The Life of Jesus Christ is one of the most extraordinary books every published, recording the mystical visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. These visions spanned all of salvation history with remarkable detail, relayed impeccably by Sister Emmerich in her humility and felicity. This excerpt follows Mary’s dedication to the temple at age three.
Mary Is Dedicated To The Temple
Mary was three years and three months old when she made the vow to join the virgins in the Temple. She was very delicately built and had golden hair inclined to curl at the ends. She was already as tall as a child of five or six here in our country.
I saw in Anne’s house the preparations for Mary’s admittance into the Temple. It was made the occasion of a great feast. Five priests had assembled from Nazareth, Sephoris, and other places, among them Zachary and a son of the brother of Anne’s father. They were about to perform a sacred ceremony over the child Mary, a kind of examination as to whether she was sufficiently mature in mind to be admitted to the Temple.
The ceremony was in itself very grave and solemn, although the faces of the aged priests were at times lit up by smiles of admiration at the expressions and answers of the little Mary, and it was frequently interrupted by the tears of Joachim and Anne.
The priests now put to the child all sorts of questions relative to the discipline enforced in the Temple. Among other things, they said to her: “Thy parents, having prom ised thee to the Temple, have made a vow that thou shouldst drink no wine nor vinegar, shouldst eat no grapes nor figs. Now what wilt thou add to this vow? Think upon this during thy meal.” The Jewish people, and especially the young maidens were accustomed to drink vinegar. Mary, too, was fond of it. On these and similar things, was she interrogated. During the meal and the whole of the examination, I saw angels hovering around her, directing and assisting her in all things.
Entering The Temple
Zachary and the other men had already gone to the Temple, and now Mary was led thither by the women and the virgins. From many of the dwellings the procession was saluted, the spectators gazing in wonder at the child and her beautiful train of attendants. There was something very extraordinary in Mary’s appearance.
At the Temple, men were busy opening a large and wonderfully beautiful gate upon which were carved grapevines, ears of wheat, and heads of various kinds. It was the Golden Gate. The priests led the Holy Virgin up numerous steps to this gate. Joachim and Zachary met them at the gate, which opened into a long archway, and led them through several passages into a hall.
I saw also a feast among the Temple children. They had a meal at which Mary had to question first the mistresses and then the maidens separately as to whether they were willing to have her among them. This was the custom. Then the girls had a dance among themselves. They stood two and two opposite one another and danced, changed places across, and formed figures in and out. There was no leaping, but certain swaying movements of the whole person, which seemed somewhat expressive of the Jewish character. Some of the girls accompanied the dance with the music of flutes, triangles, chimes, and an instrument that gave forth sounds at once strange and agreeable.
Mary’s Longing For The Messiah
I often saw the child Mary seized with holy longing for the Messiah and saying to Anna: “Oh, will the promised Child be born soon? Oh, if I could only see that Child! Oh, if only I am living when He is born!” Then Anna would give this reply: “Think how old I am and how long I have waited for that Child! And you—you are still so young!” And Mary would shed tears of longing for the promised Saviour.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Life of Jesus Christ Volume 1 by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich which is available from TAN Books.
