SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2016 THURSDAY
THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY (FEAST)
About the Feast of the Nativity
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Facts
Ø Date: September 8
Ø Type of Feast: Feast
Ø Readings: Micah 5:1-4A or Romans
8:28-30; Psalm 13:6AB, 6C; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 or Matthew 1:18-23
Ø Prayers: The Hail Mary, Prayer for the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ø Other Names for the Feast: The Birth of the Blessed Virgin
Mary; The Virgin Mary's Birthday
The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the day on which Christians East and West commemorate the birth of Mary,
the Mother of God, was celebrated as early as the sixth century. We know
that from the fact that Saint Romanos the Melodist, an Eastern Christian who
composed many of the hymns used in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
liturgies, composed a hymn for the feast at that time. The Feast of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary spread to Rome in the seventh century, but it
took a couple of more centuries before it was celebrated throughout the West.
Even though we cannot trace the celebration of the
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary back any further than the
sixth century, the source for the story of the birth of the Blessed Virgin
Mary is much older.
The earliest documented version is
found in the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel written about A.D.
150. From the Protoevangelium of James, we learn the names of Mary's parents,
Joachim and Anna, as well as the tradition that the couple was childless until
an angel appeared to Anna and told her that she would conceive. (Many of the
same details appear also in the later apocryphal Gospel of the Nativity of Mary.)
The Reason for the Date
The traditional date of the feast, September 8,
falls exactly nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Perhaps because of its close proximity to the feast of the Assumption of Mary,
the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not celebrated today with the same
solemnity as the Immaculate Conception. It is, nonetheless, a very important
feast, because it prepares the way for the birth of Christ. It is also an
unusual feast, because it celebrates a birthday.
Why Do We Celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary's Birthday?
The feasts of saints are traditionally celebrated
on the day of their death, because that is the date on which they entered into
eternal life. And, indeed, we also celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary's entrance
into Heaven on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption.
There are only three people whose birthdays have traditionally been celebrated by Christians. Jesus Christ, at Christmas; Saint John the Baptist; and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we celebrate all three birthdays for the same reason: All three were born without Original Sin. Christ, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Mary, because she was kept free from the stain of Original Sin by the action of God in His foreknowledge that she would agree to be the mother of Christ; and Saint John, because he was blessed in the womb by the presence of his Savior when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, came to aid her cousin Elizabeth in the final months of Elizabeth's pregnancy (an event we celebrate in the Feast of the Visitation).
There are only three people whose birthdays have traditionally been celebrated by Christians. Jesus Christ, at Christmas; Saint John the Baptist; and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we celebrate all three birthdays for the same reason: All three were born without Original Sin. Christ, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Mary, because she was kept free from the stain of Original Sin by the action of God in His foreknowledge that she would agree to be the mother of Christ; and Saint John, because he was blessed in the womb by the presence of his Savior when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, came to aid her cousin Elizabeth in the final months of Elizabeth's pregnancy (an event we celebrate in the Feast of the Visitation).
First
Reading
Micah
5:1-4 or Romans 8:28-30
1Now you
are walled about with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike
upon the cheek the ruler of Israel. 2But you, O Bethlehem Eph'rathah, who are
little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who
is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
3Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in travail has
brought forth; then the rest of his brethren shall return to the people of
Israel. 4And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in
the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for
now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalms
13:6 R/ WITH DELIGHT, I REJOICE IN
THE LORD.
5But I
have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.R/
Let me
sing of the Lord, "He has been good to me." R/
ALLELUIA Blessed are you, holy Virgin
Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our.
Gospel
Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
1The book
of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the
father of Judah and his brothers, 3and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by
Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4and Ram
the father of Ammin'adab, and Ammin'adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the
father of Salmon, 5and Salmon the father of Bo'az by Rahab, and Bo'az the
father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of
David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri'ah, 7and
Solomon the father of Rehobo'am, and Rehobo'am the father of Abi'jah, and
Abi'jah the father of Asa, 8and Asa the father of Jehosh'aphat, and
Jehosh'aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzzi'ah, 9and Uzzi'ah
the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of
Hezeki'ah, 10and Hezeki'ah the father of Manas'seh, and Manas'seh the father of
Amos, and Amos the father of Josi'ah, 11and Josi'ah the father of Jechoniah and
his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12And after the
deportation to Babylon: Jechoni'ah was the father of She-al'ti-el, and
She-al'ti-el the father of Zerub'babel, 13and Zerub'babel the father of Abi'ud,
and Abi'ud the father of Eli'akim, and Eli'akim the father of Azor, 14and Azor
the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of
Eli'ud, 15and Eli'ud the father of Elea'zar, and Elea'zar the father of
Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16and Jacob the father of Joseph the
husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 18Now the birth
of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed
to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy
Spirit; 19and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to
shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered this, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit; 21she will bear a son, and you shall call his name
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place
to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23"Behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"
(which means, God with us).
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