Feast of the Presentation of the BVM

The gospel of Luke tells us that when Jesus was 8 days old, he was circumcised and given the name Jesus (Luke 2:21). At the end of the purification process, i.e. 40 days, Jesus was presented to the Temple according to the law (Luke 2:22). For baby daughters, the purification period was doubled., i.e. 80 days. According to Leviticus 12:6, whether a woman gives birth to a boy or a girl, a sin sacrifice would be offered at the end of the purification. According to Exodus 13:12, only the first born boy should be (presented to the Temple to be) redeemed. I suspect that baby girls were not redeemed and thus not presented to the Temple. The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I wonder what the Church wants to celebrate.

According to the protoevangel of Jacob, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary were Joachim and Anna. Joachim was a rich man but his wife Anna was barren. She was very grieved. In her garden she sat down beneath a laurel tree and saw a nest of sparrows in the tree. That made her grieve more and Anna sang a dirge to herself. An angel appeared to Anna and told her that she would conceive and give birth to a child of whom the whole inhabited world should speak. Anna answered that if she gave birth, whether a male or female, she would present it as a gift to the Lord and it would be a ministering servant to the Lord all the days of its life.
Nine months later, Anna gave birth to Mary and as promised, the parents presented Mary to the Temple when she was three. When she was twelve, she was betrothed to Joseph. The rest of the story is recorded in Matthew and Luke. This story is very much similar to that of Samuel, the judge and prophet before kings were institutioned. But this story has an "annunciation by angel" part not found in the Old Testament. [I may probably have missed some OT annunciation stories. Tell me if you find one.] In short, this story does not add any new revelation, but a repackaging of old themes.

Scholars believe that the core of the gospels was the passion of Jesus. In the passage of time, people wanted to know more about Jesus. Miracles and teachings were added. Later, the time line was pushed back even earlier! Matthew and Luke collected the infancy narratives of Jesus. Other stories could not make it into the New Testament Canon because their narratives are too fanciful. Thus, the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary could only be found in these apocrypha. Perhaps these stories provide food for contemplation and prayer. But their contribution to theology is questionable.
On the other hand, the Catholic Church has announced several Marian doctrines which are not recorded in the Bible. For example, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the doctrine of Immaculate Conception in 1854 and Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Our Lady as an article of faith in 1950. These are things which Catholics have long believed, though not officially written down. It is important to defend these truths because they support our belief in Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus is truly God and truly man. He spent nine months in the womb of Mary, exchanging his blood with hers. It would be unthinkable for Jesus to be nursed in a sinful environment etc. So the arguments go.
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a different story. My spirituality is not strong enough to distill any theology out of it. I am sure there are people out there who can supply me with their insights.

Dear Lord, I hope I have not forgotten to keep any promises I made. I pray for all the people I know of. May their needs be met, their prayers answered. Amen.