Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Rev. Fr. Erl Dylan Tabaco, SSC

The waiting is over! God fulfilled his promise and Mary´s active participation marks the beginning of a new age. An age where humanity is reconciled with God proclaiming the good news of our salvation. In the past, God has spoken to the patriarchs, prophets, kings, and judges but in the fullness of time, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Centuries have passed; long lists of generations came, but humans still fail to love God the way we ought to do. Despite the immensity of God´s love for all of us, we deliberately reject his love by giving in to our inordinate selfish desires. Humans continuously walked in the darkness of sin and evil and this broke the heart of God because He created us to share his goodness and divine life for each one of us. From the very beginning, his intention for all of us is to be with him, but the ugliness of sin cut the connection that led us astray. Even then with the overwhelming presence of evil that enslaves us, God never gives up on us. His great love breaks the chain of the power of sin and evil through Mary’s YES as being chosen to be the mother of our savior. Her total obedience to the Will of God changed the entire course of human history. She did not only listen to the voice of God, she pondered the word and lived it out in her whole life. She remained open to do the will of God in the midst of an uncertain future. It is her humble submission that makes God´s greatness magnifies in her life.

Today, we celebrate the birth of our Blessed Mother whose whole life is totally in accordance with the Will of God. Her YES marks the dawn of human’s perfect response to God’s outpouring grace. Finally, we have Mary which points us to her Son, the only mediator to the Father. Thanks to God that we have a mother who always looks after all her children who are still on their pilgrimage.

We Catholics have great devotions to Mary. We love her so much. We even have many names that are associated with Mary. We have full lists of it. At times we are confused if the Lady of Lourdes is the same as the Lady who appeared in Fatima. Despite this confusion of the many names that she has, one thing for sure, Mary remained a humble servant of the Lord who only knows how to love and make that love active in her life. We may know Mary at the head level through various books that we read and many things that we heard from her, but how does our knowledge affect our faith. Do our devotions to her reflect the kind of life that we live as she had lived? Have we ever pondered Mary’s life? Have we ever entered into the scenes of her life? Does our faith in her mirrors how we live our lives? Perhaps, these are good points that we need to reflect as we celebrate her birthday today. Our celebration will only be meaningful once we enter into her story, discover her traits and try our best to imitate her as how she conforms her life to God’s divine will.

In the Annunciation account which is narrated in today’s Gospel, we visualize how Mary enters into the picture of God’s unfolding revelation of His love. She has been engaged to Joseph but before they lived together, she had found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Mary lived in a specific context and time. Like any of us, she has her own dreams and plans for her life. And living in a society there must be an expectation from her. But all those things changed when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and revealed God’s plan for her. She has now a vital role to play in making God’s plan of salvation concrete and active in our lives. Reflecting the significance of the nativity of our Blessed Mother, I would like to highlight 4 points that represent the 4 stages of Mary’s life in connection to her mission of being the mother of Jesus and all of us believers.

First, Mary’s FIAT (YES to GOD) paved the way to our salvation. It is her YES that breaks the chain of sin and evil. Her YES does not mean that Mary understands everything that was revealed to her by Angel Gabriel in the annunciation scene. She had expressed her confusion and tried to make sense of what the message could mean. She did not fully understand but she knew that the invitation was coming from the Lord. Her heart was undivided. Her will coincides with what God has desired for her and the entire human race. She surrendered her entire life to God. She surrendered what she has a plan for her life. What a great faith that she has when she responded to the call by saying, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Your Word.” Mary’s heart became the entry point to which humanity will have a full access of God’s superabundant grace. Jesus Christ who is grace incarnate became the first fruit of God’s fidelity to all of us through Mary’s active participation.

Second, Mary’s Magnificat. She began her journey, a life full of grace as she brought her faith to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is a woman of faith and this faith always brings goodness to someone. A faith that fills her heart with joy which made her thinks of her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant then. Her song praise, “My soul proclaims the goodness of the Lord, MY Spirit rejoices in God my savior, expressed her fidelity to her call. Instead of staying in her comfort zone, she managed to visit in haste in proclaiming the good news of our salvation. She began her journey as a true disciple of her Son. DISCIPLESHIP is her concrete response to the immense love of God. As she traversed in haste the hills of Judea, Mary expressed her gratitude to God for everything that she received. An extraordinary event in human history that made heaven and earth kissed in the womb of Mary proclaiming God’s greatness all throughout generation.

Third, Mary’s Conservabat. Mary pondered everything in her heart. Her Yes was not a one-time event. It was a Yes that as we know was not easy to live. It was a Yes that bestowed no privileges and distinction. Simeon told her in his prophecy during the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple that a sword will pierce her heart, and indeed it did. Her whole life is her authentic witness to her vocation to love nurtured by her intimate relationship with her son.

Last, Mary’s Sufrat. Her maternal love expressed her fidelity to her mission even at the foot of the cross. Now, she understands what her YES was all about. It broke her heart but deepen her faith. We find in her a true Mother, one who helps us to keep faith and hope alive in the midst of difficult and painful situations in life. We look at her at the foot of the cross and we feel understood and heard. As she grieved for the death of her Son, we have now a mother who understands everything that we go through in life. We can sit down to pray with her and use common language in the face of the countless situations in her own life. We can tell her what is happening in our lives because she understands. She will point us to Jesus the great healer and consoler. Mary is always with us. Mary is a mother par excellence.

As we celebrate her nativity let us always remember that Mary is a woman of faith, the model of a true disciple. She is not only the mother of Jesus but she is also the mother of the Church. Her whole life testifies that God does not deceive us or abandon us even in times when we feel God’s absence in the difficulties and sufferings that we go through. May Mary’s Fiat, Magnificat, Conservabat, and Sufrat be ours so that we will have a fruitful life that God wants from us. May her birthday renew us to become active participants of the mission that God has entrusted to us. As we offer candles, flowers, birthday greetings and words of gratitude to our Blessed Mother, we should never forget that the best gift that we can give to her is our YES to God same as she did. Mother Mary, pray for us. Amen!

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