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birthday, caregivers, celebration, devotion, gratitude, immaculate conception, Jerusalem, model, mothers, nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, Nazareth, Protoevangelium of James, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
I have lots of people whose birthdays I remember and I celebrate them at least in my mind if not with a card, a call, or (these days) with an e-mail. Today Eastern and Western Catholic Churches celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a birthday I always mark with a smile and/or a prayer of gratitude for her role in our life. This morning I wondered who came up with this date as probably no birth certificate exists to prove her arrival and most of what we know from that time is less than an exact science. What I found was that the first written mention of Mary’s birth was in the apocryphal text called the Protoevangelium of James, a document probably in its final written form in the early second century. It speaks of her parents, Joachim – a wealthy member of one of the tribes of Israel – and Anna, but is not clear about where or when she was born. Some accounts speak of Nazareth as her birthplace and some say it was a house near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. The date for commemoration of her birth was logically set, but not until the sixth century, as nine months after the celebratory date of the Immaculate Conception.
Regardless of historical accuracy, the Christian Churches have always celebrated Mary in many ways during the year with great devotion. She is particularly dear to mothers around the world who look to her even on the ordinary days as a model for living – in good times and times of suffering. Perhaps that is a good reminder for us today to give thanks for our own mothers and/or those who have “mothered” us with their care and love – all those who have encouraged our birthing into spiritual maturity. I will think on those women today and mark this day joyfully in celebration of them.
Today is one of the many church feasts honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus. I always remember the date of this one because it is the birthday of my cousin, Ginni – Virginia – named for Mary under the title of the “Blessed Virgin.” When I was young it was celebrated as the feast of the Mary, Queen of Heaven. I find it interesting that when the liturgical calendar was updated some years ago, this feast became instead the commemoration of the Visitation of Mary to her kinswoman, Elizabeth. I wonder if the rationale for the shift was the same as that of Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ in her book entitled Truly Our Sister: Mary in the Communion of Saints. Sister Elizabeth’s thesis is that although Mary is revered for the great honor bestowed on her by God she was a human being who lived a human life with the same joys and sorrows of women of the world in all eras of our history. The book is scholarly, to be sure, but my favorite section is the one that paints a picture of what life was like in Nazareth in the first century, including such images as the setup of the family home and the daily rituals, successfully bringing into focus Mary’s reality. It is a wonderful book, best read perhaps saving the first sections on theological considerations until after one has been treated to the world in which Mary lived and a consideration of all the biblical texts where she is mentioned and/or encountered.
