Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 1:18-23)
Try to find why Mary’s
birth is celebrated on September 8 and you’re likely to get a circular
answer. Some information websites say
that her birth is celebrated on this day because her Immaculate Conception is
celebrated nine months earlier on December 8.
But ask why her conception is placed in December and you may be told
that the date coordinates with her birth celebrated in September.
The Marianists at
Dayton University, however, give a plausible reason for a September
celebration. They say that the feast was
probably placed on September 8, near the opening of the civil year in
Constantinople, the seat of the Roman Empire for much of the first
millennium. Mary’s birth, representing
in a sense the beginning of the work of world’s salvation, thus parallels the
beginning of the work of running an empire.
Connecting Mary’s
birthday to the work of salvation underscores not only her impact on Jesus but
also her ongoing effect in the life of the Church. Certainly Mary was part of Jesus’ initial
formation as a human. More than Joseph,
her spouse, she seems to have followed Jesus in his ministry. She was present during his work in Galilee in
all four gospels and with him when he died in John’s gospel. Perhaps her efficacy is attested more by the
favorable results of appeals to her through the centuries. Mary was close to Jesus throughout his life,
and she is present today helping us to trust in him.
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