Today, September 8, we celebrate the feast day of the birth of Mary in our Church’s liturgical calendar. The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its liturgical year in September. The date of September 8 helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.
Sacred Scripture does not record an account of Mary’s birth. However, there is a tradition passes down that Mary’s parents St Anne and St Joachim were having problems conceiving a child, but persisted in their prayers to God to ask for the gift of a child from him. God gave them the promise of a child who would advance his plan of salvation for the world. This tradition emphasizes the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning.
St Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work, calling the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. St Augustine writes: “Mary is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”
The opening collect prayer that we hear at Mass today speaks of the birth of Mary’s Son as the dawn of our salvation. This collect prayer asks for an increase of peace. Mary is indeed the queen of peace and her son is the prince of peace. Today, we commemorate the birth of Mary, but next week, on September 15, we commemorate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the day after we celebrate the feast day of the Holy Cross, showing the close connection between Jesus' passion and Mary's sorrows. This also comes a month after we celebrated Mary’s Assumption into heaven on August 15. All these different ways we honor Mary in our devotions and in our special feast days and liturgies show the great love and tenderness we have for our Blessed Mother.
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