman Missal.

This is also the on which the Church celebrates the World Day of Cloistered Life, established by Pope Pius XII in 1953.

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother”. (Mt. 12:46-50)

Bonds of love, not of blood

For the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the liturgy proposes the passage from Matthew that speaks about how we are “related” to Jesus. It is a relationship not formed by blood, but by imitation: “ Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother”. To become a member of “His family”, one must do so not by blood or belonging to a particular religion. Rather, it is a free and personal choice that translates into a commitment to do the will of the Father.

Mary, the first disciple

Confirming what has just been said, Jesus Himself said this in responding thus to a woman who was praising His Mother: “ ‘ Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ He replied, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’ ” Mary is the woman who knows how to listen, who knows how to contemplate, who knows how to refer everything to her Son – “ Do whatever He tells you” (Jn. 2:5). Mary is the One who never abandoned her Son Jesus, not even along the way of the Cross. She “stood” under the Cross. She is a disciple who never abandons the Lord Jesus, who always “stands behind” Him.

Mary, model for Christians

All of this can help us imitate the Virgin Mary. Every Christian is called to look at Mary so as to learn from her, to entrust themselves to her intercession and to guard the “purity of the faith” against any idols that surround us.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

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Saint of the day: Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Today the Church celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of the Church.

In 2018, Pope Francis declared this new memorial to be added to the Church’s calendar of feasts, to be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost each year. In doing so, he hopes to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious, and faithful.”

Mary is the mother of Christ, and as such, she is a mother to all of us in the Church. She was with the apostles when they gathered on Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit, and was part of the early ministry of the Church in those days.

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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated every year on November 21, commemorates (in the words of the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily prayer of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church) "that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace at her Immaculate Conception ." Also known as the Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast originated in the East, where it is called the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple.

Quick Facts

• Date: November 21.
• Type of Feast: Memorial.
• Readings: Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 19:11-28 ( full text here )
• Prayers: The Hail Mary
• Other Names for the Feast: The Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Presentation of Mary; The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple

History of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

While the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not generally celebrated in the West until the 11th century, it appears in most of the earliest calendars of the Eastern Churches. Derived from accounts in apocryphal literature, especially the Protoevangelium of James , the feast seems first to have appeared in Syria, where the Protoevangelium and other apocryphal books, such as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew , originated. The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first rose to prominence, however, in Jerusalem, where it was associated with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New.

That basilica was built near the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Protoevangelium of James and other apocryphal works told the story of Mary's presentation at the Temple at the age of three. In gratitude for being granted a child after years of infertility, Mary's parents, Saints Joachim and Anna , had vowed to dedicate Mary to the service of God at the Temple. When they presented her at the Temple at the age of three, she stayed willingly, showing her dedication to God even at that young age.

The Presentation and the Protoevangelium of James

The Protoevangelium of James, while an extrabiblical document, is the source of many details of Mary's life that became universally accepted by the Church, including the names of her parents, the story of her birth , her age at her betrothal to Saint Joseph, and Saint Joseph's advanced age and his status as a widower with children by his first wife. It also played a large role among Christians, both Eastern and Western, in recognizing Mary as the new Temple, the true Holy of Holies. When Mary left the Temple at the age of 12 after her betrothal to Joseph, she remained pure and chaste, and at the Annunciation , God came to dwell in her.

The Spread of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first made its way to the West through monasteries in Southern Italy in the ninth century; by the 11th century, it had spread to other locales but was by no means universally celebrated. Under the influence of a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Pope Gregory XI began celebrating the feast during the Avignon papacy.

Pope Sixtus IV first placed the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the universal calendar in 1472, but in the Tridentine reform of the calendar in 1568, Pope Pius V removed the feast. It was restored 17 years later by Pope Sixtus V and remains in the Roman calendar today as a memorial.

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Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• November 21
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Image:   Presentation of Mary in the Temple  | Alfonso Boschi | photo by sailko

Saint of the day for november 21.

The Story of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.

As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the  Protoevangelium of James  tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was 3 years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.

Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

It is sometimes difficult for modern Westerners to appreciate a feast like this. The Eastern Church, however, was quite open to this feast and even somewhat insistent about celebrating it. Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God’s saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They—we—too are temples of God and sanctified in order that we might enjoy and share in God’s saving work.

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Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast day: Nov 21

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• The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated every year on November 21, commemorates (in the words of the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily prayer of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church) "that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace at her Immaculate Conception." Also known as the Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast originated in the East, where it is called the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple.

Quick Facts

• Date: November 21.
• Type of Feast:
• Readings: Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 19:11-28 (full text here)
• Prayers: The Hail Mary
• Other Names for the Feast: The Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Presentation of Mary; The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple

Jewish law required the ritual dedication of first-born sons to God in the Temple. It is probable that a similar custom, if not a law, called for Jewish girls to also be so dedicated. It is the likely presentation of the child Mary in such a ceremony that we celebrate today.

"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the  Protoevangel of St. James  (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

From: Learn Religion , Divine Mercy and Catholic Culture web sites.

Written by St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church

View all posts by: St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church

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Catholic readings, daily reflections, bible verse of the day, healing prayer, morning prayer, saint of the day, the presentation of the blessed virgin mary – feast day – november 21 2023, translate to your language.

Our feast today is known in the Western Roman Catholic Church as the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and in the Eastern Churches as the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.

It is a Catholic Liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 every year.

This feast is not derived from the New Testament of the Holy Bible but from the Protoevangelium of James , which was discovered in the 2nd century AD.

In this writing, James says that Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne , were old, and wealthy but childless. After much prayer and fasting, they received a message from heaven that they would be blessed with a child.

The couple were blessed with a daughter and named her Mary, and after three years, in thanksgiving , they consecrated her to God and took her to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and remained there. This was after they had made a vow to dedicate their child to God if they were blessed with one.

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the temple is likened to that of Samuel who was offered as a gift to God and presented to the temple by her mother Hannah, who was also barren.

Mary remained in the temple until she was 12 years when she was taken under the care of St Joseph . It is said that her father Joachim died when she was 6 years and her mother died when she was eight years old.

This feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was first held in the Eastern Church around the 6th century but the Western Roman Catholic Church did not embrace it until the 15th century.

The feast started to be celebrated by the Byzantines after the dedication of the newly-built Basilica of Saint Mary in 543 AD in Jerusalem. However, the basilica was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem in 614 AD.

Even after the siege, the Eastern Church continued to celebrate the feast. In 1372, Pope Gregory XI introduced this feast to the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1472 it was included in the Roman Missal.

However, in 1568, Pope Pius V suppressed this feast but it was reintroduced in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V.

The feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary signifies the lifelong and total devotion that Mary made to God through her Immaculate Conception.

She listened to the voice of God while still in her childhood and agreed to become the temple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God .

Related Links

• Catholic Daily Readings for The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 2nd February 2020, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Sunday Homily
• Catholic Daily Mass Readings for February 2 2024, Friday, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Homily
• Presentation of the Lord at the Temple – Luke 2:22-40
• Bible Verse of the Day for April 2 2023 – Palm Sunday, Jesus Enters Jerusalem in Jubilation
• 2nd February 2019: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Year C

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Church Of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Set as a beacon on a hill to surrounding Maplewood and the east side of St. Paul, the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been a center of Catholic faith and life since 1946. Our parish continues to be a vibrant place of worship, education, and outreach to the community. We welcome you to join us as we celebrate God's many gifts and strive to bring the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the world around us. …

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1725 Kennard St

Maplewood, MN 55109

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Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 21: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Memorial

Liturgical Color: White Version: Full – Short

Quote: And the child was three years old, and Joachim said: Invite the daughters of the Hebrews that are undefiled, and let them take each a lamp, and let them stand with the lamps burning, that the child may not turn back, and her heart be captivated from the temple of the Lord. And they did so until they went up into the temple of the Lord. And the priest received her, and kissed her, and blessed her, saying: The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel. And he set her down upon the third step of the altar, and the Lord God sent grace upon her; and she danced with her feet, and all the house of Israel loved her. And her parents went down marveling, and praising the Lord God, because the child had not turned back. And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there, and she received food from the hand of an angel. ~Protoevangelium of James

Reflection: There are three “gospels” which are believed to have heavily influenced today’s memorial—the Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. The earliest of these writings was the Protoevangelium of James (also called the “Apocryphal Gospel of James”), which was most likely written sometime in the second century. It is not considered to be part of the inspired word of God, i.e., the canon of Scripture, because it does not appear to have actually been written by the Apostle James. Nonetheless, like many early Christian documents, this apocryphal gospel held great influence in the early Church. It is from this writing that the Church takes the traditional names of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents—Saints Joachim and Anne—since that is the only record of their names we have.

The Protoevangelium of James gives a detailed account of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s life. It details her Immaculate Conception, birth, presentation in the Temple, and her life in the Temple where she prayed continuously and was ministered to by angels until the age of twelve. The story continues with her miraculously arranged marriage to Saint Joseph, Jesus’ birth, Herod’s encounter with the Magi, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and the martyrdom of Zechariah, Saint John the Baptist’s father. Though the Apocryphal Gospel of James does not contradict anything in the canonical Gospels, many more details are added that could be true.

At the time of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was not uncommon for some children to be presented in the Temple at a young age, to be raised there, and to enter into service at the Temple. They assisted the priests and acted as servants of charity. Though every firstborn boy was ritually presented to the priest in the Temple eight days after birth so as to be consecrated to God, sometimes girls were also presented, but for the purpose of entering into the Temple’s service. Saint Alphonsus Liguori, an eighteenth-century Doctor of the Church who wrote extensively on the Blessed Virgin Mary, offers this description of her presentation in the Temple, which mirrors the aforementioned apocryphal gospel accounts:

Having barely reached the age of three years, the holy child Mary entreated her parents that she might be placed in the temple according to the promise they had made. The appointed day having arrived, the immaculate young Virgin left Nazareth with St. Joachim and St. Anne, accompanied by a host of angels attending that holy child destined to become the mother of their Creator…Upon their arrival at the temple in Jerusalem, the holy child turned to her parents. Kneeling, she kissed their hands, asked for their blessing, and then, without looking back, ascended the steps of the temple. There, renouncing the world and all it could offer her, she wholly offered and consecrated herself to God. From then on, Mary’s life in the temple was a continuous exercise of love, offering her entire being to her Lord…As a young virgin in the temple, Mary did nothing but pray, desiring to be the servant of the blessed Virgin chosen to be the mother of God ( Glories of Mary , On the Feast of the Presentation of Mary).

It is believed that this feast originated in the Eastern Byzantine liturgy around the sixth century at the time that Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian I built a church in Jerusalem near the ruins of the Temple called the Basilica of Saint Mary the New. By the ninth century, several monasteries in the Latin Church began to observe this feast, and it was added to the Universal Church calendar in the fifteenth century. 

In 1953, Pope Pius XII tied this memorial of the Presentation of Mary to an annual commemoration of the World Day of Cloistered Life. He did so because of the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was not only presented in the Temple as a child, she then lived out her childhood in constant prayer and solitude, becoming the most excellent model for those in the cloister.

In 1974, Pope Saint Paul VI wrote a beautiful apostolic exhortation, Marialis Cultus (For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary) , in which he speaks of the development of Marian devotion in the life of the Church. Regarding feasts like today’s, which come to us in part from apocryphal sources, he says, “There are still others [feasts] which, apart from their apocryphal content, present lofty and exemplary values and carry on venerable traditions having their origin especially in the East.”

As we celebrate the liturgical memorial of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, we especially honor the fact that, regardless of the lack of certainty of the historical details, the Blessed Virgin Mary lived a life of profound prayer and contemplation from her earliest years and continued to do so throughout her life. She always has been, and continues to be, the Immaculate One, the sinless Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the first contemplative, and one who dedicated her whole life to the service of the will of God. Even if the account of her presentation and childhood service in the Temple is not accurately represented in these early sources, the spiritual reality of her total dedication to the will of God throughout her life is an indisputable dogma of our faith.

As we ponder the early life and dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary to God’s will today, reflect upon the fact that every child is capable of a profound faith and commitment to God’s will. For those who are entrusted with the guardianship and raising of children, allow your prayerful reflection on the holy life of Blessed Mary as a child to inspire you to help all young people imitate her profound faith and holiness.

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(Short Version)

Three “gospels” have heavily influenced today’s memorial—the Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. The earliest was the Protoevangelium of James (also called the “Apocryphal Gospel of James”), most likely written sometime in the second century. It is not considered to be part of the inspired word of God, i.e., the canon of Scripture, because it does not appear to have actually been written by the Apostle James. Nonetheless, like many early Christian documents, this apocryphal gospel held great influence in the early Church. It is from this writing that the Church takes the traditional names of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents—Saints Joachim and Anne.

The Protoevangelium of James details Mary’s Immaculate Conception, birth, presentation in the Temple, and her life in the Temple until age twelve where she is depicted as praying continuously while angels ministered to her. The story continues with her miraculously arranged marriage to Saint Joseph, Jesus’ birth, Herod’s encounter with the Magi, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and the martyrdom of Zechariah, Saint John the Baptist’s father. The Apocryphal Gospel of James does not contradict anything in the canonical Gospels, and more details are added that could be true.

When the Blessed Virgin Mary was born, it was not uncommon for some children to be presented in the Temple, to be raised there and to enter into service at the Temple. They assisted the priests and acted as servants of charity. Though every firstborn boy was ritually presented to the priest in the Temple eight days after birth for consecration to God, sometimes girls were also presented, but for the purpose of entering into the Temple’s service. In Glories of Mary , Saint Alphonsus Liguori, an eighteenth-century Doctor of the Church, wrote a description of her presentation in the Temple.

The feast is believed to have originated in the Eastern Byzantine liturgy around the sixth century when Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian I built a church in Jerusalem near the ruins of the Temple called the Basilica of Saint Mary the New. By the ninth century, several monasteries in the Latin Church observed this feast; it was added to the Universal Church calendar in the fifteenth century. 

In 1953, Pope Pius XII tied this memorial of the Presentation of Mary to an annual commemoration of the World Day of Cloistered Life. This sprang from the belief that the Blessed Virgin was presented in the Temple as a child, living out her childhood in prayer and solitude, a model for those in the cloister.

In 1974, Pope Saint Paul VI wrote a beautiful apostolic exhortation, Marialis Cultus: For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary , in which he speaks of the development of Marian devotion in the life of the Church. Regarding feasts like today’s, which come to us in part from apocryphal sources, he says, “There are still others [feasts] which, apart from their apocryphal content, present lofty and exemplary values and carry on venerable traditions having their origin especially in the East.”

Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, you were conceived without sin and remained sinless throughout your life. With the perfection of every virtue and grace, you loved and served God even as a young child. Please pray for me, as I help to inspire young people in the ways of holiness, that I will never shy away from pointing them to you as a model and mediator of God’s grace. Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Crime and Public Safety

Crime and public safety | hate-filled vandal bashes brooklyn catholic church statues with brick.

The attacker, who wore an orange headscarf, used the brick to smash off the hands of a statue of the Virgin Mary in the courtyard of St. Therese of Lisieux Church on Avenue D near Troy Ave. in East Flatbush around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, cops said.

He then ran up to another statue, believed to be of St. Therese, and broke off a cross she was holding, cops said.

John Quaglione, deputy press secretary for the Diocese of Brooklyn, expressed dismay at the recurring vandalism of churches.

“It’s a time for unrest here in the city for a number of reasons, I guess, and we need to stop this,” Quaglione said. “Everyone is entitled to worship their own God freely and safely. And it’s sad to see this vandalism happening so regularly.”

The defacing of these sacred figures, which have stood watch over the parish for nearly a century, has left deep emotional scars on the congregation.

“When something’s there for almost more than 90 years, there are parishioners that have been lifetime parishioners,” Quaglione added. “And they are very, very upset and disturbed by this act of hatred. It’s not just a statue; it’s symbolic of the Mother of God, who we recognize and worship in our church.”

He added that a restoration of the Blessed Mother statue had only recently been completed, making the act of vandalism all the more disheartening.

“When you visit the church and see her with her arms open and welcoming you … the fact that they [the church] restored it and repainted it shows that it has tremendous value to the parish,” he said.

“The hand of the Blessed Mother statue and somewhere near her feet was damaged by a brick,” he added. “In the St. Therese statue, the cross that she was holding was also damaged.”

On Wednesday, cops released surveillance footage of the suspect smoking a cigarette and sporting a black backpack as he walked past the house of worship. The NYPD is asking the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.

1010 WINS radio reported that the sicko kissed the statue before vandalizing it.

Despite the damage, Quaglione vowed that the church would repair the statues to their former glory and not allow  vandalism to cast a shadow on faith .

“We’re going to look to see about restoration and correcting the vandalism that was done here,” he said, “so that these statues are whole again, and these statues are welcoming and inviting to the parish and to the community, as they have been for so many years.

“If we take those statues down, we’re letting hatred win,” he said. “It’s important to reengage and reestablish them in their full form.”

It was at least the third time in a month a vandal had attacked a Catholic church within the five boroughs .

In a scene hauntingly similar to Tuesday’s vandalism, late last month a bearded man in a red T-shirt and white baseball cap used a rock to lop off the hands of a Virgin Mary statue outside the rectory of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church on Parsons Blvd. in Jamaica, Queens. He also repeatedly struck the statue’s head with the rock.

The Rev. Victor Bolaños, pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, managed to recover the broken-off hands, which were steepled in prayer.

“The only [thing] that is broken [off] is the hands,” he said. “The rest is damaged. I have the hands.”

On Oct. 6, a hate-filled vandal scrawled shocking profanity and defaced several statues at Manhattan’s St. Frances Cabrini Shrine on Fort Washington Ave. near W. 190th St. — just outside Fort Tryon Park — in Washington Heights.

Using black spray paint, the vandal wrote profanity directed at Jesus Christ and scrawled several bizarre symbols on a church wall. Another symbol was painted on a statue of St. Frances Cabrini as the vandal covered her face with paint.

“We have seen an increase [in church vandalism], and it’s alarming,” Quaglione said. “It’s counterintuitive to what this country stands for — freedom of religion. You shouldn’t feel in jeopardy while you’re worshiping.”

The pastor expressed deep concern over the rising trend of religious vandalism and the heightened sense of insecurity that many feel when visiting their houses of worship.

“It’s very concerning that you have to feel almost on edge when, at certain points or certain times, you see police cars outside different houses of worship,” he said. “It’s sad that you have to feel some sense of insecurity while you’re going into what should be your safest space and your place where you can turn to your God, whoever that may be,” he added.

The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the three desecrations, which are not believed to be linked.

Anyone with information regarding the East Flatbush church incident or the two other acts of vandalism is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

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How Do We Know About the Presentation of Mary?

When we celebrate the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we give honor and respect to the Purest Virgin, who is an example for all of us in our struggle for holiness

It’s easy to conceptualize the Presentation of the Lord because we find it in Scripture. Luke’s Gospel tells of the Holy Family’s journey to the Temple when Jesus was 8 days old. According to Jewish custom, Jesus was to be circumcised and Mary purified. There Mary and Joseph meet the prophets Anna and Simeon, who recognized the Child as the Messiah who would bring about the fall and rise of many, become a sign of contradiction and the cause of a sword that would one day pierce Mary’s heart. We celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord annually on Feb. 2.

The Presentation of Mary, however, is not found in Scripture. Instead, we learn about Mary’s presentation from accounts that have come to us from apostolic times. What we know is found mainly in Chapter 7 of the Protoevangelium of James , which has been dated by historians before the year A.D. 200.

The Protoevangelium of James was ostensibly written by the apostle of the same name. It gives a detailed account in which Mary’s father, Joachim, tells his wife, Anna, that he wishes to bring their daughter to the Temple and consecrate her to God. Anna responds that they should wait until Mary is 3 years old so that she will not need her parents as much. On the agreed day for Mary to be taken to the Temple, Hebrew virgins accompanied the family with burning lamps. The Temple priest received Mary, kissed her, and blessed her. According to James’ writing, the priest then proclaimed, “The Lord has magnified thy name in all generations. In thee, the Lord will manifest his redemption to the sons of Israel.” After that, Mary was placed on the third step of the Temple and danced with joy. All the House of Israel loved Mary, and she was nurtured from then on in the Temple while her parents returned to their Nazareth home, glorifying God.

The celebration of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary grew slowly over the years. On Nov. 21, 543, Emperor Justinian dedicated a church to Mary in the Temple area of Jerusalem. Many of the early church Fathers celebrated this feast day, such as St. Germanus and St. John Damascene. In 1373, it was formally celebrated in Avignon, France, and in 1472, Pope Sixtus IV extended it to the universal Church. The Byzantine Church considers Mary’s Presentation one of the 12 great feasts of the liturgical year.

In 1974, Pope Paul VI wrote about this feast in his encyclical Marialis Cultus , saying, “despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern churches.”

The Memorial of the Presentation of Mary has been noted in the Church since its early years and yet is easily forgotten or misunderstood. Since it’s classified as a memorial and not a solemnity or holy day of obligation, it doesn’t draw much attention to itself other than a special opening prayer in the Mass. With this memorial, we celebrate the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a unique way. In response, she placed her whole self at his service. By our Baptism, God invites us, too, into his service.

But there’s more to celebrating the Presentation of Mary! This feast gives us cause for great joy since Mary is truly our Mother, given to us by Christ as he hung dying on the Cross. Because we are part of her Son’s body, she loves us with as much devotion and tenderness as she loves Jesus. When we celebrate Mary’s Presentation, we are giving Mary the honor she deserves and witnessing to her perfect purity as the Virgin of Nazareth, the Mother of God, and our Mother.

Sts. Joachim and Anne surrendered their only daughter to God so that she would be completely free to follow his holy will. Although they loved her dearly, they knew that in the Temple Mary would always be near the Holy of Holies, surrounded by an atmosphere of godliness and grace. She would be instructed in Scripture and the history of the Jewish people. She would be under the guardianship and tutelage of the holy women of the Temple who had given their lives to God. One of them, Scripture scholars believe, was Anna — the woman who prophesied at the Presentation of Our Lord. In the Temple, Mary would be completely focused on God and well prepared for becoming the Mother of the Savior and Mother of the Body of Christ.

When we celebrate the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we remember the tremendous sacrifice Sts. Joachim and Anne made for our sakes. We give honor and respect to the Purest Virgin, who is an example for all of us in our struggle for holiness. It is a privilege and an opportunity to express our gratitude for the gift of a pure, tender and always-loving Mother.

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Marge Fenelon Marge Steinhage Fenelon is an award-winning author, international speaker, and professional life coach. She has written several books on Marian devotion and Catholic spirituality. As life coach, she is passionate about helping others grow personally and spiritually. Her podcast, Simply Holy, airs on many popular podcast platforms. Learn more about Marge at MargeFenelon.com .

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Something About Mary

Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.

A parishioner recently asked me, “I noticed that each week you mention Mary during the service. Could you explain why?” What caught his ear was the Virgin Mary being mentioned not only weekly but more than once during the Divine Service. Was this a nod to the Roman Catholic Church or was there something truly catholic about these references? The following constitutes my response.

• The Virgin Mary is named within the Christological article (“second article”) in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds, which we confess immediately after the sermon: “who was born of the Virgin Mary.” The Athanasian Creed, also confessed in our churches, includes a reference to the Son of God “born from the substance of His mother [Mary] in this age.” Her inclusion in the foundational, ecumenical creeds of Christianity were and remain intended to safeguard against a host of aberrant beliefs about the incarnation of the Son of God, especially the heretical teachings of Arianism, Gnosticism, and Manichaeism. Each of these ancient sects diminished or denied some fact about the Eternal Logos (God the Son) taking on the totality of humanity — body and soul. Variants of those heresies circulate today, especially Gnosticism and Docetism in which it is believed that God only “seemed” to take on human flesh and therefore negates the reality of the human body of Jesus as resurrected and glorified. Christians cannot confess a biblical doctrine of Christ without teaching and confessing Mary in the creeds, for she anchors the Son of God in humanity by providing the substance of his humanity.
• Because of its more comprehensive statement about the Incarnation, the Nicene Creed is confessed at every Divine Service, since Holy Communion itself instantiates the once-crucified, now-resurrected body and blood of that same Jesus who “for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary.” The Nicene Creed is the creed of Holy Communion, with Mary linking the ever-incarnate one, Jesus, to both miracles, namely God on Earth and God as Eucharist. Since good preaching brings Christian ears from the real voice of Christ to his true bodily presence, sermonizing the implications of the incarnation by way of the Virgin Mary also gives rise to regular occasions to speak of her role in God’s great act of redemption.
• From the time of the early Church Fathers through the classic Medieval period, theologians argued from Scripture that Mary represents the Church. Mary, boasts of “God my Savior” in the Magnificat, in the same way that the Church does. As she is the recipient of grace and called “blessed,” so is the Church. Indeed, as she had Christ Jesus inside her and union with the Son of God, so does the Church. The event of John 19:25-29 in which Jesus seems to transfer Mary’s motherhood to John (representing the disciples of the Lord) was seen as reason for these theologians to believe that Mary’s role had changed, too. Jesus didn’t need a mother in his victorious and glorified state, but with her being the first Christian, she takes on the symbolic status of the Church, the Bride of Christ herself. This thinking prompted the revered third century theologian, St. Cyprian, to write: “No one can have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.” It should be no surprise, then, that Christian art late into the fourteenth century frequently depicted Mary wearing a wedding band when holding Jesus. It did not represent her matrimony to St Joseph, but was emblematic of the Church as the Bride of Christ. To speak of Holy Mary, then, was to speak of the Holy Church — both militant and glorified. So the glorious things said about Mary were actually statements about the Church and its ongoing role in dispensing Christ’s salvation and care for the baptized. 
• By the very inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit of God, Mary herself gives us words of Scripture saying, “all generations will call me blessed” because of what God, her Savior, did for her and to her during the Incarnation and rearing Jesus at her breasts (Luke 1:46-55). In mentioning Mary, “the Mother of God” (her actual title from the Council of Niceae, Theotokos , which Lutherans believe, teach, and confess as truth about Mary), we are in step with Holy Scripture and the will of God (1) to call her “blessed” and acknowledge her vital and essential role in (2) the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also (3) her connecting the Son of God to the rest of humanity — us; for Mary, like all of humanity, had a human father and mother. Jesus did not. He only had a human mother. Therefore, Jesus’s representation of humanity runs through the Theotokos , Mary. He is truly Jewish on account of her. Thus the Virgin Mary, as the church catholic believes, teaches, and confesses, represents us. Even her purity plays a typological role in this regard. If we don't rightly understand this, then we don't rightly understand either the Incarnation or our redemption. 
• Mary provides one example of a woman in God’s redemptive history. Mary entered matrimony; Mary was faithful to her God and husband; Mary was pregnant; Mary birthed; Mary reared Jesus; Mary mothered. Women and girls can look to Mary as an iconic Christian who was faithful to her God, her husband, and to the God-given vocations of wife and mother. When no icon, image, or song about Mary ever happens amidst the gathered Church, this example is lost. 
• Mary’s relationship to Scripture is another good reason to speak of her during the Divine Service. Consider how remarkable it is that St. Joseph, Jesus’s guardian, says not a single word in Scripture, but there are four significant portions of the Holy Word of God that are spoken by the Lord’s instrument, Mary: Luke 1:34, 38; 46-55; 2:48; and John 2:3, 5. Plus she is mentioned by name 19 times; appears in the narrative of 129 New Testament verses; and has 17 different titles in Scripture. This is to say little about the numerous Old Testament prophesies directly related to Mary, such as Genesis 3:15; Psalm 22:9-10; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:22; and Micah 5:2-3, to name but a few. Through these referents she, and she alone, is uniquely present for the conception, birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ Jesus — testifying to all, substantiating Luke’s Gospel, and emboldening the Apostolic witness. 
• This overwhelming biblical witness undergirds why there are four Marian Feasts during the Church calendar (The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of our Lord (also known as Candlemas), and of course the Feast of Saint Mary (15 August), excluding her unavoidable role during Advent and Christmas! In other words, there are no less than twelve weeks during the year where she features in the lectionary and Liturgical Calendar. In other words, Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds. Without mentioning her, we run the risk of slipping into anti-marian beliefs and customs, with implications upon Christology. Our Liturgy isn’t an indifferent thing, a mere consumer choice. Rather, all of these feasts are there to safeguard the dictum that “all theology is Christology.” Our Lutheran forefathers clearly understood that the way we worship determines what we believe ( Lex ordani, lex credendi ). Purge Mary from the Divine Service and one inevitable effaces the doctrines of Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments. This is why her song, the Magnificat appears in five variations within the Lutheran Service Book , and more than sixty(!) hymns that include Mary by name or her essential role in God’s work of redemption. Our inherited liturgy has not been devoid of Mary. 

Where Mary is absent from the conscience, confession, and customs of the Church, are those places where competing ideologies and theologies have displaced thoroughgoing Christological preaching and Eucharist encounters with the ever-Incarnate One. This is because the biblical Mary, both as the Mother of God and emblematic of the Church, always, always directs us to the Savior, Jesus, saying “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). 

Mary matters vitally if we are going to conceive of Jesus correctly, but also understand our own salvation and how Christ gives himself to us today. If hearing about Mary is new to you, then I hope this opens a door to appreciating Saint Mary as a member of our church family because she was the first Christian, the first redeemed person, the first one cleansed by Jesus's blood, and the only biblical witness to all the major events of the life of Jesus our Savior.

Justification as Reconciliation

Justification as liberation.

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