Our life gets bent over by the weight and strain of all the difficulties that we carry. We get bent over emotionally by the pressures of work and the strain of financial problems, by the worries of caring for our families, loved ones, and friends. Every day in our life we face weakness, and we must turn to Jesus for help and strength. He is always waiting for us. Although, sometimes it feels that He is not listening to our prayers, and we don’t get what we want, but God knows what we need and when we need it. We just need to keep praying and trusting God.

On this day of the feast of the Entrance of the Most-Holy Birthgiver-of-God into the Temple, let’s review the details of this commemoration: Firstly, this feast is not present in the sacred scriptures, but has been preserved and revered by the Holy Church in the liturgy, iconography, and Holy Tradition. Secondly, the entire story is contained in an apocryphal book known as the Proto-Gospel of James, a book which contains this and many other stories about Christ and other biblical characters and saints, yet was never accepted in its totality as an inspired text by the Orthodox Church.