Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

journey on Dec. 31, Blessed Anne Catherine describes a second day of travel, which brought them to an inn 

just outside Jerusalem. They stayed at this inn for their visit to Jerusalem at the time of the Presentation.

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    Why did it take two days to travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem? Bethlehem is a short distance from 

Jerusalem, but Joseph and the Virgin Mary were traveling from the Cave of the Nativity, not from the center 

of the town, so there was an additional distance to travel. Joseph and the Virgin Mary traveled slowly, for they 

had the newborn infant Jesus with them. Also, the inn where they were staying was not necessarily directly 

between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary may have had to travel some distance around the city of 

Jerusalem to arrive at the inn. The route from the Cave of the Nativity to the inn outside Jerusalem may have 

been somewhat circuitous, and not a straight line from the center of Bethlehem to the outskirts of Jerusalem. 

    After two days of travel (Dec. 31, Jan. 1), Joseph, Mary, and Jesus rested for a day at the inn outside 

Jerusalem (Wed., Jan. 2). On the next day, January 3, Joseph and the Virgin Mary presented the infant Jesus 

to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. Although Blessed Anne Catherine does not explicitly state on which day 

the Presentation occurred, she does state plainly that the journey began on the morning of Dec. 31, and she 

describes two days of travel  (Dec. 31, Jan. 1) and a day of rest (Jan. 2) before the day of the Presentation.

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This description agrees with the Jewish Law that the new born male child must be presented in the Temple on 

the 40th day.

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     This morning, while it was still dark, I saw the Holy Family going to Jerusalem to the Temple with the 

baskets of offerings . 

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     The Presentation must have ended about nine o'clock this morning, for it was at this time that I saw the 

departure of the Holy Family. 

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    According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the ceremony of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and of the 

Purification of the Virgin Mary took place in the morning. The Holy Family went to the Temple before dawn, 

and the ceremony ended by about mid morning. 

The Offering 

    The Presentation of the Lord is also sometimes called the Purification of the Virgin Mary, because on the 

40th day from the birth of a son, the mother was required by the law to bring a sacrifice to the Temple of 

Jerusalem for her purification. The offering required by the law was a lamb and either a turtledove or a young 

pigeon (Lev 12:6). However, if the mother could not afford a lamb, she was required instead to offer two of the 

birds, the additional bird taking the place of the lamb. According to Sacred Scripture, the Virgin Mary did offer 

two turtledoves or two young pigeons (Lk 2:24), therefore, Joseph and Mary must have been poor. Blessed 

Anne Catherine says that Mary offered two doves.

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    The reason Sacred Scripture specifies turtledoves or young pigeons is that these birds were white. 

Turtledoves are white at any age, but pigeons are only white when they are young. That is why only the 

pigeons were required to be young. 

    The usual meaning given to this offering was as a purification for the mother after giving birth. The Most 

Pure Virgin Mary did not need to be purified by the sacrifice of a lamb or a dove, for she had already been 

purified by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God and by the Holy Spirit (symbolized by a dove). This sacrifice 

required by all Jewish women was merely a foreshadowing of the one true sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God, 

which purifies us from all sin. So, when the Virgin Mary made her offering of two turtledoves, the meaning in 

this case was not to obtain purification, but to offer it. The two white doves symbolize the purity of the two 

holy souls of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. These doves were offered as a sacrifice to God to symbolize 

the offering of the souls of Mary and Jesus to God, a perfect and most pure sacrifice through which God offers 

purification to all. 

The Return to Nazareth 

     And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to 

their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God 

was upon him.  (Lk 2:39 40). 

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