Happy Birthday, Mother!
Today is the Feast of the Birth of Mary ... nine months from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8).
Mary was born the only child of Ss. Anne and Joachim. Their story is much like the story of Samuel's parents, or St. John the Baptist's parents.
I present here a small excerpt from a very early apocryphal work called The Protoevangelium of James.
Once again, by way of disclaimer, this work is not inspired Scripture, but neither is it 100% fabrication. After all, the story includes the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, so obviously parts of this book are factual. It's just difficult to know which. At any rate, this is at least an interesting look at some of the early Church traditions surrounding Our Lady ...
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In the records of the twelve tribes of Israel was Joachim, a man who was very rich; and he brought twice as many offerings as other men ... And there stood in opposition to him a man named Rubim, saying: It is not proper for you to bring your offerings first, because you have not produced children into Israel. And Joachim was very grieved, and went away to the registers of the twelve tribes of the people, saying: I will examine the registers of the twelve tribes of Israel, and see whether I am the only one who has not raised up children in Israel.
And he searched, and found that all the righteous men had raised up children in Israel. And he called to mind the patriach Abraham, that in his last days God gave him a son, Isaac. And Joachim was very grieved, and did not return home; but he went to the desert, and there he pitched his tent, and fasted forty days and forty nights, saying: I will not go down for either food or for drink until the Lord my God will look upon me - prayer shall be my food and drink.
And his wife Anna mourned twice, and lamented twice, saying: I will mourn both my widowhood and my childlessness. And the great day of the Lord was at hand ... And Anna was very grieved, and took off her garments of mourning, and washed her head, and put on her wedding garments, and about the ninth hour [about 3:00 p.m.] she went down to the garden to walk. And she saw a laurel, and sat under it, and prayed to the Lord, saying: O God of our fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, as Thou didst bless the womb of Sarah, and didst give her a son, Isaac.
And gazing towards heaven, she saw a sparrow's nest in the laurel, and lamented, saying: Alas! who bore me? and what womb produced me? because I have become a curse in the presence of the sons of Israel, and I have been reproached, and they have driven me out of the temple of the Lord in derision. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like the fowls of the heaven, because even the fowls of the heaven are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like the beasts of the earth, because even the beasts of the earth are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like these waters, because even these waters are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like this earth, because even the earth bringeth forth its fruits in season, and blesseth Thee, O Lord.
And an angel of the Lord stood near-by, saying: Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you will conceive, and will bring forth; and your seed will be spoken of in all the world. And Anna said: As the Lord my God lives, if I bear either a son or a daughter, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it will minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life.
And two angels came, saying to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks. For an angel of the Lord went down to him, saying: Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down now; for, behold, your wife Anna will conceive. And Joachim went down and called his shepherds, saying: Bring to me ten female lambs without spot or blemish, and they will be for the Lord my God; and bring me twelve tender calves, and they will be for the priests and the elders; and a hundred goats for all the people. And, behold, Joachim came with his flocks; and Anna stood by the gate, and saw Joachim coming, and she ran and clung to his neck, saying: Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me greatly; for, behold the widow, no longer a widow, and I - the childless - will conceive. And Joachim rested the first day in his house.
And on the following day he brought his offerings, saying: If the Lord God has been gracious to me, the plate on the priest's forehead will make it manifest to me. And Joachim brought his offerings, and observed attentively the priest's plate when he went up to the altar of the Lord, and he saw no sin in himself. And Joachim said: Now I know that the Lord has been gracious to me, and has remitted all my sins. And he went down from the temple of the Lord justified, and departed to his own house.
And her months were fulfilled, and in the ninth month Anna delivered. And she said to the midwife: What have I brought forth? and she said: A girl. And said Anna: My soul has been magnified this day. And she laid her daughter down. And the days having been fulfilled, Anna was purified, and nursed the child, and called her name Mary.
And the child grew stronger every day; and when she was six months old, her mother set her on the ground to see whether she could stand, and she walked seven steps ... and [Anna] snatched her up, saying: As the Lord my God lives, you will not walk on this earth until I bring you into the temple of the Lord. And she made a sanctuary in her bedroom, and allowed nothing common or unclean to pass through her.
