A DOUBLE GRACE

FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY

What is the most widely sung song in the English-speaking world? The Guinness Book of World Record lists it as the “Happy Birthday Song.” And the reason for this is simply because we want to celebrate, to mark birthdays . . . well, except perhaps for those who are afraid of getting old. There are many reasons why we celebrate birthdays. For some, they simply want to receive a lot of gifts. Others, especially those who are nearing their 60^th year, mark their birthdays in order to finally avail of the 20% senior citizen discount. While others simply want to thank the Lord for giving them another healthy and blessed year.

But why do we celebrate our birthdays? It is a pagan belief that on a person’s birthday, evil spirits would visit. And so people gather around the person to ward off the evil spirits. Perhaps this is the origin of birthday parties.

Today, we are all in party mode to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we ask ourselves the same question: Why do we celebrate her birthday? Why do we remember her birthday even if it is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels? We take our answer from St. Andrew who in one of his discourses wrote, “Justly, then, do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are LED TOWARD THE TRUTH, and we are LED AWAY FROM OUR CONDITION OF SLAVERY.”

We celebrate her nativity because we receive a DOUBLE GRACE. First, we are led towards the truth. And what is this truth? Our Gospel, quoting Isaiah, said, “Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Today, we are led to the truth that God is with us! And this God does not simply join us in moments of joy and jubilation. Pope Francis, in his homily in Tacloban, said that “we have a Lord who cries with us and walks with us in the most difficult moments of life.” My dear friends, if at this very moment you are down, depressed, and alone, rejoice! For with the birth of Mary, God’s becoming man, God’s “dwelling with us,” was made possible. You and I are never alone.

The second grace: We are led away from our condition of slavery. The angel informed Joseph that Jesus will save his people from their sins. And we have to remember that this moving away from the condition of slavery took place at the Cross. Again Pope Francis reminds us that the “victory of God’s love for man is revealed precisely in the apparent failure of the Cross.” My dear friends, we too are carrying our own heavy crosses. But we are challenged to unite these crosses to the cross of Christ so that we too can experience in our lives the victory of God’s love that sets us free from all forms of slavery. But God accomplishes more than just setting us free; God re-creates us, and Mary, the glorious Immaculate ever-Virgin Mother of God, is the exemplar of that new creation that we are called to be.

Indeed, we celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday today not because of her own self but because of her role in the story of salvation. Her birth is the dawn of our salvation, that double grace, wherein we were led to the truth and we were led away from our condition of slavery. Mama Mary’s birthday is not just a warding off of evil spirits. Rather, her birthday marks the beginning of God’s new creation: the victory of Truth over deceit and the triumph of love over indifference. May Mama Mary, who is also Mediatrix of all Grace, obtain for us this double grace. Amen.