SEPTEMBER 8th. NATIVITY OF OUR LADY

1.Micah 5:1-4

2.Matthew 1:1-6, 18-23

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

"Born for us"

It has become part and parcel of our life, that we do celebrate birthdays. Today we celebrate the birth day of blessed Mary, the Mother of our savior. Exactly when and where Our Lady was born is not recorded in our Scriptures; but most likely she was born about sixteen years before the birth of Jesus in the village of Nazareth, where St. Luke's gospel locates her for the first time, at the Annunciation.

An important, 2nd Century Christian text, Protevangelium of James might suggest that Mary was born near Jerusalem, since it says  that her parents, Joachim and Anne, brought her to the temple at a very early age. Today would be a good time to re-read, the protevangelium ( pre-gospel) story, to share its warm, devotional reflection upon the special graces granted at Mary's birth. The author of the book probably a second century Jewish Christian, tells of her parents eagerly longing for a child; and when eventually God granted her to them, they wished to dedicate her, body and soul, to the service of God in the Jerusalem temple.

"Remembering birthdays"

We do remember the birthdays of our brothers and sisters who seem to be most significant in for us in life. We also remember the birthdays of those who are significant for our faith life. The most significant person for our faith life as Christians is, of course, Jesus, and we remember his birthday on Christmas day. Next to Jesus, Mary is the most significant person for faith life of many Christians, and it is only fitting that our mother church remembers her birthday today. It is impossible to know when exactly Mary was born, but September 8 has traditionally been the day when the church celebrates Mary's birth day counting from the feast of Immaculate conception that we celebrate in 8 December each year. Today's gospel has to do with the birth of Jesus rather than the birth of Mary, and that is only right and fitting.

We celebrate Mary's birth and life because of the birth of Jesus, because she became the mother of the Savior. She is the one through whom we receive Emmanuel, God with us. The best way to honor Mary is to receive the Son of God whom she offers to us, to become, like herself, people who, in the words of Luke's gospel, "hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance."

We can still remember the apostolic motto of the late pope John Paul II was Totus Tuus, the Latin expression, meaning completely yours. The sign that Pope was a Marian devotee. Being thoroughly Marian does not in any way detract from being Christ-centered. In fact, the more we get close to Mary, the more we get close to Christ. In the words of Saint Andrew of Crete,  " the birth of Mary is the prelude for the imminent coming of our Savior; with her arrival on the human scene, a new age is about to begin. Therefore, she is great blessing coming from God for humanity.