And when she was a year old, Joachim made a great feast, and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel. And Joachim brought the child to the priests; and they blessed her, saying: O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations. And all the people said: Amen, amen, amen.
And he brought her to the chief priests; and they blessed her, saying: O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which will be for ever. And her mother snatched her up, and took her into the sanctuary of her bedroom, and nursed her. And Anna made a song to the Lord God, saying:
I will sing a song to the Lord my God, for He has looked upon me, and has taken away the reproach of my enemies; and the Lord has given the the fruit of His righteousness, singular in its kind, and richly endowed before Him. Who will tell the sons of Rubim that Anna nurses? Hear, hear, ye twelve tribes of Israel, that Anna nurses. And she laid the child to rest in the bedroom of her sanctuary, and went out and ministered to them. And when the supper was ended, they went down with joy, and glorifying the God of Israel.
And the child was two years old, and Joachim said: Let us take her up to the temple of the Lord, that we may fulfill the vow that we have vowed, lest by chance the Lord send to us, and our offering be not received. And Anna said: Let us wait until her third year, so that the child may not become lonely for her father or mother ...
And the child was three years old, and Joachim said: Invite the daughters of the Hebrews that are undefiled, and let them take each a lamp, and let them stand with the lamps burning, that the child may not turn back, and her heart be captivated from the temple of the Lord. And they did so until they went up into the temple of the Lord. And the priest received her, and kissed her, and blessed her, saying: The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel. And he set her down upon the third step of the altar, and the Lord God sent grace upon her; and she danced with her feet, and all the house of Israel loved her.
And her parents left there marvelling, and praising the Lord God, because the child had not turned back. And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there, and she received food from the hand of an angel.
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I don't know what your mother likes to get for her birthday, but most moms like roses. So give Blessed Mother a whole bunch of roses today. You know what I mean ...
St. Louis de Montefort tells the story of the monk who, while he was praying the Rosary, was given the grace of piercing the mystical veil and seeing things as they really are: he saw Our Lady, and every time he uttered a "Hail Mary," he saw a rose come out of his mouth, and an angel took every rose to add it to Our Lady's crown.
So how many roses will you give Blessed Mother today?
Ave Maria, gratia plena - Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesu
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
Mary was born the only child of Ss. Anne and Joachim. Their story is much like the story of Samuel's parents, or St. John the Baptist's parents.
I present here a small excerpt from a very early apocryphal work called The Protoevangelium of James.
Once again, by way of disclaimer, this work is not inspired Scripture, but neither is it 100% fabrication. After all, the story includes the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, so obviously parts of this book are factual. It's just difficult to know which. At any rate, this is at least an interesting look at some of the early Church traditions surrounding Our Lady ...
***************************
In the records of the twelve tribes of Israel was Joachim, a man who was very rich; and he brought twice as many offerings as other men ... And there stood in opposition to him a man named Rubim, saying: It is not proper for you to bring your offerings first, because you have not produced children into Israel. And Joachim was very grieved, and went away to the registers of the twelve tribes of the people, saying: I will examine the registers of the twelve tribes of Israel, and see whether I am the only one who has not raised up children in Israel.
And he searched, and found that all the righteous men had raised up children in Israel. And he called to mind the patriach Abraham, that in his last days God gave him a son, Isaac. And Joachim was very grieved, and did not return home; but he went to the desert, and there he pitched his tent, and fasted forty days and forty nights, saying: I will not go down for either food or for drink until the Lord my God will look upon me - prayer shall be my food and drink.
And his wife Anna mourned twice, and lamented twice, saying: I will mourn both my widowhood and my childlessness. And the great day of the Lord was at hand ... And Anna was very grieved, and took off her garments of mourning, and washed her head, and put on her wedding garments, and about the ninth hour [about 3:00 p.m.] she went down to the garden to walk. And she saw a laurel, and sat under it, and prayed to the Lord, saying: O God of our fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, as Thou didst bless the womb of Sarah, and didst give her a son, Isaac.
