Most of us have heard the story of the businessman who had to take a plane but got caught in a traffic jam and missed his flight. He got terribly angry until he heard that the plane had crashed soon after take-off. Something very upsetting turned out to be a blessing.
Just like the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, this turned out to be a curse. After their sin of disobedience they committed at the suggestion of the serpent, Yahweh says to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; she will strike at your head, while you strike at her heel,” (Gen 3:15).
New American Bible has this very beautiful comment. It says, “Later theology saw in this passage more than unending hostility between snakes and men. The serpent was regarded as the devil (Wis. 2:24; John 8:44), whose eventual defeat seems implied in the contrast between head and heel. Because the “Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil,” (1John 3:8). The woman’s offspring then is primarily Jesus Christ.”
Therefore, we can say then, “the woman whose offspring is….Jesus Christ” is obviously Mary. She launched the enmity between Satan and herself by being born sinless. (This part of the reflection is taken from the 365 Days with the Lord 2007).
Today we are celebrating the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For us graduates of Notre Dame Schools in some parts of Mindanao, we call this day as Notre Dame Day and so big celebrations are prepared. We don’t know exactly the date of her birth. Saint Andrew of Crete says that her birth is the “prelude” for the “union of the Word with flesh.”Anyway, the Church is consistent in celebrating her birthday nine months after the celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. We have every reason to rejoice at Mary’s birth and a cause for celebration. It was a holy birth since the Virgin Mary was sanctified from the very first moment of her existence; her birth is the prelude for the imminent coming of our Savior; with her arrival on the human scene, a new age is about to begin. Therefore, she is the great blessing coming from God for humanity.
The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy and the approaching salvation of a lost world. Mary was brought into the world not like other children of Adam, infected with the contagion of sin, but pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most precious graces fitting for the One predestined to be the Mother of the Savior.
People celebrate, often too noisily, the birthdays of the great people of this earth… How then ought we, Christians, to rejoice in that of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Salvation and to present publicly to God the homage of our best praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He has shown in Her, imploring Her mediation with Her Divine Son. Jesus of Nazareth will not reject the supplications of His most holy Mother, through whom He chose to descend from Heaven.
If you can still remember, the motto of the late Pope John Paul II was Totus Tuus, with the letter M, representing Mary. These words, which mean “Completely Yours” is a sign that the Pope was a Marian devotee. Being thoroughly Marian does not in any way detract from being Christ-centered. In fact, the more we get close to Mary, the more we get close to Christ.
Just like Christ, Mary is alive right now. She is in heaven, body and soul. Having a personal relationship with her as Mother of the Church and Mother of each one of us, we should make this day a day of rejoicing. It is also a good day to do what we normally do on birthdays, give gifts. What gifts will we offer the Blessed Mother today?
Today we are celebrating the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For us graduates of Notre Dame Schools in some parts of Mindanao, we call this day as Notre Dame Day and so big celebrations are prepared. We don’t know exactly the date of her birth. Saint Andrew of Crete says that her birth is the “prelude” for the “union of the Word with flesh.”Anyway, the Church is consistent in celebrating her birthday nine months after the celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. We have every reason to rejoice at Mary’s birth and a cause for celebration. It was a holy birth since the Virgin Mary was sanctified from the very first moment of her existence; her birth is the prelude for the imminent coming of our Savior; with her arrival on the human scene, a new age is about to begin. Therefore, she is the great blessing coming from God for humanity.