Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“From you shall come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel…. he shall be peace.”
Today is one of those days when the readings can be a little confusing because they don’t quite line up with what the Feast actually celebrates.
The first reading is the prophecy from Micah – foretelling the birth of the Messiah. Then the Gospel describes “how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.” But the Feast day celebrates Mary’s birth. Exactly 9 months after her Immaculate Conception (NOT Jesus’). The Christian scriptures don’t describe the birth of Mary, so scriptures are chosen that best fit. It is surprising to Christians that it is in the apocryphal Gospel of James – and more surprising, in the Quran, the sacred scripture of Islam – where the circumstances of Mary’s birth are found. There, the woman we know as Anna (called Hannah in the Islamic tradition) prays intently for a child that she can dedicate to God’s service. And Mary is born. In the Quran, Hannah says “God knows best”. In both James and the Quran, Mary is a cherished, sought after daughter who is dedicated to God (after the fashion of the prophet Samuel). God does know best – as it is from Mary that the Messiah comes forth. We celebrate her today. And we recognize the invitation from God that we too may be instruments of bringing Jesus into our own day and time, which is so in heed of His peace!
—Sr. Laura M. Leming, FMI, PhD.