Tuesday Conference

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Theology e-weekly

To make humanity united in worshipping God

History of the Liturgical

Celebration of Mary's Birth

Our Heavenly Patron

Dear Father,
Tuesday Conference is an attempt to reach Catholic
doctrines, new trends in theology, biblical studies and Church
history to priests and seminarians who tirelessly do service to the
Mother Church. In a brief article such as this we can only provide a
thumbnail sketch of various theological issues.
The 14th issue of Tuesday Conference reaches you The
History of the Liturgical Celebration of Mary's Birth. In
this issue we limit our area of discussion primarily to the origin and
development of the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. We wish that
all your joys and dreams may come true by the intercession of Our
Lady.

"Let us celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary; let

us adore Her Son, Christ Our Lord." Such is the
invitation addressed to us today by the Church.

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Although Mary's birth was celebrated on various dates

throughout the centuries, Sept. 8 predominated.

In the East,

The History of the Liturgical Celebration of

Mary's Birth

Mary's
birthday is
celebrated
as one of the
twelve great
liturgies.
The title for

The origin of this Feast is sought in Palestine. The

Churches of Constantinople in the East and Rome in the West
celebrate liturgies in honour of Mary's birth from 6th & 7th
centuries on. The origin of the liturgy is traced to the
consecration of the church in Jerusalem in the sixth century that
has been traditionally known as St. Ann's Basilica. By the 7th
century the liturgy was also celebrated in Rome where it had
been introduced by monks from the East.

the liturgy
in the East:
"The Birth
of Our
Exalted
Queen, the
Birthgiver
of God and
Ever-Virgin
Mary."

From there, it spread throughout the West, and by 1245, in

the 3rd session of the Council of Lyon Pope Innocent IV
established for the whole Church the Octave of the Nativity of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was the accomplishment of a vow
made by him and the other Cardinals during the Church's
widowhood, which through the intrigues of the crafty Emperor,
lasted 19 months after the death of Pope Celestine IV, and which
was brought to a close by the election of Sinibaldo Fieschi, under
the name of Innocent IV.

The date was chosen as the eighth day (an octave) after the
former Byzantine New Year. The feast celebrating Mary's
Immaculate Conception, December 8, (a liturgy instituted later)
was set to correspond to nine months before Mary's birth.

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Today is
the day on
which, by
a
stupendous

project, a
creature
becomes
the
preferred
dwelling
of the
Creator.

In 1377, the great Pope Gregory XI, who broke the chains of
captivity in Avignon, wished to add a vigil to the solemnity of Our
Lady's birthday. But the intentions of the holy Pope were carried
out for only a short time during the years of trouble that followed
his death.
From the 15th century on, the celebration assumed notable
importance, becoming a Solemnity with a major Octave and
preceded by a Vigil calling for a fast. During the reform of St. Pius
X, the octave was simplified, and in 1955 Pius XII abolished it.
The liturgy received the rank of feast.
Since September 8 marks
the end of summer and
beginning of fall, this day has
many thanksgiving celebrations
and customs attached to it. In
the Old Roman Ritual there is a
blessing of the summer harvest
and fall planting seeds for this
day.

At the Heart of Salvation

On Our Lady's birthday the Church celebrates the first
dawning of redemption with the appearance in the world of the
Savior's mother, Mary. The Blessed Virgin occupies a unique
place in the history of salvation, and she has the highest
mission ever commended to any creature.
As we know, the Gospels have not transmitted to us
anything about the birth of the Virgin Mary. Their attention is
completely centered on the mystery of Christ and His salvific
mission.

The birth of Mary is recounted by the Prot0evangelium of James

(5:2), an apocryphal writing from the end of the 2nd century.
Subsequent tradition is based on this account.

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Mary's birth lies at the confluence of the two Testaments--bringing

to an end the stage of expectation and the promises and
inaugurating the new times of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.

The first aspect of her faith is this:

Mary's faith unties the knot of sin (cf.
Lumen Gentium, 56). The Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council took up a phrase of
Saint Irenaeus, who states that "the knot of
Eve's disobedience was untied by the
obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve
bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary
loosened by her faith" (Adversus Haereses,
III, 22, 4).

Birth of Mary Where???

2nd tradition placed the

1st tradition, the

birth of our Blessed Lady in

Sephoris, about three miles
north of Bethlehem.

event has been

placed in
Bethlehem.

3rd tradition, the most

probable one, is that Mary
was born in Jerusalem.

This is one of the

It rests upon the testimony

of St. Sophronius, St. John
Damascene, and upon evidence
of recent finds in the Probatica.

3 birthdays in the Church Calendar the

Birth of Jesus (December 25), the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and
the Birthday of Mary (September 8). It is not the individual greatness of these
saints that the Church celebrates, but their role in salvation history, a role
directly connected to the Redeemer's own coming into the world.

Page - 05

This is, in fact, the day on which the Creator

of the world constructed His temple.

The present
feast forms a
link between
the New and
the Old
Testament.
It shows that
Truth
succeeds
symbols and
figures and
that the New
Covenant
replaces the
Old.

Christological Orientations
The Biblical readings of the Feast have a clear Christologicalsalvific orientation that forms the backdrop for contemplating
the figure of Mary.
Micah 5:1-4a. The Prophet announces the coming of the Lord
of Israel. The Mother of the Messiah will give life to the prince of
the house of David who will bring justice and peace. She will
work with the Messiah to bring forth a new people.
Romans 8:28-30. This passage does not speak directly about
Mary but about the believer justified by the grace of Christ and
gifted with the indwelling of the Spirit. This is true in a privileged
manner for Mary, Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother
of God's Son, and intimately united with Him in a Divine plan of
predestination and grace.
Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23. The meaning of this genealogy is
theologically profound: to place Jesus, the Messiah Lord, within
the dynastic tree of His people. The ring that united Christ with
His people is Mary, Daughter of Zion and Mother of the Lord.

Added to theme of joy on

the Marian Feast is that
of light because with
Mary's birth the
darkness is dispersed
and there rises in the
world the dawn that
announces the Sun of
Justice, Christ the Lord.

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These accounts outline some of the Church's

traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.
The
Protoevangelium
of
James, which was written in the
early second century, describes
Mary's father Joachim as a wealthy
member of one of the Twelve Tribes
of Israel. Joachim and Anne was
deeply
grieved
by
their
childlessness.

He called to mind Abraham,

the writing says, that in the last day
God gave him a son Isaac. Joachim
and
Anne began
to
devote
extensively to prayer and fasting,
wondering whether their inability to
conceive a child might signify God's
displeasure with them.

After Mary's birth, Anne

made a sanctuary in the infant
girl's room, and allowed nothing
unclean on account of the special
holiness of the child. When she was
one year old, her father made a great
feast, and invited the priests, and
the scribes of Israel.
And Joachim brought the
child to the priests, the account
continues, and they blessed her, 'O
God of our fathers, bless this child,
and give her an everlasting name to
be named in all generations'.

As it turned out, the couple

were to be blessed even more
abundantly than Abraham and
Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne
and prophesied that all generations
would honor their future child: The
Lord has heard your prayer, and you
shall conceive, and shall bring forth,
and your seed shall be spoken of in
all the world.

Byzantine Daily Worship

gives us the prayer:
Come, all you faithful, let us hasten
to the Virgin: for long before her
conception in the womb The one
who is the treasury of virginity, the
flowering Rod of Aaron, the object of
the prophecies... is born today and
the world is renewed in her. Through
her birth, she floods the church with
her splendor.

Early Saints...

Page - 07

St. Augustine said the birth of the B. V. Mary as an event of cosmic and
historic significance, She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the
precious lily of the valley. About Church's understanding of sin and human nature,
he affirmed that through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is
changed."
Andrew of Crete calls this day a solemnity of entrance, a feast of
beginning, whose end is the union of the Word with our flesh.
"All ye nations, come hither," cries St. John Damascene; "come every race and
tongue, every age and every dignity, let us joyfully celebrate the birthday of the
world's gladness"
"It is the beginning of salvation, the origin of every feast,"
says St. Peter Damian, "for behold! The Mother of the Bridegroom
is born. With good reason does the whole world rejoice today.
(Sermon 45, on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary).
"The midst of the earth," says St. Bernard of Clairvaux,
"admirably represents Mary. Mary is the center of the universe,
the ark of God, the cause of creation, the focus of ages.

Mother
Mary
Pray
for us...

Readers Desk
The article is very informative (TC 8). It
has become more impressive and useful as it
looks in to the current and relevant problem.
Dealing the problem from different perspectives
is highly appreciated. In the involvement part of
the church, lobbying also can be considered as
it
means promoting people in to various
strategic and diplomatic levels where they will
work in favor of our interests.
Benny Alavelil MCBS (Mission Councilor)
It is true that we have to stop capital punishment
(TC 11). Then what to do with them? Who will
bear the expenses for maintaining them for a
long time? Should the nation spend the money...
Can
those
who
oppose
capital
punishment collect fund for maintaining them
and for their security? Thomas Chakramakal

Thanks for this welcome initiative! Kudos!

Bp. Alex Vadakumthala (Kochi)
Appreciate the theme of the discussion
(TC 11), a very relevant issue. ...What we need
to concentrate is to bring out the
'barbaric' aspect of this punishment. But what
do we say about the retribution then? What
about the capital punishment that are done
even without proper legal procedures, for
example in the Arabia countries? What about
people taking law in their own hand and
punishing people in a brutal and primitive
way? Proper justice to all, with neutrality in
the legal system (all are equal before law) is
very important from the part of the
government in this regard.
George Madathikunnel, (KU Leuven)