HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!

Readings for Sunday, September 8^th

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

(National feast in Malta)

It-Twelid tal-Verġni Mqaddsa Marija

Reading 1       -  Micah 5:1-4a

The LORD says: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.). He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the  LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari:

Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Mikea 5, 1-4a

Dan jgħid il-Mulej:  Int, Betlelhem, Efrata, ċkejkna biex  tkun fost il-familji ta' Ġuda, minnek għad joħroġli dak li jkun jaħkem f'Iżrael; hu għandu l-bidu tiegħu mill-qedem, sa minn dejjem.  Għalhekk il-Mulej jitlaqhom sa ma teħles dik li hi fl-uġigħ tal-ħlas;  imbagħad il-bqija ta' ħutu jerġgħu lura fost ulied Israel, u hu  joqgħod jirgħa l-merħla tiegħu bil-qawwa tal-Mulej, bis-sebħ ta' isem il-Mulej, Alla tiegħu.  U huma jgħammru, għax issa tkun kbira setegħtu  sat-trufijiet  tal-art.   U dan ikun is-sliem! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm   -    Isaiah 13:6ab, 6c

R. (Isaiah 61:10)    With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.            R/

Let me sing of the LORD,

"He has been good to me."                         R/

Salm Responsjorali    -  Salm 12

            R/   Nifraħ b'ferħ kbir fil-Mulej!

Jien fit-tjieba tiegħek, Mulej, ittamajt;

tifraħ qalbi fis-salvazzjoni tiegħek.                      R/

Ngħanni lill-Mulej, għax għamilli l-ġid;

ngħanni lill-isem tal-Mulej, il-Għoli.                    R/   

Reading 2       -   Romans  8: 28-30

Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called  he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari: mill-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lir-Rumani 8, 28-30

Ħuti, aħna nafu li Alla,  ma'  dawk li  jħobbuh, f'kollox jaħdem id f'id magħhom għall-ġid, ma dawk  li huma msejħin skond il-providenza tiegħu.   Għax lil dawk li hu għarafhom mill-bidu, ippredestinahom ukoll biex jieħdu sura xbieha ta' Ibnu, ħalli dan ikun il-kbir fost ħafna aħwa; lil dawk li predestinahom, sejħilhom ukoll;lil dawk li sejħilhom, iġġustifikahom ukoll; lil  dawk imbagħad li ġġustifikahom, sebbaħhom ukoll. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel             -            Matthew   1, 1-16, 18-23

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,  Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,  Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim,  Eliakim the father of Azor,  Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan,  Matthan the father of Jacob,  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.   This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju - Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Mattew 1, 1-16, 18-23

