Posted on 09/07/2018 10:23:29 PM PDT by Salvation
St. Bernadette Soubirous
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) "Blessed are you among women, |
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3686016/posts?page=3
Saint of the Day — Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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
Feast Day: September 8
Saturday, September 8
Liturgical Color: White
Today is the Feast of the Birth of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary's parents were
from the line of David as well as the
family of Aaron, providing Jesus with a
royal and a priestly heritage.
September 08, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)
Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace, that the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin may bring deeper peace to those for whom the birth of her Son was the dawning of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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Old Calendar: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Adrian, martyr; St. Corbinian, martyr (Hist) ; Other Titles: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary was born to be the mother of the Savior of the world, the spiritual mother of all men, and the holiest of God's creatures. Because of her Son's infinite merits, she was conceived and born immaculate and full of grace. Through her, Queen of heaven and of earth, all grace is given to men. Through her, by the will of the Trinity, the unbelieving receive the gift of faith; the afflicted are tendered the works of mercy; and the members of Christ grow in likeness of their Head. In Mary all human nature is exalted. We rejoice in her birthday, as the Church has done from the earliest times. This is one of the three birthdays in the Church Calendar — the Birth of Jesus (December 25), the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and the Birthday of Mary. All three were born without original sin, although Mary and Jesus were conceived without sin, and St. John was cleansed of original sin while in the womb at the Visitation of Mary.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today also commemorates St. Adrian. The liturgy of Our Lady's Birthday in Rome included a procession from the church of St. Adrian in the forum. St. Adrian was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia, Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia on March 4, 306.
Historically it is the feast of St. Corbinian, a Frank who spent fourteen years as a hermit and then went to Rome, where Pope Gregory II consecrated him bishop and sent him to evangelize Germany.
Birth of Mary
On Our Lady's birthday the Church celebrates the first dawning of redemption with the appearance in the world of the Savior's mother, Mary. The Blessed Virgin occupies a unique place in the history of salvation, and she has the highest mission ever commended to any creature. We rejoice that the Mother of God is our Mother, too. Let us often call upon the Blessed Virgin as "Cause of our joy", one of the most beautiful titles in her litany.
Since September 8 marks the end of summer and beginning of fall, this day has many thanksgiving celebrations and customs attached to it. In the Old Roman Ritual there is a blessing of the summer harvest and fall planting seeds for this day.
The winegrowers in France called this feast "Our Lady of the Grape Harvest". The best grapes are brought to the local church to be blessed and then some bunches are attached to hands of the statue of Mary. A festive meal which includes the new grapes is part of this day.
In the Alps section of Austria this day is "Drive-Down Day" during which the cattle and sheep are led from their summer pastures in the slopes and brought to their winter quarters in the valleys. This was usually a large caravan, with all the finery, decorations, and festivity. In some parts of Austria, milk from this day and all the leftover food are given to the poor in honor of Our Lady’s Nativity.
Excerpted from The Holyday Book by Fr. Francis Weiser, SJ
Patron: All people named Mary, in any form.
Symbols: bruised serpent, sometimes encircling a globe; the lily; fleur de lis; virgin's monogram; pierced heart; crescent moon; sun and moon; starry crown; Mater Dei; rose; flowering almond; gilly flower; snow drop; hawthorn; the star; the balsam; the Ark of the Covenant; the mirror or speculum; apple; myrtle; palm, cypress and olive; closed gate; book of Wisdom; sealed book; rod of Jesse; lily of the valley; house of gold; city of God; vessel of honor; seat of wisdom.
Things to Do:
St. Adrian
While presiding over the torture of a band of Christians, St. Adrian asked them what reward they expected to receive from God. They replied, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him". He was so amazed at their courage that he publicly confessed his faith, though he had not himself yet been baptised. He was then imprisoned himself. He was forbidden visitors, but accounts state that his wife Natalia came to visit him dressed as a boy to ask for his prayers when he entered Heaven.
The next day his limbs were struck off on an anvil, and he was then beheaded, dying in the arms of Natalia. After he was killed, Adrian and several other martyrs were taken to be burned. When the executioners began to burn their bodies, a thunderstorm arose and the furnace was extinguished; lightning killed several of the executioners. Natalia had to be restrained to not throw herself on the fire when Adrian's body was being burned. Christians took Adrian's body and buried him on the outskirts of Byzantium, at Argyropolis.
Natalia went to live there herself, taking one of Adrian's hands which she had recovered. When she herself died, she was buried with the martyrs.
St. Adrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to St. George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France.
Patron: Plague, epilepsy, arms dealers, butchers, guards, soldiers.
Symbols: Depicted armed with an anvil in his hands or at his feet.
