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Day 3 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Kiahk, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Third Day of the Blessed Month of Kiahk
Entrance of Saint Mary into the Temple in Jerusalem
On this day we commemorate the
entrance of our holy Lady, the Virgin, Saint Mary, the Theotokos, into
the Temple when she was three years old, for she was dedicated to God.
Her mother, Anna (Hannah), was childless. The women who were in the Temple
stayed away from her. She was exceedingly sad and so was her husband Joachim
who was a blessed old man. She prayed to God fervently and with a contrite
heart saying, "If You give me a fruit, I will devote the child to Your
Holy Temple." God answered her prayers and she brought forth this pure
saint and called her Mary. She reared her for three years, after which
she took her to live with the virgins in the Temple. Saint Mary dwelt in
the sanctuary for 12 years. She received her food from the hands of the
angels, until the time when our Lord Christ came into the world, and was
incarnated through her, the elect of all women. When she had completed
12 years in the sanctuary, the priests took counsel together concerning
her, so that they might entrust her to someone who would protect her, for
she was consecrated to God and they were not allowed to keep her in the
temple after this age. They decided that she be engaged to a man who could
take care of her and who would look after her. They gathered 12 righteous
men from the house of David of the Tribe of Juda so they might place her
with one of them. They took their staffs inside the Sanctuary, and a dove
flew up and stood on the staff belonging to Joseph the carpenter who was
a righteous man. They knew that this was God's will. Joseph took the holy
Virgin St. Mary, and she dwelt with him until Gabriel, the Angel of the
Lord, came to her and announced to her that the Son of God was to be incarnated
from her, for the salvation of Adam and his posterity.
May Her intercession be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.