Saint of the day November 21: Presentation of the Virgin Mary. Catholic Saints

Every November 21, the Church celebrates the memory of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this date we remember the episode, recorded by tradition, according to which Mary was taken at the age of three to the temple of Jerusalem by her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, to be introduced into the faith of the people of Israel.

There, in the temple, she would be received by the High Priest along with other maidens. In this way, Mary would learn from a young age the value and meaning of God’s promises, especially about the arrival of the Messiah.

The celebration of the Presentation of the Virgin evokes the consecration that Mary made of herself to God, a dedication prefigured by her immaculate conception and that is carried out throughout her life, day by day, in harmony with the designs of the Spirit. Holy. For this reason, we say of Mary that she is “the one full of Grace.”

Origin of the celebration

The origin of this celebration dates back to the dedication, in the year 543, of the church of Santa María la Nueva, a sanctuary located very close to the Temple of Jerusalem.

This historical event strengthens the conviction that in the 6th century the ‘Presentation of the Virgin’ was already celebrated in the Church of the East; although it would not be until 1372 that Pope Gregory XI (p. 1370-1378) began to celebrate it in Avignon (France) every November 21. Later, Pope Sixtus V (p. 1585-1590) extended the festival to the entire Church, incorporating it into the Roman liturgical calendar.

November 21: Day For those who prayto pray for those who pray

In 1953, Pope Pius XII established November 21 as the “Day For those who pray” (Day ‘for those who pray’), in honor of the cloistered religious communities. That is, all Christians are invited to pray for people who dedicate their lives precisely to prayer.

Decades later, in 2014, Pope Francis recalled that this day should be “an opportune occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of so many people who, in monasteries and hermitages, dedicate themselves to God in prayer and in active silence, recognizing that primacy that only belongs to Him.”

Every Christian must ask in prayer and thank God for cloistered vocations, little known and often forgotten. It must also be done for those who pray for the intentions of those who are part of the pilgrim Church in this world and for the souls in purgatory.