“Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.”
– St Andrew of Crete
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Feast: 8th September
Today’s saint is written by Fr Nicholas Schofield in Saints of the Roman Calendar.
Nothing is known for sure about the details of the Blessed Virgin’s birth. Even her parents, traditionally known as St Joachim and St Anne, are not mentioned in Sacred Scripture. Today’s feast originated in the East, probably during the sixth century, and was later introduced to the West. A French legend tells of a man hearing angels singing on the night of 8 September and being told that the Virgin Mary had been born on that night. Her earthly birth is celebrated (like that of St John the Baptist) because it announced to the world the coming of Jesus, the beginning of the New Covenant.
Collect Prayer
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, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady by Venerable Marthe Robin (1902-1981)
Co-founder of the Foyers of Charity, a movement which has more than seventy communities around the world dedicated to giving silent retreats. This prayer is extracted from Marian Prayer Book.
Beloved Mother,
you who know so well the paths of holiness and love,
teach us to lift our minds and our hearts often to God,
and to fix our respectful and loving attention on the Trinity.
And since you walk with us on the path of eternal life,
do not remain a stranger to the weak pilgrims
your charity is ready to welcome.
Turn your merciful face to us.
Draw us into your light.
Flood us with your kindnesses.
Take us into the light and the love.
Always take us further and higher
into the splendours of heaven.
Let nothing ever trouble our peace,
nor turn us from the thought of God.
But let each minute take us further into the depths
of the awesome mystery,
till the day when our souls—
fully receptive to the light of the divine union—
will see all things in eternal love and unity. Amen.
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