"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is associated with the construction and consecration on September 8 in Jerusalem of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the place where the house of the Virgin Mary's parents - Joachim and Anna - was supposed to stand. The Gospels do not mention anything about the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, information on this subject can only be found in the apocrypha, including the "Protoevangelium of James" written in the second century after the birth of Christ. From it we learn that the Angelus told Anna (the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary) that God had heard her prayers. Happy Anna promised the Angel that regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, she would offer the child as a gift to God himself, and the child "will serve Him all the days of its life." The angel also informed Joachim - "Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer." “For behold, your wife Hannah has conceived in her womb.” Anna and Joachim were already elderly people. Mary was probably born between 20 and 16 years before the birth of Christ. She came into the world preserved from sin - "conceived without original sin."

In Poland, the Feast of the Birth of Mary is called the Feast of Our Lady of the Sows. It was after September 8 that plowing and sowing began in the Polish countryside.

In Italy and some Latin countries there is a cult of the Virgin Mary. There are even sanctuaries in Italy where they are venerated as miraculous figurines and images of the Infant Mary in the cradle.

The day of the birth of the Queen of Heaven is one of the most beautiful in history, as it announced to condemned humanity the long-awaited time of liberation.

Commemorating this wonderful event, the Church bursts with enthusiasm:

"Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God - sings the Church in her liturgy - proclaims joy to the whole world" - Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix Virgo, gaudium annuntiavit universo mundo.

“Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God, proclaims joy to the whole world.”

In the Liturgy of the Hours, during the hour of readings, we will find the reflections of St. Andrew, bishop of Crete. Their fragment says:

The birth of the Mother of God is the beginning, and the fulfillment and end is the union of the Word with the body. Here the Virgin comes into the world, takes nourishment and grows to be the Mother of God, the King of Ages.

The Eastern Church, which counts the Nativity of Our Lady among the 12 greatest feasts, prays on the eve of the holiday with the following words:

Let the barren and childless Anna clap her hands for joy today, let all that is earthly shine, let kings rejoice, let priests rejoice in blessing God, let the whole world rejoice, for here is the Queen, the spotless Spouse of the Father, sprung from the root of Jesse. Women will no longer bear children in sorrow, for joy has blossomed and people's lives become full. The gifts are no longer returned to Joachim, because Anna's tears have turned into joy. Rejoice with me, she says, all the chosen ones of Israel, for the Lord has given me the spiritual Palace of God's glory, for common joy and joy, and for the salvation of our souls.

Sources:

https://polskakatolicka.org/pl/artykuly/narodzine-najswietszej-maryi-panny

https://pl.aleteia.org/2020/09/08/napowiedze-maryi-oto-przychodzi-dziewica-krolewska-komnata-i-nowe-mieszkanie-stworcy/

https://m.fronda.pl/a/Dzis-swieto-Narodzina-Najswietszej-Maryi-Panny-3,220213.html

https://www.niedziela.pl/artykul/107858/nd/Narodziny-Maryi

https://www.niedziela.pl/artykul/31884/nd/Narodzine-Najswietszej-Maryi-Panny

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"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)