Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. But not only for family and friend, because we can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of two people joins to God in his creative work. The new child can be a channel of God’s love and peace to the world. ...

Today we are celebrating very important birth for the world – we are celebrating nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mother of God.

The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century.

The Bible does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but they pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. Such a story stresses the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning.

This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God’s love, Mary is the announcement of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.

Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary’s birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.