from The Divine Office - Matins (Morning Prayer)
The Feast of the Birth
of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least
since the 8th Century. The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of
only two saints: St. John the Baptist (June 24), and Mary, Mother of
Jesus.
John the Baptist is
considered especially sanctified even before his birth. His birth to
Elizabeth and Zachariah is foretold in the first chapter of Luke, and it
is also recorded (Luke 1;41) that Elizabeth felt the infant John
"leap in her womb" when Mary approached her soon after the
Annunciation.
The birth of Mary was
also miraculous. She was conceived without sin as a special grace
because God had selected her to become the mother of His Son (the feast
of her Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8). The dogma of
the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, though generally believed
throughout the Church for many centuries, was formally declared by Pope
Pius IX in 1854.
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", an 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.
According to one
tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth is the same one
in which the Annunciation took place. By another tradition, the
Annunciation site is beneath the Crusader church of St. Anna in
Jerusalem, under an 3rd Century oratory known as the "Gate of
Mary".
In celebrating the
nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and birth of her
Divine Son, and give honor to the mother of Our Lord and Savior.
The Following is
From a Sermon of St. Augustine of Hippo:
The hoped-for day of the blessed and venerable
Mary ever a Virgin has now come; therefore let our earth rejoice with
great gladness, illuminated by the birth of so great a Virgin. For she
is the flower of the field from which came forth the priceless lily of
the valley; by her child-bearing the nature inherited from our first
parents is changed, their fault wiped out. In her that sentence passed
on Eve was remitted which said, "In sorrow shall you bring forth
children," for Mary brought forth the Lord in joy.
Eve sorrowed, but Mary exulted; Eve carried weeping in her womb, but
Mary carried joy, for Eve brought forth a sinner, but Mary innocence
itself. The mother of our race brought punishment into the world, but
the Mother of our Lord brought salvation into the world. Eve was the
source of sin, Mary the source of merit. Eve by killing was a hindrance,
Mary by giving life was a help. Eve wounded, Mary healed. Obedience
takes the place of disobedience, faith makes up for faithlessness.
Mary may now play on her instruments, the Mother strike the cymbals with
swift fingers. The joyful choruses may sound out and songs alternate
with sweet harmonies. Hear, then, how she sings, she who leads our
chorus. For she say, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior; because He has regarded the lowliness of His
handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
because He who is mighty has done great things for me." And so the
miraculous new birth takes away the cause of our increasing burden of
sin, and Mary's song puts an end to the weeping of Eve.
(From the
Second Nocturn of Matins of the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary)
Family Observance of the Feast of the Birth of Mary
Mary's Birthday Cake
All children love
birthday cakes -- so today, let's make a birthday cake for the Blessed
Virgin Mary. A white layer cake or angel food cake would be appropriate,
with white icing and blue icing for trim (white is a symbol of purity;
blue symbolizes fidelity, and is a color especially used for Mary). We
suggest letting the children help with the decorations, if possible. If
you have a small statue of Mary, it could be placed in the center of the
cake, which can be surrounded by 10 candles -- one for each "Hail
Mary" prayer in a decade of the Rosary. (If you don't have a little
statue, you can write Mary's name on the cake in blue icing.)
At the end of the
evening meal, each child could take turns lighting the 10 candles as the
whole family prays together a "Hail Mary" for each candle,
ending with the Lord's Prayer.
If the children are too
young to light candles, mother could light the candles, then the adults
could pray one Hail Mary at the end, just before the cake is cut. After
eating the birthday cake, the prayer below could be said (this prayer,
the concluding prayer from "Matins" of the Divine Office,
could also be said with the children at bedtime).
Lord
God,
the day of our salvation dawned
when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to your Son.
As we celebrate her nativity
grant us your grace and your peace.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Your
birth, O Virgin Mother of God, heralded joy to all the world.
