By Eugene Lobo, SJ –
The readings: Rom. 8:28-30 or Mic. 5:2-5; Mt. 1:16, 18-23
There are many Marian feast days celebrated in the Catholic Church, but the principal ones are the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, the Annunciation, the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception and the Nativity of our Lady. The Feasts of our Lady are dear to us. Before we are born, our mothers are our entire world; they enfold, nourish, and protect us. When we are born they continue to care for us, by comforting, nursing, and teaching us as we grow. Mothers do not stop being mothers just because they are grown. Our mother will always be our mother. So it is with our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary. She will always be Jesus’ Mother, and she will always be our Mother with Jesus our brother. And if, for whatever reason, our own birth mother is not quite close to us, , our Blessed Mother surely stands close to us, with her arms open to take us in. As our Mother, she will continue to nourish, protect, comfort, and teach us as we grow. In our daily prayers we greet and thank her for her love and care, and through our intercessory prayers we ask her aid, ensure her a special place in our families, our homes, and our hearts. She is the Mother of God, the Queen of the Saints, the humble spouse of the Church, and attentive patron of hundreds. It is not surprising that there are so many feast days dedicated, to Mary.
The feast of the Nativity of Mary celebrated on the 8th of September is closely connected with the Immaculate Conception of Mary. 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, without the stain of sin and her birth is considered by the Church as a Solemn event. Our Lady’s birthday has been 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 from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley.
The Church’s calendar observes the birthdays of only three persons: St. John the Baptist and Mary, Mother of Jesus, and Jesus, Son of God. John the Baptist was sanctified even before his birth. Luke tells us that Elizabeth felt the infant John “leap in her womb” when Mary approached her soon after the Annunciation. Mary was preserved sinless in anticipation with the privilege of being the Mother of God from the moment of her conception. The origin of this Feast is sought in Syria or Palestine at the beginning of the 6th century. It goes back to the consecration of a church in Jerusalem, which tradition identifies as that of the present basilica of St. Ann. At Rome the Feast began to be kept toward the end of the 7th century, brought there by Eastern monks.
In the first reading, Prophet Micah announces the coming of the Lord of Israel who will come forth from Bethlehem of Judah. The Mother of the Messiah, presented as one about to give birth, will give life to the prince and pastor of the house of David who will bring justice and peace. She will work with the Messiah to bring forth new people.
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Birth of Mary. This Feast 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 the Lord Jesus. There is nothing contained in Scripture about the birth of Mary or her parentage, though Joseph’s lineage is given in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The names of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna, appear in the apocryphal “Gospel of James”, a book dating from the 2nd Century AD, not part of the authentic canon of Scripture. According to this account, Joachim and Anna were also beyond the years of child-bearing but prayed and fasted that God would grant their desire for a child. God listened to their prayers and granted them the child.
In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and the birth of her Divine Son, and give honour to the mother of Our Lord and Saviour. This Feast 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. This Feast of the Nativity of Mary has two aspects: first, Heaven’s view that enables us to enter into God’s plan for the salvation of the world; and the second, what happens on earth has the freshness of dawn and of a first morning. As seen from Heaven it is a Trinitarian feast. On the other hand, the Feast of the Nativity of Mary affects our Christian life and family. Her Birth is an event that belongs at the very heart of the History of Salvation.
The Gospel of today presents us with the genealogy of Jesus and genealogies are very important. They give us our roots and help us to understand our heritage. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus traces his lineage from Abraham, the father of God’s chosen people, through the line of David, King of Israel. Jesus the Messiah is the direct descent of Abraham and David, and the rightful heir to David’s throne. God in his mercy fulfilled his promises to Abraham and to David that he would send a Saviour and a King to rule over the house of Israel and to deliver them from their enemies. When Jacob blessed his sons he foretold that Judah would receive the promise of royalty which we see fulfilled in David. We can also see in this blessing a foreshadowing of God’s fulfilment in raising up his anointed King, Jesus the Messiah.
Generally, Genealogies traced lineage via the male line. Matthew may well have been using a genealogy that someone had already constructed. The genealogy proves Jesus is of the lineage of David, qualified to be the Messiah. Matthew preserves this interest by signalling it in his opening verse. Here he emphasizes that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Mark had spoken of “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.
Jesus belongs to Israel, to God’s dealing with Israel. This connection is important. It both lays claim to representing Israel and its tradition and to being connected with God’s dealings in the past. The genealogy secures the emphasis on divine involvement not only by the direct links through the family. The genealogy also has some unusual features. Breaking the rule that males only appear in the lists, it lists four women, all of whom were figures of some controversy and were Gentiles. The fifth one is Mary specially chosen by God. This appears to be Matthew’s way of making a point about the kind of thing which would happen through Jesus: people normally marginalized because of their gender, are included and have become part of the divine action.
St Paul speaking to the Romans tells us that Jesus descended from David according to the flesh that is he became a human person and was declared to be the Son of God by the Spirit. This summarizes the Feast of the Birth of Mary as predestined by the Lord God who called her to be the Mother of Jesus, God incarnated. Created as a new creation, the Second Eve, Mary was immaculate in nature from the moment of her conception. Mary was created holy, gave birth to the Son of God in holiness, lived a holy life in the Presence of the Lord God, and was taken to Heaven in the fullness of her holiness.
The present feast forms a link between the New and the Old Testament. It shows that Truth succeeds symbols and figures and that the New Covenant replaces the Old. Hence, all creation sings with joy, exalts, and participates in the joy of this day. … This is, in fact, the day on which the Creator of the world constructed His temple; today is the day on which, by a stupendous project, a creature becomes the preferred dwelling of the Creator. The birth of Mary is ordained in particular toward her mission as Mother of the Saviour. Her existence is indissolubly connected with that of Christ: it partakes of a unique plan of predestination and grace. God’s mysterious plan regarding the Incarnation of the Word embraces also the Virgin who is His Mother. In this way, the Birth of Mary is inserted at the very heart of the History of Salvation.
September 8 is especially remembered for social celebrations. It marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall, this day has many thanksgiving celebrations and customs attached to it. In the Old Roman Ritual, there is a blessing of the summer harvest and fall planting seeds for this day. The winegrowers in France called this feast “Our Lady of the Grape Harvest”. The best grapes are brought to the local church to be blessed and then some bunches are attached to the hands of the statue of Mary. A festive meal which includes the new grapes is part of this day. In the Alps section of Austria, this day is “Drive-Down Day” during which the cattle and sheep are led from their summer pastures in the slopes and brought to their winter quarters in the valleys. This was usually a large caravan, with all the finery, decorations, and festivity. In some parts of Austria, milk from this day and all the leftover food are given to the poor in honour of Our Lady’s Nativity.
A boy who was a witness to a crime was on the witness stand in court. He was approached by the defence attorney who asked, “Did anyone tell you what to say in court? “Yes, sir,” answered the boy. “I thought so,” said the attorney. “Who was it? “My father, sir. “And what did he tell you?” the attorney asked accusingly. “He said that the lawyers would try to get me all tangled up, but if I stuck to the truth, everything would be all right.”