Things to Do:
St. Corbinian
Though St. Corbinian was a great Apostle of Bavaria, he was a native of Chatres, in France. He lived alone in a cell close to a chapel for fourteen years. He was sought out for spiritual counsel, and the occurrence of miracles made his holiness further known. Various people desired to form a community with him as their superior, but the disruption in his life caused by the duties that this undertaking required made him decide to go to Rome. A tradition relates that on his way there, after a bear killed his pack horse, he had his servant place his pack on the back of the bear and proceeded with it to the Eternal City. At some point, St. Corbinian was made a bishop, and Pope St. Gregory II sent him to Bavaria. In Freising, he preached with great success. St. Corbinian had been protected by Duke Grimoald, but when the Duke disobeyed Church law and married the widow of his brother without a dispensation, Corbinian condemned the union. The widow, Biltrudis, plotted to have Corbinian killed, but he fled to Meran. Eventually the Duke died in battle. Corbinian was originally buried at a monastery he had founded in Meran, but his body was later moved to Freising.
— Excerpted from 2009 Saints Calendar, Tan Books and Publishers
Patron: Freising, Germany; Archdiocese of Munich, Germany.
Symbols: Bear, bishop making a bear carry his luggage; bishop with a bear and mule.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast)
God is with us. (Matthew 1:23)
We call them the Holy Family. We hold them up as a model to emulate in our own households. “What would Jesus, Mary, and Joseph do?” Today as we celebrate Mary’s birthday, let’s take a look at what makes her family so special.
Mary was born of the line of David into a devout Jewish home. God prepared her to be the bearer of his Son by keeping her free from original sin. But Mary’s claim to fame isn’t her credentials. It’s the fact that she said yes. She welcomed the Son of God into her womb. She gave him a home in this world. She nurtured and nourished him both physically and spiritually. This is why every generation has called her blessed—it’s why we celebrate her today.
Joseph was a righteous man. He was engaged to a remarkable woman. Angels spoke to him in dreams. But that’s not what makes him special. It’s that he took Mary and her unborn child into his life. Despite the rumors surrounding her pregnancy, Joseph built a family with her. Together they welcomed Jesus into their home. Joseph let this child redefine his entire life. And that’s why we honor him as the patron of the universal Church and of the “domestic church” that is the family.
The Holy Family continues to lead the way for us. We can model our lives on Mary and Joseph by inviting Jesus into our homes and families more fully. And as we do, we are also inviting him into the world. We don’t make changes ourselves; it’s his presence that changes our lives. What started with Mary and Joseph is still true: “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23)!
Jesus promises that everyone who invites him into their homes will receive an invitation from him—into his eternal home. He wants to be with us for more than just a single lifetime, and so he invites us, as he did Mary and Joseph, to be a part of his eternal plan. What’s more, he invites us into his own holy family. Who would ever want to turn down such a kind invitation?
“Jesus, thank you for inviting me to join Mary and Joseph as a member of your family!”
Micah 5:1-4
Psalm 13:6
Saint Andrew of Crete (660-740)>br? monk and Bishop
Homily 1 for the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God; PG 97, 805 (trans. Breviary)
Today is the dawn of our salvation
We are no longer to be enslaved by the elemental spirits of the world, as the apostle Paul says, or held in the yoke of slavery to the letter of the law (Col 2:8 ; Rom 7:6). This is the summary of the benefits of Christ for us; this is the unveiling of the mystery; this is nature made new: God is made man, and human nature assumed by God is deified. But so radiant, so glorious a visitation of God to us needed some prelude of joy to introduce to us the great gift of salvation. The present feast is such: the prelude is the birth of the Mother of God, and the concluding act is the union which is destined between the Word and human nature.
A virgin is now born..., and is made ready to be mother of God, the king of all for ever... A double gain will be ours: we shall be led to the truth and we shall be led away from a life of slavery to the letter of the law. How will this be? Clearly, inasmuch as the shadow yields to the presence of the light, and grace introduces freedom in place of the letter. The present feast stands on the border between these: it joins us to the truth instead of signs and figures, and it brings in the new in place of the old.
Let the whole creation therefore sing praise and dance and unite to celebrate the glories of this day. Today let there be one common feast of those in heaven and those on earth. Let everything that is, in the world and above the world, join together in rejoicing. For today a shrine is built for the Creator of the universe. The creature is newly made ready as a divine dwelling for the Creator.
Daily Marriage Tip for September 8, 2018:
Happy birthday, Mary! Honor Our Lady in your home today: pray the Rosary together, sing a Marian hymn, or read a book together about Mary.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
Introductory Prayer: Lord I thank you for the gift of faith. I believe only because so many others believed before me – and often at what great price! As I begin this prayer I review my genealogy of faith remembering all those who have passed on the faith to me. I strive to be a link in the faith chain for many other souls.
Petition: Dear Jesus, help me to be humble like the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to remember today all the good things you have given me and my family. Let me see your work and your providence. I know that you come to my aid in hundreds of different ways. Help me to become more like Mary, and to ponder over all these things in my heart.
Resolution: I will look at my vocation with faith and new hope, confident that God is comfortable in inserting himself in the most common of circumstances. I will try to see his hand in at least one event of my day today.
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