I wager that if I asked my fellow Catholics when we celebrate the birthday of our mother Mary, most would either hesitate or blank out altogether. Not to keep you all in suspense, it's Sept. 8. Ever since I was very young, September was a very special month.
And why not? My sister Rosemary, two years older than I, was born Sept. 2, my mother's birthday was Sept. 17 and mine Sept. 18. More so, our mother had been given the very special name of Maria Nunciato (Mary/Annunciation) at her baptism, and she remained ever devoted to Mary, a spiritual gift she passed on to her children.
Most Catholics have no problem remembering Mary's assumption into heaven, celebrated in August. But I think we should give equal time to her entry into earth. So I propose celebrating Mary's September birthday by learning more about her.
I have just read an astoundingly detailed book, "The Catholic Companion to Mary" (ACTA Publications), written by Notre Dame Sister Mary Kathleen Glavich. Sister Mary Kathleen calls many of her surprising stories "trivial tidbits," but I call them "gentle gems."
She writes: "A charming legend highlights Mary's heart for sinners. One day Jesus asked St. Peter, the gatekeeper of heaven, why certain sinners were walking around paradise when he had banned them. Peter replied, 'I shut the door to keep them out, but Mary opened the windows.'"
A good writer gets the reader to consider truths he or she may not have thought about before. Sister Mary Kathleen is very good at this. "In Mary's womb, Jesus drew his flesh and blood, his human life from her," she writes. "Because Catholics believe that no man shared in Jesus' conception, all of his DNA, all of his human traits, must have been derived from Mary alone.
"In effect, Jesus was more like his mother than any son has ever been. ... What the incarnation means more than anything else is that there is no longer a gulf between God and humankind. God is one of us and knows what it is like to be a mortal being. ... We have Mary to thank for allowing that to happen."
Another story in this book "tells of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Franciscan priest executed by the Nazis during World War II when he voluntarily took the place of a man who had a family," Sister Mary Kathleen writes. "According to St. Maximilian's mother, at the age of 10 he had a vision of Mary offering him two crowns, the white crown of purity and the red crown of martyrdom. Mary asked which one he wanted, and he answered, 'Both.'"
Mary is the mother for everybody, including Muslims. "Muslims, who regard Jesus as a great prophet, also highly esteem his mother Mary as a pure and holy saint. They, too, call her Our Lady, and the Quran upholds the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth. Mary is the only woman named in the Quran. It has 42 verses about her, more than the Bible. ...
"Perhaps Mary someday might provide a bridge for dialogue between Muslims and Christians," Sister Mary Kathleen comments. Only Mary and John the Baptist are celebrated on their birthdays. "The feasts of other saints are celebrated on their day of death, their birth into heaven," the author informs us.
On Sept. 8, let's not forget to say "Happy Birthday!" to our loving mother in heaven. Antoinette Bosco is an author and columnist with Catholic News Service. |