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The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary [Ecumenical] September 8
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ^

Posted on 09/07/2010 6:54:28 PM PDT by Kolokotronis

Synaxarion:

According to the ancient tradition of the Church, the Theotokos was born of barren and aged parents, Joachim and Anna, about the year 16 or 17 before the birth of Christ. Joachim was descended from the royal line of David, of the tribe of Judah. Anna was of the priestly tribe of Levi, a daughter of the priest Matthan and Mary, his wife.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world, for from you dawned the sun of righteousness, Christ our God. Freeing us from the curse, He gave us His blessings. Abolishing death, He granted us eternal life.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

In your holy birth, Immaculate One, Joachim and Anna were rid of the shame of childlessness; Adam and Eve of the corruption of death. And so your people, free of the guilt of their sins, celebrate crying: "The barren one gives birth to the Theotokos, who nourishes our life." Reading c



TOPICS: Catholic; Orthodox Christian; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 09/07/2010 6:54:30 PM PDT by Kolokotronis
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To: Kolokotronis

Beautiful! Thank you.


2 posted on 09/07/2010 6:57:35 PM PDT by OpusatFR
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To: Kolokotronis
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary [Ecumenical] September 8
Birthday of Mary Mother of God--St. Andrew of Crete (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
Feast of the Nativity of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
September 8 - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Catholic Caucus]
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary; September 8
BIRTH OF MARY, September 8th

Orthodox Feast of The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary September 8
September 8, 2004 - Feast of the Birth of Mary
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREAT MOTHER OF GOD, MARY MOST HOLY!
Devotion To The Holy Infant Mary
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

3 posted on 09/07/2010 7:12:13 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Kolokotronis

Pray for us Most Holy Mother of Our G-D!


4 posted on 09/07/2010 7:18:50 PM PDT by KC_Lion (Lord help our Armed Service members that they not become pawns in Hussein's quest to destroy America)
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To: Salvation

Seems I’ve posted this before! :)


5 posted on 09/07/2010 7:18:52 PM PDT by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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To: Kolokotronis

The more the better for wishing our Blessed Mother a Happy Birthday!


6 posted on 09/07/2010 7:24:56 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Kolokotronis

Is September 8 the actual, known birthdate of Mary or is it an observed one like Jesus’ on December 25?


7 posted on 09/07/2010 7:58:34 PM PDT by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)
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To: Kolokotronis

The tradition adds a lot, does it not? Jesus is of the line of David through his mother. Anna is related to Elizabeth who is like her husband Zachary of the house of Levi.So many unanswered biographical questions. Were Joachim and Anna natives of Galilee, or “settlers.” And of Joseph the same questions? One thing is clear to me: Nazareth was a safe place to raise Jesus, being so far from the capital.


8 posted on 09/07/2010 8:09:25 PM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: boatbums

“Is September 8 the actual, known birthdate of Mary or is it an observed one like Jesus’ on December 25?”

September 8 is the traditional date. Throughout the centuries and in different places there have been other dates chosen by The Church, but this date seems to have been the most common and is now the date the feast is celebrated both in the East and the West.


9 posted on 09/08/2010 3:43:19 AM PDT by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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To: Kolokotronis

Thanks for the reminder!


10 posted on 09/08/2010 5:30:32 AM PDT by Tax-chick (I'm on vacation. Posts, if any, will probably be silly. You been warned! Fins up!)
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To: All
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast Day
September 8th

The Birth of the Virgin Mary - Esteban Murillo (Louvre, Paris)

 

Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to all the world.
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice,
Christ our God.

Destroying the curse, He gave blessing;
and damning death, He bestowed on us
life everlasting.

Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Christ our God.

­ from The Divine Office - Matins (Morning Prayer)

The Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least since the 8th Century. The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of only two saints: Saint John the Baptist (June 24), and Mary, Mother of Jesus.

John the Baptist is considered especially sanctified even before his birth. His birth to Elizabeth and Zachariah is foretold in the first chapter of Luke, and it is also recorded (Lk 1:41) that Elizabeth felt the infant John "leap in her womb" when Mary approached her soon after the Annunciation.

