BORN TO BE GOD'S MOTHER.

September 8, 2023.
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Readings: Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30; Ps 13:6ab, 6c; Mt1:1-16, 18-23.

A Namibian proverb says: “A mother is always a mother.” And an Eritrean proverb adds: “A home without a mother is a desert.”

We commemorate today the birth of her who was to be the Mother of our Lord and Savior, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through her birth and the special grace of God, Mary occupies a unique place in the mystery of salvation. Our Lord entrusted her the ever-greatest mission never entrusted to a creature, to be His Mother.

This feast probably originated after the Council of Ephesus in 431, which established Mary’s right to the title of “Mother of God.” It was first mentioned in a hymn composed by Saint Romanus, an ecclesiastical lyrist of the Greek Church, and adopted by the Roman Church in the 17th century.

Like this feast, all the Marian celebrations and titles take their origin from the mission the Lord entrusted her. We venerate her, pray through her, and offer her all our respects and filial affection because she was chosen to be the Mother of God. Thus, Don Orione could exclaim, “Mater Dei: ‘We have chosen the most beautiful title honoring Our Lady’.” Mary is who she is today because she is the Mother of Christ our Lord, the Mother of God. Therefore, our entrance antiphon: "Let us celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for from her arose the sun of justice, Christ our God."

In the prophecy of Micah, we hear about her who is to give birth. The Lord announces to the City of Bethlehem-Ephrathah that the Savior of Israel will come from him. And his time will be announced when she who is to give birth has borne. This prophetic message is a predestination. God has a plan for his people, and he will choose Mary to be part of this plan and write through her the history of our salvation.

In the optional reading, St. Paul, in his address to the Romans, speaks of that predestination. That those God foreknew, he also predestined. Mary fits well in that predestination. She was chosen beforehand to become the Mother of God.

The Gospel of the Genealogy of Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan and all the prophecies. In the long list of names portraying the ascendency of the Lord, Mary appears as the only woman who gave birth without the action of human beings. It is said about Mary: “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” A quite simple sentence, but deep in meaning. This verse is carefully and specifically worded since Joseph is not Jesus' genetic birth father. Here, we read it stated outright that Mary's pregnancy was a result of the work of the Holy Spirit and not from sleeping with Joseph. Joseph will only be given a legal role, that of giving the name and inserting the Lord in David’s line. We could say, without fear, that in the human aspect, the most important part was played by Mary. She was elected and chosen by God to be his Mother.

God made use of Mary to come into our humanity. Like Mary, we too are urged to let ourselves be of use to God. Mary became the type and model, in the New Covenant sealed in Jesus, of the nuptial union of the Holy Spirit with each of us and with all of the human community, far beyond the context understood in ancient Israel: all individuals and all people will be called to receive the gift and to benefit from it in a new community of believers who received the “power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12) and in baptism have been reborn “of the Spirit” (Jn 3:33)forming the family of God. If in Jesus we have become God’s family and his children, we are given an example of obedience to follow, Mary, one human being totally opened to God and his will. She made God’s will her priority and her main reason for life.

Besides Mary, there is a personage we oftentimes forget to mention, it is Joseph. An incredible privilege was given to this righteous man, who became the adoptive father to the Son of God. He also was chosen by God to take responsibility for the upbringing and training of the Messiah of Israel. He was to bestow legitimacy, legality, and lineage upon the Son that had been conceived in the womb of Mary, his betrothed, by the Holy Spirit. Through Joseph, our humanity contributes in a double title to the divine mystery. If, as we said of Mary, she was chosen and born to be a mother, Joseph, in the hand was appointed to be a father and legal guardian.

Through this celebration, may we strengthen our vision and approach to Mary. God made her an instrument of his mystery of salvation. In that sense, she deserves all our honor, respect, and love. Mary is our shortest way to Jesus because she became the way for him to us. Just as God became man through her, so too, man can return to God through her maternal intercession. “Ad Jesum per Mariam.” Everything and everyone comes to Jesus through His Mother Mary because the Eternal Word became flesh through the Fiat. So, through her, may we learn to say our continual “Yes” to God’s will, even when that will mean opposition to our human and personal projects. Mary did not become the Mother of God because it fit her personal plan. She became so by letting God take over and change her plans into a divine project of love.