Mary has many titles and many feast days in her honor, but today, September 8, we celebrate the birth of Mary and the blessing she was to her parents, Joachim and Anne.
God had a plan for Mary from the moment she was conceived. Mary found favor with God and was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus. From the moment she was born, Mary was free from sin to prepare her for her vocation. The God who is love was with Mary and she came to know His favor, His grace, and His blessings.
Mary was ordinary. She is familiar. She is our generous next-door neighbor. Mary is anyone who seeks to be a disciple and to follow the plan that God has for her. Mary is YOU.
Mary’s vocation was to have Jesus grow within her and to give Him to the world. Our vocation is to have the love of Jesus grow in our hearts and to give that love to others.
When Mary says, “The Mighty One has done great things for me,” she means that those “great things” aren’t over, but are still happening in the present. God came to enlarge the horizons of our life in every direction. He helps us to give due value to the past to better built a future of happiness. Yes, this is only possible if we have authentic experiences of love to help us concretely discern the Lord’s call and respond to it.
May the maiden of Nazareth intercede for all of us and help us to sing of the great works that God is accomplishing in us and through us.
Written by Sister Mary Catherine Conway, D.C.
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