The birth of Mary was also miraculous. She was conceived without sin as a special grace because God had selected her to become the mother of His Son (the feast of her Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8). The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, though generally believed throughout the Church for many centuries, was formally declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854.

There is nothing contained in Scripture about the birth of Mary or her parentage, though Joseph's lineage is given in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The names of Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, appear in the apocryphal "Gospel of James", a book dating from the 2nd Century AD, not part of the authentic canon of Scripture. According to this account, Joachim and Anna were also beyond the years of child-bearing, but prayed and fasted that God would grant their desire for a child.

According to one tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth is the same one in which the Annunciation took place. By another tradition, the Annunciation site is beneath the Crusader church of Saint Anna in Jerusalem, under a 3rd Century oratory known as the "Gate of Mary".

In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and birth of her Divine Son, and give honor to the mother of Our Lord and Savior.

 

Readings of the Day

Collect:
Father of mercy,
give your people help and strength from heaven.
The birth of the Virgin Mary's Son
was the dawn of our salvation.
May this celebration of her birthday
bring us closer to lasting peace.
Grant this though our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a
Now you are walled about with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike upon the cheek the ruler of Israel.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, 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. Therefore 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. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

or Romans 8:28-30
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Gospel Reading: Long Form Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 [Short form Matthew 1:18-23]

[The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of She-alti-el, and She-alti-el the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.]

Now 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; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away. But 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; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).

Family Observance of the Feast of the Birth of Mary

Mary's Birthday Cake
All children love birthday cakes -- so today, let's make a birthday cake for the Blessed Virgin Mary. A white layer cake or angel food cake would be appropriate, with white icing and blue icing for trim (white is a symbol of purity; blue symbolizes fidelity, and is a color especially used for Mary). We suggest letting the children help with the decorations, if possible. If you have a small statue of Mary, it could be placed in the center of the cake, which can be surrounded by 10 candles -- one for each "Hail Mary" prayer in a decade of the Rosary. (If you don't have a little statue, you can write Mary's name on the cake in blue icing.)

At the end of the evening meal, each child could take turns lighting the 10 candles as the whole family prays together a "Hail Mary" for each candle, ending with the Lord's Prayer.

If the children are too young to light candles, mother could light the candles, then the adults could pray one Hail Mary at the end, just before the cake is cut. After eating the birthday cake, the prayer below could be said (this prayer, the concluding prayer from "Matins" of the Divine Office, could also be said with the children at bedtime).

Lord God,
the day of our salvation dawned
when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to your Son.
As we celebrate her nativity
grant us your grace and your peace.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

The ANGELUS and the LITANY of the Blessed Virgin Mary

If your family doesn't say the Angelus regularly before the evening meal, this would be a good day to introduce it. (Then say it on all Feasts of Mary and every day during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent.) Click here to see the Angelus that you may print out for your family.

School-aged children could begin to learn the traditional Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A good time to say the litany together might be after homework is finished in the evening, just before bedtime. A litany is an ancient form of prayer read or chanted by a group, with a leader saying the versicles, and the rest of the group saying the responses.

Birthday Books
This would be a good time to get out the children's "baby books", which usually need updating. Go through the birthday book with your child, and do some reminiscing. Each child could make a drawing of their idea of baby Mary and her family, which could be pasted in their own birthday book as a memento. (Don't forget to have them put their name and age on the pictures!)

Other ideas...
If you have a nice statue of Mary, or a "Mary shrine" in your home, it would be appropriate to decorate it with flowers and candles today, in celebration of Mary's birthday. The family can gather around it during the reciting of the litany or other prayers -- and conclude by singing the lovely hymn, Mary the Dawn. (Click on the title here to see both the words and music to this hymn.)

 

Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God, heralded joy to all the world.


11 posted on 09/08/2010 9:05:47 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

“The Disciples were fist called Christian in Antioch” From the Antiochian website ~ Protection of the Theotokos + October 1 http://www.antiochian.org/node/23872


12 posted on 10/01/2010 2:10:26 PM PDT by muawiyah ("GIT OUT THE WAY" The Republicans are coming)
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