Ktieb in-nisel ta' Ġesu' Kristu, Bin David, bin Abraħam. Abraħam nissel 'l Iżakk,  Iżakk nissel 'il Ġakobb, Ġakobb nissel 'il Ġuda u 'l ħutu, Ġuda nissel 'l Aram, Aram nissel 'il Għaminabad,  Għaminabad nissel 'il Naħson, Naħson nissel 'il Salmon,  Salmon nissel 'il Bogħoż, minn Raħab, Bogħoż nissel 'il Għobed, minn Rut, Għobed nissel 'il  Ġesse. Ġesse nissel lis-sultan David, David nissel 'il Salamun, mill-mara ta' Urija,  Salamun nissel 'il Robogħam, Robogħam nissel 'l Abija, Abija nissel 'l Asa, Asa nisel 'il Ġosafat,  Ġosafat nissel 'il Ġoram, Ġoram nissel 'il Għużżija,  Għużżija nissel 'il Ġoatam, Ġoatam nissel 'l Aħaż,  Aħaż nissel 'il Ħeżekija, Ħeżekija nissel 'il Manasse,  Manasse nissel 'l Amon, Amon nissel 'il Ġosija, Ġosija nissel 'il Ġekonija u l-ħutu; kien żmien l-eżilju f'Babel. Wara l-eżilju f'Babel,  Ġekonija nissel 'il Salatjel, Salatjel nissel 'il Żorobabel,  Żorobabel nissel 'l Abihud, Abihun nissel 'l Eljakim, Eljakin nissel 'l Ażor, Ażor nissel 'il Sadok,  Sakok nissel 'l Akim, Akin missel 'l Elihud,  Elihud nissel 'l Elgħażar, Elgħażar nissel 'il Mattan,  Mattan nissel 'il Ġakobb, Ġakobb nissel 'il Ġużeppi, ir-raġel ta' Marija, li minnha twieled Ġesu', li jsejħulu Kristu. It-tnissel ta' Ġesu' Kristu sar hekk:  Ommu Marija, wara  li tgħarrest ma' Ġużeppi,  qabel ma marru joqgħodu flimkien, ħarġet tqila bil-ħidma tal-Ispirtu s-Santu.   Żewġha Ġużeppi, li kien raġel ġust u li ma riedx ixandarha quddiem kulħadd, għamel f'rasu li jibgħatha bil-moħbi tan-nies.   Wara li qatagħha li jagħmel hekk, deherlu anġlu tal-Mulej fil-ħolm u qallu:   "Ġużeppi, bin David, la tibżax tilqa' għandek lil Marija martek,għax  dak li tnissel fiha ġie bil-ħidma tal-Ispirtu s-Santu. Hi jkollha iben, u inti ssemmih Ġesu', għax hu jsalva l-poplu tiegħu minn dnubiethom." Dan kollu ġara biex iseħħ dak li kien qal il-Mulej permezz tal-profeta, meta qal: "Ara, ix-xebba tnissel u jkollha iben, u jsemmuh 'Ġhimmanu-El',  li bi lsinna jfisser 'Alla magħna'.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

Birthday of Mary, the Mother of God

The Nativity of Our Lady, the Theotokos

This reading on the nativity of Mary, Our Lady,  known in the East as the Theotokos is an excerpt from a discourse by St. Andrew of Crete and is used in the Roman Catholic Office of Readings for the Feast of the Birth of the Virgin Mary on September 8. Saint Andrew of Crete calls the nativity of Mary as a turning point in the old covenant becoming the new, the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality.  This reading shows that September 8th was celebrated as the birthday of Mary, the mother of Jesus at least as early as the early 8th century.  Though the new testament tells us nothing about the birth of Mary, the nativity of Mary is recorded in the Protoevangelion of St. James, a second century work that is not part of the canon of Sacred Scripture.  There we are told that her parents were Saints Joachim and Ann.  The traditional place of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is under the crusader Church of St. Ann in Jerusalem where Joachim and Anna were believed to have lived.  The Roman Catholic Church teaches that by a special act of Divine Providence, the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary occured without the transmission of Original Sin.  This doctrine is known as the Immaculate Conception.

The fulfilment of the law is Christ himself, who does not so much lead us away from the letter but has lift us up to its spirit. For the law’s consummation was this, that the very lawgiver accomplished his work and changed letter into spirit, summing everything up in himself and, though subject to the law, living by grace. He subordinated the law, yet harmoniously united grace with it, not confusing the distinctive characteristics of the one with the other, but effecting the transition in a way most fitting for God. He changed whatever was burdensome, servile and oppressive into what is light and liberating, so that we should be enslaved no longer under the elemental spirits of the world, as the Apostle says, nor held fast as bondservants under the letter of the law.

This is the highest, all-embracing benefit that Christ has bestowed on us. This is the revelation of the mystery, this is the emptying out of the divine nature, the union of God and man, and the deification of the manhood that was assumed. This radiant and manifest coming of God to men most certainly needed a joyful prelude to introduce the great gift of salvation to us. The present festival, the birth of the Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the fore-ordained union of the Word with flesh. Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages.

Justly, then, do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are led toward the truth, and we are led away from our condition of slavery to the letter of the law. How can this be? Darkness yields before the coming of the light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom. But midway between the two stands today’s mystery, at the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality, and the old is replaced by the new. Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.

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