Mary's Birthday

The 14th Century Virgin of Notre Dame de Paris

 

 

 

The host site for this blog collects lots of 

statistics, for example, how many visitors for each day, week, month; where in the world they are coming from; what sites are referring them to this blog; what search engines they are using; what operating systems their computers have and, among some other things, what questions they are inputting to the search engines they are using.

 

 In recent weeks I have noted that one question keeps recurring.  It is "Mary's birthday is ..... March?"  Well, the question is a good one, but the presumption on which it is based is a bit of a problem because Mary's birthday is not in March at all.

There is probably a conflation going on here in the mind or minds of the questioners.  The two things being conflated are both events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and both are feasts of the Church.  One is in March, but the other one is in September.

  

The Annunciation, about which I have recently been blogging quite a lot (with a few more to go) is celebrated on March 25th.  No brain surgery needed to see why that date was selected to celebrate the important event, the Incarnation of the Lord through the assent of Mary to the message of the Angel Gabriel.  It was placed on March 25th because it had been decided to celebrate the Birth of the Lord (the Nativity) on December 25th.  By counting back nine months from the birthdate, we arrive at March 25th.

Philippe de Champaigne, Annunciation
French, ca. 1645
London, Wallace Collection

The other date is the birthday of the Virgin Mary.  This was set on September 8th, with the date of her conception set nine months earlier, on December 8th.  This is known as the Immaculate Conception, not because there was no sex involved in it but because, to prepare her spiritually for her future role as the Mother of Jesus (Mother of God), she was granted the grace to be formed without any participation in the root sin of humanity, Original Sin.

Boccacio Boccaccino, Birth of the Virgin
Italian, 1514-1515
Cremona, Cathedral

So, let's get this straight. Mary's birthday is NOT in March.  It is in September.  But both days (in March and in September) celebrate the same event in different ways, which is the Incarnation of the Divine Word as a human being through a remarkable  young woman who was specially prepared by God for her important role in it.  

© M. Duffy, 2015

 

 

(2019 update.  The statue in Notre Dame de Paris survived the disastrous fire of April 15, 2019 in spite of standing very close to the center of the building where the vaults collapsed when the burning spire (fleche) pierced them.)

September 8th - Mary's Birthday

 

 

 

On September 8, 2006 I had the good fortune to be in Paris.  It was a Friday, I recall, and I spent the entire day at the Louvre.  By evening I was exhausted and decided to get on any bus going anywhere that would stop where I was standing. I planned to get off somewhere along the line that appealed. The bus I hopped on eventually turned onto the Pont Neuf to cross the Seine. Even though still tired I decided to get off there and visit Notre Dame.  

 

 

  

  

 

 

As usual, crowds were milling around in the space in front of the Cathedral (the Parvis).  It was a beautiful early evening and the facade of the cathedral had a lovely rosy hue.  On approach I discovered that the building was open and went inside. 

As I entered the cathedral I discovered that a Mass was in progress and that the cathedral was jammed with people. It turned out to be a special Mass celebrating two things:  the Nativity of Mary and the consecration of two auxiliary bishops for the diocese of Paris.  I decided to stay and participate.  It was a wonderful, moving experience and a reminder that no Catholic is ever a stranger in a Catholic church anywhere in the world.  With Jesus as the center of our lives and our worship, we are always at home and welcome. 

After the Mass I hung around for awhile, enjoying the beauty of the church and the awe I felt from its long existence at the center of so many historic events.  In my meanderings I observed that the famous 14th-century Madonna and Child that stands on one of the columns at the crossing of the church (where the nave or body of the church intersects with the transepts or wings) was bedecked for the feast with a bouquet of lilies and at her feet were other floral offerings.  

 

 

The uplift of participating in such a liturgy, so far from home yet completely at home, in such an historic place, was so great that, as I walked back to my hotel, I positively floated above the Seine, all exhaustion vanished. 



For more about art for the Nativity of Mary, see The Birth of Mary .