08 Sept 2026 – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
08 Sept 2026 – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Micah 5:1-4
Now you are walled around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel upon the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
Or Romans 8:28-20:
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Psalm 12:6-7. R/Is 61:10
R/ I exult for joy in the Lord
- Lord, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help. R/
- Let me sing to the lord for his goodness to me,
Singing psalms to the name of the Lord, the Most High. R/
Gospel: Mt 1:1-16, 18-23
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
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Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This feast originated in Jerusalem about the sixth century, a development of the feast of the dedication of the church of Saint Anne, built in Jerusalem “where Mary was born.” Observed in Rome in the seventh century, it was later used to determine the date of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Because of her importance in salvation history, Mary’s birthday is celebrated as well as those of her son Jesus the Lord, and of Saint John the Baptist (24 June).
Vatican News: This is one of the most ancient Marian feasts. It is thought that this feast originated in connection with the Feast of the dedication of a church dedicated to Mary, now the Church of St Ann, in Jerusalem in the 6th century. Tradition holds that this is where the house of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Ann, stood and where she would have been born. The Feast began to be celebrated in Rome in the 8th century with Pope Sergius I ( + 8 September 701). It is the third such feast of a “nativity” on the Roman Calendar: the Nativity of Jesus, the Son of God (Christmas); the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (24 June); and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September). Nothing can be found in the Gospels to confirm this feast. They do not even give the names of her parents, which are based on a tradition that stems from the 2nd century Protoevangelium (apocryphal) Gospel of James. The primary event in Mary’s life always remains the Annunciation. The Church looks on her as the Mother of God, but even more so as the disciple who can best offer us an example and model of the Christian life. In her faith, in her obedience to her Son, in the way she made herself a neighbor toward her cousin Elizabeth and to the couple in Cana on their wedding day, Mary is the woman to imitate especially in the trust shown during the darkest moments in the life of Jesus, her Son. Here, and in many other moments, she explains why the people of God know they can find their refuge and comfort, help and protection in her. In Milan, evidence of the celebration of this feast dates back to the 10th century. A cathedral to the “newborn Mary” was consecrated on 20 October 1572 by Saint Charles Borromeo. It was there, on Santa Sofia Street, that a shrine was built that housed a statue of Baby Mary, entrusted to the Sisters of Charity of Saints Bartolomea and Vincenza. Expressing her own personal devotion, a Franciscan nun from Todi, Sister Chiara Isabella Fornari, made several wax statues of the newborn Mary wrapped in swaddling clothes from 1720 to 1730. One of these images was donated in 1739 to the Capuchin Sisters of Blessed Mary of the Angels in Milan. These sisters spread her devotion, which in the Ambrogian tradition found particularly fertile terrain. This institute, along with many other institutions of women religious, was suppressed from 1782 to 1842 due to a decree first promulgated by Emperor Joseph II and then by Napoleon. The statue of Mary was taken by some of the Capuchin sisters to an Augustinian convent, then to the Lateran Canonesses. It was later entrusted to the parish priest, Father Luigi Bosisio, so he could give it to a religious institute that would keep the devotion alive. Finally, the statue ended up in the General House of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere, a religious congregation founded in 1832 by Bartolomea Capitanio. The statue of Baby Mary become so popular there that, even till this day, the sisters of this congregation are popularly known as the Sisters of “Baby Mary”. One story written in a chronicle in 1884 goes like this: “it was 7:00 am on 9 September 1884…. The mother went to the infirmary to visit the sick and, took the holy image from bed to bed to each of the sick sisters so they could kiss it. She reached the postulant, Giulia Macario, who had been gravely ill for a few days. She made an effort to draw near to the Heavenly Baby, and with tender words, asked to be healed. She immediately felt a mysterious tremor throughout her body. ‘I am healed!’ she exclaimed. She got up and began to walk”. Since then, every year on 9 September, the feast of “the day of the miracle” is celebrated. This popular devotion continued to spread due to numerous graces obtained.
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