The Virgin Mary on her birthday

Today, September 8, is celebrated among Catholics as the birthday of the Virgin Mary. It is a holiday of obligation and hearing the Holy Mass is a must. One of the Gospel readings during this special day is the Annunciation which Luke (I-26-38) narrates as follows:

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel, being come in, said unto her: hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Who, having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. . . .”

The Scripture also touches on the Mother of God in four other events in the Bible. This portrayal of the events relative to the Virgin Mary is really sketchy, if one looks for biographical information about her. Her childhood, for example, is not treated in the Scripture, nor is her adolescent life. Her family life with Joseph and Jesus is nowhere to be found too.

Nevertheless, by contemplating the few events in the Bible which deals with Mother Mary, one can get to know her intimately as a person and as the Mother of our Savior. In such contemplation these words reverberate in one’s consciousness as the highest declaration of a person’s faith in the Almighty: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word”.

When Mary said these she must have been still wondering about the import of the angel Gabriele’s disclosure that she would conceive and bring forth a son who shall be called Jesus, the son of the Most High. And even after the angelic messenger explained to her how it would come to pass, still she must have felt somewhat unclear about the prophesied event. Yet despite all these, she placed herself completely at the hands of God.

Humility. This must have been the bedrock of her fiat. She must have told herself, “Who am I to go against God’s will? Perhaps, before the angel’s visit, she must have thought of what she would like to become and what she planned to do. Already espoused to Joseph, she must have entertained some ideas of what she would become as housewife and as a believer of the Almighty. These, all these, she set aside at the spur of the moment in obedience to God’s will. What a seasoned timber of faith she had!

In the Visitation, the Virgin Mary’s humility showed itself in her concern for other people and pious disregard of self. This explains why she journeyed to her cousin Elizabeth’s place to help the latter prepare for the birth of a child whom the world later knew as John the Baptist. She was herself expecting a child, but what was foremost in her mind was to help, and help she did. Most certainly, she did the usual household chores – cleaning the house, washing clothes, cooking and such. The Mother of God doing a domestic helper’s job!

And why not? Sanctity can be gained too by sanctifying what you do no matter how ordinary it is. Pope John Paul II said so. St. Josemarie Escriva said it too. And St. Theresa of the Child Jesus became a saint by doing everything in the name of God.

Reflecting on these events we can get to know the Mother of our Savior, perhaps not consummately as a human person, but soulfully as our Mother. This could be the gift we can give to her during her birthday.