The Presentation of Mary in the Temple as a young girl is based not on the New Testament but on an account in the apocryphal Gospel of James. In being presented in this way, the Blessed Virgin dedicated herself to the service of God and kept herself open to God’s will. The feast prepares us for Advent and Christmas, when we celebrate the coming of her Divine Son into the world. It commemorates the dedication of the church of Saint Mary which was built in Jerusalem near the site of the Temple. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 3166; Christian Prayer 1990, p 1280