Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 8, 2022 - Sept. 8 - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Micah 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30 and Matt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23]We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified. [Romans]
The logic is simple. Mary was a human and all humans, even Jesus, have a birthday. Devotion to the Mother of God and her role in the plan of salvation took awhile to take hold in the church and arose, at least in the beginning, in the Eastern Church. The reflection could be contentious but was, in part, resolved at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. when Mary was given the title theotokos, meaning "God-bearer."
Marian theology can be as complex as any relationship can be and Mary has thousands of titles. But a birthday has a way of bringing things "down to earth." I am fond of a book entitled, OUR LADY OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Diane Schoemperlin that has a very down to earth yet respectful approach. In the book, Mary knocks on the door of a rather skeptical author and asks to stay at her home to take a break from her many duties! This is the kind of portrait that could include the celebration of a birthday! The date is arbitrary in choice but so what? It has to be on a date to be a birthdate. And we all know from experience that it's not a good idea to forget Mom's birthday. AMEN