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.
313
This description agrees with the Jewish Law that the new born male child must be presented in the Temple on 
the 40th day.
314
     This morning, while it was still dark, I saw the Holy Family going to Jerusalem to the Temple with the 
baskets of offerings . 
315
     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. 
316
    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.
317
    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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