A Dazzling light surrounded Saint Anne which made her invisible. Then, a beautiful radiant baby appeared on her arms. Tenderly wrapping the baby with her cloak, she gazed, embraced then held the baby up with tears of joy and prayed: “O Lord and Creator, with eternal thanks, I offer thee this blessed fruit of my womb which I have received from thy bounty without any merit of mine.”
The Blessed Trinity announced Mary’s birth to the choir of angels in heaven: “Our choosen one shall be called Mary and this name is to be powerful in grace.” Archangel Gabriel was sent to herald the great news of Mary’s birth to all the just men and women, patriarchs and prophets in limbo who rejoiced and praised God for His mercy to mankind.
The mystics say that many people of good hearts felt an unusual exaltation without knowing why and “many evil and possessed persons felt sorely disturbed.”
Near the temple in Jerusalem, old Simeon, the holy priest, was awakened by the shouts of a possessed man.
“I must flee—all of us must flee! A virgin has been born.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary was born in Nazareth to Saints Joachim and Anne who were childless for 20 years.
The Lord granted them a daughter destined to be the Mother of the Messiah.
The Feast of the Nativity of Mother Mary on September 8 originated in Jerusalem and was extended to the entire Christian church by Pope Sergius I in 687.
Litany of titles
No one has ever earned as many titles as the Blessed Virgin Mary. The litany, recited in her honor to implore her help lists 53 titles equivalent to the 53 Hail Marys in a Rosary. All Christians implore her help for different reasons. Below are testimonials of some nuns from the Secular Institute of the Two Hearts (SITH) in the Philippines based on their prayer devotions to the Virgin Mary.
Mother of the Eucharist
My grandmother tags me with her on weekends when dusk descends and the moon ascends behind the majestic Mayon Volcano.
Our destination: to Mamay Inyang. I am delighted to join her because there is recivi after praying the rosary. Recivi are pieces of biscuits and a glass of juice. It is the recivi that excites me to accompany my grandmother.
Looking back, if not for the recivi, I would not have been introduced to praying the rosary and loving it as I do now.
In lieu of the recivi, I now love to have the Living Bread and the Blood of Christ consecrated in the Mass.
Jesus is now the recivi who nourishes my whole being. Not only on weekends but everyday.
I owe this great blessing to Mary, Mother of the Eucharist—Mother of God, Mother of my recivi.—Sor Julieta S. Seda, SITH
Mother of Christ
Everything in life is a game; work, too, which I never regarded seriously, exposing my life to many unforeseen dangers.
Since everything is just for fun, every work assigned me from Aparri to Jolo never made a difference. But Mother Mary and her Son looked after me seriously. I am their namesake. Maria for Mary and Christy for Christ. Had it not been for all their interventions, I would not be a religious.
At the height of my worldliness, I made a bargain with God. “Please allow me to sneak out of your protection for a while,” I told Him.
Like a spoiled brat asking her nursemaid not to trail her ward, I wanted to discover how it feels to be responsible for myself.
To Aparri I went with a lady who asked me to pretend as her niece.
Her home was a run-down old bus on the garage of a bus station. Rest for the night was on a sooty darkened sheet with a rough pillow on a folding structure.
Mother Mary rescued me from the evil, lustful desires of a man.
I don’t remember having uttered a prayer to her during danger but always, Mother Mary and Jesus rescued me no matter how precarious the situation!
What a blessing to be named after Mother Mary and Christ.—Mother Ma. Cristina U. Averilla, SITH
Mary, Help of the Sick
Always, as a child, I accompanied mother at dawn processions to honor the Mother of God. At 12, I was consecrated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
One morning, I was rushed to the hospital for a severe stomach ache.
After a series of laboratory tests, the doctors made a shocking verdict: death in an hour.
I was only 12, too young to die. Never did I feel so confused and weak. So did mom. Crying, we held each others’ hands and prayed. Silently we waited for death to come.
After an hour, death did not arrive; even after two hours. Perplexed, the doctors examined me after three hours and exclaimed—What a miracle!
The Blessed Mother, Help of the Sick, healed me.—Mother Rosalyn J. Caballes, SITH
Mary, Help of All Christians
The Holy Mother Church focuses on the Blessed Mother’s intercession to avoid sin and subdue anti-Christian forces.
I grew up with my grandparents. I was so naive of the ever-consuming love between mother and daughter I read and hear about. But I was loved by grandma, who taught me how to pray to the Blessed Mother, I knew by name. Every 6 p.m., we prayed the Angelus.
In high school, I learned how loving and concerned she is about us, her children. As a leader in Mary Help of Christians Crusade, Fr. Edgardo Arellano inspired us to help young people know, love and have devotions to the Blessed Mother.
Mary, Help of All Christians, led me to what God planned as my vocation and salvation.
In quietude, always, she speaks: “I am your true Mother, I am here for you since you were young, leading you to my Son, Jesus.”
Totus, tuus, Mary, I am completely yours.—Mother Ethelinda C. Mabbayad, SITH
Mary, Queen of All Hearts
“Jesus is the king by nature and conquest, Mary is the queen of heaven and earth by grace,” Saint Louis de Montfort says. As Jesus draws all hearts to Himself with love and mercy, Mother Mary compliments it with her queenly power and maternal concern.
She brings consolation, fortitude and succor to all her children in times of difficulties, dangers, doubts and fears.
Through the years, in attentive silence, I rest in the shelter of her arms, praying, never losing my way, never falling in traps of discouragements.
Docile to her promptings, I fear nothing.
As queen of all hearts, she enlightens my mind, directs my will, and inspires me for noble strivings.
If Jesus’s life was entrusted to her care, I too can entrust my heart to her.
Indeed, she is my Mother—the Queen of All Hearts, par excellence.—Sis. Flordeliz M. Jabonite, SITH
Mary, Most Loving
Can a mother forget her baby, or a woman, the child in her womb?
Since I was a child, I believe that Mother Mary is guiding and leading me to where I should be in the plan of God. Her loving care is manifested in the person of my mother on Earth. Not only did she provide for my physical welfare but my spiritual needs, too.
Together we attended all church activities, especially during Lent and Easter.
She taught me how to recite the rosary and the ejaculatory prayer: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Like the Virgin Mary, my mother is selfless. She said yes to my desire to enter consecrated life.
Because of my closeness to my mother, I have no qualms approaching the Blessed Mother for help.
God set her apart from all as Mediatrix of all Graces.—Sis. Jazeth O. Jimena, SITH
Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College in Laguna.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons