The Nativity of Mary: The morning star heralds the dawn

On this feast day of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christian disciples are called to remember their places in the salvation history over which God has divine providence. Certainly, Joseph provided by adoption the lineage of Judah in confirmation of Jesus' Messiahship, and John the Forerunner could claim the lineage of Levi to authenticate his preaching. But who was Mary? Seemingly a nobody, just like the women who played unexpected roles in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1) were nobodies in others' eyes. But in the Father's eyes these women played unexpectedly critical roles in salvation history, just as Mary's role as Mother of God was as unexpected as could be! Christian disciples are reminded, then, that while the Lord often works with and through expected patterns of human relationship he can just as often utilize the unexpected to achieve the greatest glories. Mary, conceived in justice, provides to disciples, reborn in grace, an example of the openness, humility, and courage necessary to embrace their vocations to bear Christ into the world as she did.

-Given at the St. Thomas More Chapel (UST-Minneapolis) on September 8, 2020, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary