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Today, September 8, is the date that the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary. Had it not been for Mary accepting the invitation to bear the son of God, the trajectory of man would be quite different. So her birth is indeed cause for celebration.
Once again the Bible itself doesn’t offer us a scriptural reference to Mary’s birth. We find answers instead in the Apocryphal texts. So much of what we believe has been culled from the accounts of the apostles and other witnesses in these writings. They are described as documents that were produced in the era of the Old Testament. While they are not part of scripture, they are highly valued testimonials that answer many questions not answered in the Bible.
Note: Apókruphos is the Greek word for Apocryphal, which means “hidden” or “secret.”
Mary was born of St. Joachim and St. Anne, both of whom were in their later years at the time of her birth. St. Anne was thought to be barren and so she and her husband were grateful to have conceived and bore a daughter, Mary. To acknowledge what they considered to be the answer to prayers, they brought Mary to the temple when she was three years old to consecrate her to God.
My friend, Melinda Morgan Kartsonis, a devout Greek Orthodox Catholic, shared with me the story of the presentation of Mary in the temple, according to her faith’s tradition.
It is said that when Mary was presented in the temple, she ran joyfully and unaided up the stairs to where the priests and elders were standing. She ran into the arms of the high priest, Zacharias.
Mary lost both her parents by age eight and she stayed in the temple until she was betrothed to Joseph. This according to the Protevangelium of James, also known as the Gospel of James.
I am hoping to bring more knowledge about the Virgin Mary to the world, especially during these times when we need her most. Please consider sharing this post, this site, or its social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. I invite you to subscribe to this site (below) to be notified of new posts. Thank you.
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