Thoughts to Live by | The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Cardinal Orlando Beltran Quevedo, O.M.I, Archbishop-Emeritus of Cotabato

Readings

Micah 5:1-4 or Romans 8:28-30

Psalm 13:6,6

Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23

Some Notes on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

1. The Biblical Canon does not record Mary's birth. The earliest document that commemorates the feast comes from the 6th century. St. Romanus of Emesa, Syria, wrote a hymn, which was a poetical sketch of the late 2nd century apocryphal Protoevangelium of St. Thomas.

2. The 1st liturgical celebration was connected with the dedication of the "Basilica Sanctae Mariae Ubi Nata Est" (the Basilica where Mary was born), now called the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem. This basilica stands on the spot known as the Shepherd's Pool and thought to have been the home of Mary's parents. In the 7th century, the feast was celebrated by the Byzantines as the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

3. Since Mary's birth is known only from apocryphal sources, the Latin Church was slower in adopting the festival. Rome began adopting it toward the end of the 7th century, brought there by Eastern monks.

4. The Diocese of Angers in France claims that St. Mauritius instituted this feast in Angers, because of an alleged revelation. On the night of 8 September 430, a man heard angels singing in heaven. They were rejoicing because the Virgin was born on that night. Thus, Sept. 8 became the date for celebrating the Birth of Mary. It is 9 months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

5. Strikingly significant is Muslim reverential belief in Miryam or Mary. The birth of Miryam is narrated in the third "sura" (chapter) of the Qur'an with references to her father, Imran, as well as her mother, Hannah. In her old age, Hannah prayed to God to fulfill her desire to have a child and vowed to have the child dedicated to the service of God. This is a direct parallel to the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in the Old Testament.

6. In the apocryphal Gospel of St. James, Hannah prayed that her Child would be protected from Satan ("Shaytan"). A Muslim "hadith" states that the only children born without the "touch of Satan" were Mary and John the Baptist.

7. On 13 August 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11370, a law declaring September 8 a special working holiday for the entire country to commemorate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

8. Today, too, is Notre Dame Day (Our Lady's Day), celebrated with great joy by all the Notre Dame schools, colleges, and Universities in Soccsksargen or Region XII, consisting of the 4 provinces of South Cotabato, (North) Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani. and General Santos City. Notre Dame schools are likewise located in Cotabato City, in the two Maguindanao Provinces and in the provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu. Bangsamoro students form the great majority are Notre Dame schools in Maguindanao Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and likewise in Cotabato City. All sing the same hymn, "Notre Dame, our Mother (i.e., Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary). The hymn ends, "And our hearts forever love thee, Notre Dame."

Some Notes on Today's Readings

9. Micah 5:1-4 -- The prophet announces the coming of the Lord of Israel, who will come forth from Bethlehem of Judah. The Mother of the Messiah is presented as one about to give birth. She 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 a new people.

10. Romans 8:28 - This passage does not speak directly about Mary but about the believer justified by the grace of God and gifted with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He or has been chosen and called from all eternity to share Christ's life and glory. This is true in a priviledged manner for Mary, Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother of God's Son, and intimately united with him in a Divine plan of predestination and grace.

11. Mt. 1:1- 16, 18-23 -- the meaning of the genealogy is profound: to place Jesus, the Messiah, within the dynastic tree of his people. He is a descendant of Abraham and the patriarchs. He is the heir of the prophet. The virginity expressed by the Gospel is the sign of the Divine origin of the Son, and of the absolute newness that now breaks forth in our human history.

12. The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist are the few whose birth and death are commemorated by the Church, because of the singular mission each had in salvation story and because these alone were holy in their very birth.

13. Mary's birth lies at the confluence of the Old and New Covenants. It brings to an end the stage of expectation and promise. It inaugurates the new times of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ. Mary, the Daughter of Zion is the last and most worthy representative of the People of the Old Covenant. At the same time, she is "the hope and dawn of the whole world" (Vat. II, Lumen Gentium, 55).

14. Prayer -- Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace, that the Nativity of the Blessed Mary may bring deeper peace to those for whom the birth of her Son was the dawning of salvation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!