Sunday, August 27, 2017

September 8: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary



There are only three births that are celebrated in the liturgical year: Jesus’ on December 25, John the Baptist on June 24, and Mary’s on September 8, which is nine months after the celebration of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. Joy is the immediate expression we have upon the birth of any baby, but the joy of the birth of the Blessed Virgin is even more delightful. We can’t honor Mary enough for her life, her “yes” to the angel Gabriel, her faithfulness to her Son, her discipleship as the first follower of Jesus. She is the Mother of God and it is fitting that we celebrate her birthday.

Every day is somebody’s birthday! The miracle of birth is truly God’s way of giving us hope for the future. Everyone is a child of God, even those who don’t get to celebrate a birthday. According to numberofabortions.com there have been over 59 million surgical abortions in America since Roe v. Wade in 1973. According to Pharmacists for Life (pfli.org)there have been approximately 250 million babies aborted chemically since 1973 in the U.S. Plus, every embryo, that is, every human being, that has been experimented upon in the name of science and future cures for current ills has been aborted.

Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the unborn. The image left on the tilma of St. Juan Diego shows her as a pregnant woman, pregnant with the unborn Son of God. We pray that all unborn human beings be allowed to be born; that they may be accepted lovingly as gifts from God no matter the circumstances of their conceptions. That may be an appropriate birthday wish for our mother Mary. Happy birthday Mom.

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