Today, the 8th Sept, we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady.
The statue below overlooks one of the graves to the side of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kanturk (North County Cork, Ireland).
The statue of Our Lady shows some carved lovely details: the Rosary Beads, calling us to prayer, and her Immaculate Heart, calling us to holiness and purity of heart. Our Lady’s left hand is in a posture of prayer, facing up to heaven to obtain graces for us. Her right hand is giving a maternal blessing to us, her children.
Courtesy of catholicculture.org: “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. We rejoice that the Mother of God is our Mother, too. Let us often call upon the Blessed Virgin as ‘Cause of our joy’, one of the most beautiful titles in her litany.”
Opening Prayer at Mass on this Feast:
Blessed are you, God of wonder and might,
for the day when the Mother of your Son,
Mary pure and glorious,
was born into the world.
We praise you for her humility and acceptance of your will
which allowed her to become the portal
of that joyful light, Jesus Christ,
who leads us back to our eternal home.
For these and all your mercies, we praise you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever!
