Dear Parishioners:
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is normally celebrated on September 8 on the Church Calendar. As the date falls on a Sunday this year, we instead celebrate the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. However, since our parish is under the patronage of the Blessed Mother under her title, Our Lady of Mercy, we should celebrate this important Feast somehow.
Perhaps we might pray the Rosary in her honor. The gift of prayer is the best birthday gift we can give. If you don't know them, learn prayers for Mary, such as the Angelus, Litany of Loreto, Memorare, Hail Mary, and Hail Holy Queen. Have a special dessert with your dinner to celebrate Mary's birthday!
Mary's birth has been celebrated since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.
Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, pious tradition offers an account. Anna and Joachim were infertile but prayed for a child. They received the promise of a child who would advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Like many biblical counterparts, such a story stresses God's special presence in Mary's life from the beginning.
Saint Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth: "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer of the Feast Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation and asks for an increase in peace. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love, Mary foreshadows that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.
Birthday parties can bring happiness to the celebrant and family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for more peace in our hearts and the world. The Divine Office has a beautiful prayer for the Feast. Let us offer it in Mary's honor today:
"Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God, heralded joy to all the world. For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God. Destroying the curse, He gave blessing; and damning death, He bestowed on us life everlasting. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice, Christ our God."
On Wednesday, we mark the 23rd Anniversary of the September 11th Attack. Mass on Wednesday is to be offered for the many victims. Please join us as we pray on the anniversary of this tragic day in our nation's history. We pray for all those who died and for ongoing strength and consolation for their grieving loved ones. Pray that God will protect us and our country and fill all the world with the peace that only he can give.
As we mark this sad anniversary, we anticipate Saturday's Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, in 320 in Jerusalem.
Also, it recalls the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion. The Persians destroyed the basilica, named the Martyrium, and the shrine, named the Calvarium, in 614. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which now stands on the site, was built by the Crusaders in 1149.
However, the Feast, more than anything else, is a celebration and commemoration of God's greatest work: his salvific death on the Cross and His Resurrection, through which death was defeated and the doors to Heaven opened. The entrance antiphon for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reminds us why we celebrate this feast:
"We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life, and our resurrection: through him we are saved and made free."
May we solemnly and prayerfully remember those important days! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!