Saint of the Day for September 8: The Feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Church has celebrated the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mary’s birth) since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. The feast of the Birth of Mary bridges the promises made to the people of Israel with the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.
Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. Such a story, like many biblical counterparts, stresses the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning.
This beautiful feast is connected with a fifth-century basilica built on the site of the pool of Bethesda (see John 5:1-9), a site believed by some to have been the location of the home of Saints Joachim and Ann; the Basilica of St. Ann stands there today.
Saint Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary’s Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace.
Reflection
We can look at every human birth as a mark of a new hope in the world. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with sorrows. The new child has the potential to be a channel of God’s love and peace to the world.
This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God’s love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.
Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary’s birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the whole world.
Prayer on the Feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord,
the gift of heavenly grace,
that the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
may bring deeper peace
to those for whom the birth of her Son
was the dawning of salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.– (from the Roman Missal)
Read More:
AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8)
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AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… The Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
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