Marian devotion | Catholic Faith | Nativity of Mary
Last year, the staff at the Father Peyton Center organized and celebrated a small and beautiful surprise birthday party for me. We were all together in the same space. It was a wonderful time—there was cake, donuts, and drinks; everyone was relaxing and laughing. In addition, I got all sorts of messages from around the world.
When we celebrate birthdays, we offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the gift of the life of the person whose birthday we celebrate. We tell God that we don't take the gift of that person's life lightly, that we are grateful for it, and that we deeply value it.
Today, in celebrating the Nativity of Our Blessed Mother, we are lifting up a Prayer of Thanksgiving to God. We are telling God how grateful we are for the gift of this blessed woman who birthed us at Calvary. Our gaze is turned towards God in gratitude. We live in a time when society is somewhat becoming desensitized to the value and sanctity of human life. No matter what the circumstances, God has a purpose for every human life.
Celebrating the Nativity of Our Blessed Mother reminds us of the value and the sanctity of all human life. Whether they live under the bridge, are tiny like a mere dot, or are poor, all have a God-given value and purpose.
Celebrating birthdays re-affirms that message of sanctity and value for all life.
In celebrating a person's birth, we also tell that person that we honor you and feel blessed to have you as part of our life. Given all the blessings that flowed to humanity through Our Blessed Mother, we have an even bigger reason to celebrate her life. We honor her for the birth of our Savior, Jesus. We honor her because of her constant and powerful intercession; we celebrate her because of her excellent modeling of faithfulness, humility, discipleship, care, and tenderness for us. On this day that we honor her birth, we tell her what a gift she is to us.
On this Nativity of Our Blessed Mother, may we be reminded that all life is a gift. May God teach us how to value it. May our families re-learn the value of honoring and celebrating it.