Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Birth of Mary — The Dawn of Our Salvation “Today is the day on which the Creator of the world constructed His temple; today is the day on which a creature becomes the preferred dwelling of the Creator.” — Saint Andrew of Crete This song celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the birthday of the Mother of God. On September 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of Mary, one of only three human births commemorated by a liturgical feast—the others being the births of Jesus and Saint John the Baptist. The Bible tells us very little about Mary's childhood, but the Church has treasured her birth as a profound moment in salvation history. Tradition gives her parents the names Joachim and Anne, and early Christian writings helped inspire the devotion surrounding her early life. The feast is celebrated exactly nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, reminding us that Mary was preserved by God's grace from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception. Saint Andrew of Crete gives us a beautiful image: Mary is the temple prepared by God Himself—the living dwelling place that would one day carry the Incarnate Word. She is the Ark of the New Covenant, the living tabernacle who would bear Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Her birth may have taken place quietly and unnoticed by the world, yet heaven rejoiced because God's plan of salvation was unfolding. Mary's entire life would become a hymn of humility and obedience—from her hidden childhood to the Annunciation, from Bethlehem to Calvary, and ultimately into heavenly glory. Today we rejoice not only in Mary's birth, but in the extraordinary grace of the woman she became. Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother! May Mary teach us to welcome God into our lives with the same humility, purity and trust that marked her own. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. Lead us always closer to your Son, Jesus. #BirthOfMary, #NativityOfMary, #BlessedVirginMary