“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

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.

Prayer: 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.