HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (8TH SEPTEMBER)

Blessed Virgin Mary who gave birth to our savior, Jesus Christ celebrates her birthday today…. Catholic Church celebrates September 8 in honor of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. It is the feast day of her nativity, nine months after the celebration of her Immaculate Conception on December 8. In celebrating her nativity, Catholics give honor to the mother of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary was with Christ in all the significant moments throughout His life. He gave His mother to us to be our mother.

The Church has celebrated Virgin Mary’s birth since the 8th Century. The Church’s calendar observes the birthdays of only two saints: St. John the Baptist on June 24 and Virgin Mary on September 8. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church began its year with September. September 8 helped set the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 or nine months earlier. Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth, but the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James tells that her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, were infertile but prayed for a child. They receive the promise of a child who would advance God’s plan of salvation.

According to the information gathered by Nepicity.blogspot.com, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth was also the site of the Annunciation – the archangel Gabriel’s announcement to her that she would be the mother of Jesus. She was conceived without sin as a special grace because God chose her to be the mother of His Son. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was formally declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854.

Saint Augustine, a 4th Century bishop-theologian, described the birth of the Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance, and a prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. She was the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley, he said. The principal events of Virgin Mary’s life are celebrated as liturgical feasts of the universal church. Her life and role in the history of salvation are in the Old Testament, while the events of her life are recorded in the New Testament.

We offer special prayers to the Virgin Mary, and ask her to grant peace in our country and in the world. We ask her to intercede for us that we may obtain God’s graces and blessings. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for all of us!