“Among Catholics, the celebration of Mary’s birth is seen as a hopeful event, a new beginning for humanity and a reminder of God’s creative work in the world”
THIS year, the Legion of Mary will be 104 years old, and Marian devotees will once more celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary on Sept. 8.
Mary, a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus, is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles like virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto
According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. Before Mary’s conception, Anne had been barren and was far advanced in years. Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old.
Did Jesus ever refer to Mary as mother?
Theologians say in all four gospels, Jesus never refers to Mary as mother; rather he uses the word woman. They say the reason is because Jesus is using His omniscient foresight – a form of perfect, divine knowledge of all that is to come – and seeing the system of Mariolatry that would be established.
The Sept. 8 date is significant as the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrating her birth, which marks a joyful beginning and a consequential dawning of salvation, as Mary was looked up to as the mother of Jesus, believed by Catholics as the Savior of the world.
The date is fixed nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), serving a liturgical purpose to recall the mysteries associated with Mary’s unique role in salvation history.
Among Catholics, the celebration of Mary’s birth is seen as a hopeful event, a new beginning for humanity and a reminder of God’s creative work in the world.
Mary holds a unique place in salvation history as the mother of Jesus, which makes her birth, according to Catholic theologians, a cause for great happiness for the world.
These theologians and devotees of the faith say her birth is considered the first “dawning of redemption,” as it foreshadowed and paved the way for the birth of her Son, Jesus.
The Sept. 8 date is a deliberate liturgical choice, serving as a reminder of the nine-month period between Mary’s Immaculate Conception and her birth.
According to Catholic religionists, Mary’s birth is regarded as the “dawning of redemption” because her appearance in the world, preserved from sin, heralded the arrival of Jesus Christ, the “Light of the World.”
As the mother of the Savior, Mary was thought of as the first and most significant sign that God’s promise of salvation was about to be fulfilled, “just as the dawn precedes the sun.”
Among devotees Mary’s birth offered “a new light of purity and grace to humanity, a resplendent prelude to the overwhelming salvation that would come with Christ’s birth.”
Devotees also say he Feast of the Nativity serves as a mnemonic for Catholics to live their own lives fruitfully, inspired by the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As Sept. 8 approaches many are thinking of a possible theme this year, which could, in their appreciation, “A Dawn of Hope” offering the argument the birth signifies the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation.
Just as Jesus’ birth brought salvation, Mary’s birth is seen as the first step toward that salvation, making her a symbol of hope, grace, and a new beginning for humanity.
