The Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 8 each year. The Feast commemorates the birth of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The birth and early life of the Virgin Mary is not recorded in the Gospels or other books of the New Testament, however this information can be found in a work dating from the second century known as the Book of James or Protevangelion. According to the story found in this book, Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, were childless for many years. They remained faithful to God, but their prayers for a child were unanswered. One day, when Joachim came to the temple to make an offering, he was turned away by the High Priest who chastised him for his lack of children. To hide his shame, Joachim retreated to the hill country to live among the shepherds and their flocks. As Joachim was praying, his wife Anna was praying at the same time at their house in Jerusalem. An angel appeared to both of them and announced that Anna would have a child whose name would be known throughout the world. Anna promised to offer her child as a gift to the Lord. Joachim returned home, and in due time Anna bore a daughter, Mary.
On Our Lady's birthday the Church celebrates the first dawning of redemption with the appearance in the world of the Savior's mother, Mary. The Blessed Virgin occupies a unique place in the history of salvation, and she has the highest mission ever commended to any creature. We rejoice that the Mother of God is our Mother, too.
This Feast provides us with an occasion to praise and thank God for the honour of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus. Nativity of Mary is one of the three birthdays celebrated in the Church Calendar namely, the Birth of Jesus, the Birth of Mary and the Birth of John the Baptist. All three were born without original sin, although Mary and Jesus were conceived without sin, and St. John was cleansed of original sin while in the womb of his mother during the Visitation of Mary.
Mary was born immaculate without any stain of sin. Mary, who is prepared by divine providence to be the Mother of Jesus the son of God, is conceived in the womb of her mother Anna, her father being Joachim. In the church her birth is considered as a solemn event and is described as “the hope of the entire world and the dawn of salvation”. That is why the Liturgy of the day says: “Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the Virgin Mary, of who was born the Sun of Justice. Her birth constitutes the hope and the light of salvation for the whole world. Her image is light for the whole Christian people”. St. 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, 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.
This Feast of the nativity of Mary provides us with an occasion for praise and thanksgiving in honour of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus. “Let us celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary; let us adore Her Son, Christ Our Lord.” Such is the invitation offered to us by the Church on this feast of our Lady. Let us hearken to her call; let us enter her overflowing joy. Let us understand the Church, when, even on this day, She proclaims the Divine Maternity and unites in Her chants of praise the birth of Emmanuel and of Mary, our Mother of love and of holy hope. He who, being Son of God by essence willed to be also Son of man, had, before all other designs, decreed that He would have a Mother. Such consequently, was the character of that title of Mother, that, in the eternal decree, it was one with the very being of the chosen creature, the motive and cause of her existence, as well as the source of all her perfections, natural and supernatural. We too, then, must recognize Mary as our Mother and the mother of Jesus and celebrate the birthday by honouring our Lord.
As we celebrate today the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary we are reminded that each of us comes into this world loved by God, and destined for greatness – destined to share in the merits of the death and resurrection of Jesus – if we come to know about them, and believe in him, and then act like we believe in him! It takes most human beings their whole lives long to achieve the openness to God’s grace and love necessary for them to burst forth into eternal life and happiness! For one person, though, it was always that way: Mary, the beloved child of Nazareth, herself, was always fully open, by God’s special grace, to be full of the fruits of the redemption of Jesus, her own Son, even from the moment of her, conception, and today we celebrate, the day of her birth into this world. May we honour Mary on her day by doing as she would have us do: keep our eyes focused on her Son: he is the focal point of all history, and rightly so ought to be the focal point of the histories of our own lives. To honour the mother is to honour her Son. Hail Mary, you are blessed among women. Pray for us now and at the hour of our deaths.
(Courtesy; Fr. Eugene Lobo SJ, Rome)
PRAYER IN HONOUR OF
THE NATIVITY OF OUR MOTHER
There is also this marvelous prayer in honour of Our Lady's Nativity, written by St. Anselm:
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin; give me strength against thine enemies, and against the enemy of the whole human race. Give me strength humbly to pray to thee. Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers, through the merits of thy most sacred nativity, which for the entire Christian world was a birth of joy, the hope and solace of its life.
When thou wast born, O most holy Virgin, then was the world made light. Happy is thy stock, holy thy root, and blessed thy fruit, for thou alone as a virgin, filled with the Holy Spirit, didst merit to conceive thy God, as a virgin to bear Thy God, as a virgin to bring Him forth, and after His birth to remain a virgin.
Have mercy therefore upon me a sinner, and give me aid, O Lady, so that just as thy nativity, glorious from the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda, illustrious from the stock of David, didst announce joy to the entire world, so may it fill me with true joy and cleanse me from every sin.
Pray for me, O Virgin most prudent, that the gladsome joys of thy most helpful nativity may put a cloak over all my sins.
O holy Mother of God, flowering as the lily, pray to thy sweet Son for me, a wretched sinner. Amen.
