Homily (Reflection) for the Feast of the Birthday of
the Blessed Virgin Mary (8th September, 2016) on the Gospel and the
Feast
Mic 5:1-4 or
Rom 8:28-30;
Ps 12:6-7. (R. Is 61:10);
Matt 1:1-16.18-23
or Matt 1: 18-23.
The Nativity/Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary
celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The earliest known account of
Mary's birth is found in the Protoevangelium
of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century, with her
parents known as Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. Saint John the Baptist and the
Blessed Virgin Mary are the two saints whose birthdays are commemorated because
of the singular mission each had in the salvation history.[1]
This feast started about the sixth century and is venerated in Roman Catholic
Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Some Oriental Orthodox Churches, and Anglican
Communion.[2]
Topic: Celebrating birthdays.
Today’s gospel is on the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matt 1:1-16) and also how His birth
took place, (Matt 1:18-23). Mary was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit when she had been engaged to Saint Joseph,
but before they lived together. Joseph had decided to dismiss her quietly to
save her public disgrace when the angel of the Lord told him not to do so and cleared
his doubts. All these fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah, “Look, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel” (cf. Is 7:14).
During birthdays, one of the prayers for the celebrants is for
many more years. The Psalmist hints, “Which of you desires life, and covet many
days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking
deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Ps 34:12-14).
Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man, if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his
life?” (Matt 16:26) The book of Proverbs
reads, “The wise man's path leads upward to life, that he may avoid Sheol
beneath” (Prov 15:24; cf. Pr 14:27. 19:23).
And whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honour, cf. Prov 21:21.
As we noted in the background, we celebrate Blessed Virgin Mary’s
birthday today because of the role she played in our salvation history. It is
important to consider every moment of our lives what we have offered to the
world, cf. Eccl 6:3. It is the outcome
that makes one’s life either worth celebrating or regretting, cf. Eccl 7:1. Our lives are like mist that
appears for a little time and then vanishes, cf. Jas 4:14; Ps 39:4. We conclude with Saint Paul, “godliness is of
value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the
life to come” (1Tim 4:8). Let us therefore
live lives worth celebrating, cf. Eph
4:1.
Bible Reading: Prov
19:1-29.
Thought for today: Live life worth celebrating.
Let us pray: May God help us live lives good enough
to be celebrated – Amen.
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with others if you consider it worthy.
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