Today is the prelude of God’s good will/ and the proclamation of the salvation of men./ The Virgin hath manifestly appeared in the temple of God/ and proclaimeth Christ unto all./ To her let us cry aloud:/ Rejoice, O thou fulfillment// of the Creator’s dispensation!
Troparion of the Feast, Tone 4
On Thursday, 4 December, on the Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir, the Vicar of the Metropolis, His Grace Bishop Filaret of Căpriana officiated the Holy and Divine Liturgy at the Nativity of the Lord Metropolitan Cathedral in Chișinău.
The Entry into the Temple of the Most Pure Virgin bears a twofold meaning: one visible, which took place in the Temple of Jerusalem, where she was brought as a pure offering before God; and another invisible, in the heavenly Church, where she stands at the head of the angelic hosts, the saints, and all the heavenly powers. The first filled Solomon’s Temple with glory, while the second illumines heaven, the dwelling-place of God not made by human hands.
Let us strengthen our faith and trust in God’s providential care. Just as the righteous Joachim and Anna fulfilled their promise and God did not abandon them nor their daughter Mary, so too the Lord does not forsake those who follow His will.
Source: Căpriana Monastery