THINGS TO DO:
· Learn prayers to Mary, such as the Angelus, Memorare, Hail Mary, and Hail Holy Queen, Litany of our Lay, Mysteries of the Rosary, Salve Regina, etc.
· Learn and sing various hymns to Mary.
· Recite the Rosary everyday and offer it for a good intention.
· Plant a tree everyday in honour of our Lady.
· Contemplate on how all the feasts of Mary point to the mysteries of Christ and our salvation history.
· Read the Bible everyday on the different events of our Lady and contemplate on it and live it out in your life.
· Have a birthday party for Mary, with a specially decorated birthday cake and birthday decorations. Blue is the traditional color of Mary's mantle, so incorporating blue into the decor and food is quite appropriate. Try making an all white cake symbolizing Mary's purity, or cookies with white icing. Present a "gift" to Mother Mary, such as spiritual bouquets, faults or virtues to work on, corporal works of mercy, etc. Learn to make string knot rosaries to give as "favors."
· Decorate the house, family table or family altar with flowers or special Marian decor.
· Say the novena everyday.
· Do a good work everyday and write it down on a piece of paper and offer it to our Lady on her feast day.
· Attend Mass everyday.
NOVENA FOR THE NATIVITY OF OUR LADY
The prayer of each day is preceded by the following:
V. O God, come to my assistance
R. O Lord, make haste to help me
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
R. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
First Day: Heavenly Child, lovable Mary, the Eternal Father delights in your birth, for He beholds in your coming into this world one of His creatures who is so perfect that she will become the worthy Mother of His divine Son. May your birth give joy to my soul also, by obtaining for me from the heavenly Father, the pardon of my sins, and an abiding sorrow for them.
Hail Mary...
Second Day: O Chosen One among the daughters of Adam, admirable Mary, the Son of God delights in your birth, for He beholds the one chosen to be His Mother, and oh! such a beloved Mother. May your birth give joy to my soul also, by obtaining from your divine Son the grace to be born again spiritually to a holy life, perfectly conformed to yours, so that I may merit to obtain eternal glory.
Hail Mary...
Third Day: O Chosen One among the daughters of Adam, lovable Mary, the Eternal Word takes delight in your birth, for He sees the source of His Immaculate Blood. May your birth give joy to my soul also, by obtaining for me from the Word made Flesh, the grace to find in this Divine Blood the eternal happiness of my soul.
Hail Mary...
Fourth Day: O Chosen One among the daughters of Adam, admirable Mary, the Redeemer, promised to mankind from the beginning of the world, takes delight in your birth, for He sees the one who is destined to become the co-redemptrix of souls by uniting her tears to the Blood shed on the Cross to save mankind.
Hail Mary...
Fifth Day: Resplendent Lily of Paradise, lovable Mary, the Holy Spirit takes delight in your birth for He sees in you the soul never stained by sin, which would forever be His worthy Temple. May your birth give joy to my soul also, by obtaining for me from the Holy Spirit His divine love and final perseverance.
Hail Mary...
Sixth Day: Most Beautiful Branch of the tree of David, most admirable Mary, whose birth was such a consolation to St. Joachim and St. Anne who were delighted to be the parents of so holy a child, may your birth be the consolation of my soul, by obtaining for me from God, victory over the world and detachment from all the things of this earth.
Hail Mary...
Seventh Day: Resplendent Morning Star, lovable Mary, your birth was the cause of great joy to the angels, for they beheld in you the Mother of the Redeemer of the world, who by His Death would repair the loss sustained by the fall of rebellions angels in paradise. May your birth give joy to my soul also, by obtaining for me from God, victory over the infernal enemy, deliverance from all his snares, and the grace to be associated in glory with the angels in heaven.
Hail Mary...
Eighth Day: Brilliant Aurora of Heaven, lovable Mary, your birth brought great consolation to the souls of the saints detained in limbo, for it announced the approach of the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ, who would enlighten their darkness and then conduct them to paradise. May your birth give joy to my soul also, and obtain for me from God, patience in all adversities, a perfect and constant conformity to His most holy will.
Hail Mary...
Ninth Day: Mediatrix between God and mankind, admirable Mary, by your birth you perfected the joy of all the children of Adam, who, through you, have received the Author of Grace, for He has made you the treasurer of all the graces which are imparted to us. May your birth be a special cause of joy to my soul by obtaining for me from God, eternal salvation and all the graces necessary to obtain it.
Hail Mary...
The prayer of each day is ended by the following:
Antiphon: Your Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God, was the herald of joy to the whole world; since from you arose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God, who, destroying the curse, bestowed the blessing, and confounding death, rewarded us with life everlasting.
V. Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.R. That she may intercede for us with Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray
Grant to us your servants, we beseech you, O Lord, the gift of Your heavenly grace, that as our salvation was begun in the child-bearing of the Blessed Virgin, so from this solemn festival of her Nativity may we obtain an increase of peace. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