And gazing towards heaven, she saw a sparrow's nest in the laurel, and lamented, saying: Alas! who bore me? and what womb produced me? because I have become a curse in the presence of the sons of Israel, and I have been reproached, and they have driven me out of the temple of the Lord in derision. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like the fowls of the heaven, because even the fowls of the heaven are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like the beasts of the earth, because even the beasts of the earth are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like these waters, because even these waters are productive before Thee, O Lord. Alas! to what have I been likened? I am not even like this earth, because even the earth bringeth forth its fruits in season, and blesseth Thee, O Lord.
And an angel of the Lord stood near-by, saying: Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you will conceive, and will bring forth; and your seed will be spoken of in all the world. And Anna said: As the Lord my God lives, if I bear either a son or a daughter, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it will minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life.
And two angels came, saying to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks. For an angel of the Lord went down to him, saying: Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down now; for, behold, your wife Anna will conceive. And Joachim went down and called his shepherds, saying: Bring to me ten female lambs without spot or blemish, and they will be for the Lord my God; and bring me twelve tender calves, and they will be for the priests and the elders; and a hundred goats for all the people. And, behold, Joachim came with his flocks; and Anna stood by the gate, and saw Joachim coming, and she ran and clung to his neck, saying: Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me greatly; for, behold the widow, no longer a widow, and I - the childless - will conceive. And Joachim rested the first day in his house.
And on the following day he brought his offerings, saying: If the Lord God has been gracious to me, the plate on the priest's forehead will make it manifest to me. And Joachim brought his offerings, and observed attentively the priest's plate when he went up to the altar of the Lord, and he saw no sin in himself. And Joachim said: Now I know that the Lord has been gracious to me, and has remitted all my sins. And he went down from the temple of the Lord justified, and departed to his own house.
And her months were fulfilled, and in the ninth month Anna delivered. And she said to the midwife: What have I brought forth? and she said: A girl. And said Anna: My soul has been magnified this day. And she laid her daughter down. And the days having been fulfilled, Anna was purified, and nursed the child, and called her name Mary.
And the child grew stronger every day; and when she was six months old, her mother set her on the ground to see whether she could stand, and she walked seven steps ... and [Anna] snatched her up, saying: As the Lord my God lives, you will not walk on this earth until I bring you into the temple of the Lord. And she made a sanctuary in her bedroom, and allowed nothing common or unclean to pass through her.
And when she was a year old, Joachim made a great feast, and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel. And Joachim brought the child to the priests; and they blessed her, saying: O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations. And all the people said: Amen, amen, amen.
And he brought her to the chief priests; and they blessed her, saying: O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which will be for ever. And her mother snatched her up, and took her into the sanctuary of her bedroom, and nursed her. And Anna made a song to the Lord God, saying:
I will sing a song to the Lord my God, for He has looked upon me, and has taken away the reproach of my enemies; and the Lord has given the the fruit of His righteousness, singular in its kind, and richly endowed before Him. Who will tell the sons of Rubim that Anna nurses? Hear, hear, ye twelve tribes of Israel, that Anna nurses. And she laid the child to rest in the bedroom of her sanctuary, and went out and ministered to them. And when the supper was ended, they went down with joy, and glorifying the God of Israel.
And the child was two years old, and Joachim said: Let us take her up to the temple of the Lord, that we may fulfill the vow that we have vowed, lest by chance the Lord send to us, and our offering be not received. And Anna said: Let us wait until her third year, so that the child may not become lonely for her father or mother ...
And the child was three years old, and Joachim said: Invite the daughters of the Hebrews that are undefiled, and let them take each a lamp, and let them stand with the lamps burning, that the child may not turn back, and her heart be captivated from the temple of the Lord. And they did so until they went up into the temple of the Lord. And the priest received her, and kissed her, and blessed her, saying: The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel. And he set her down upon the third step of the altar, and the Lord God sent grace upon her; and she danced with her feet, and all the house of Israel loved her.
And her parents left there marvelling, and praising the Lord God, because the child had not turned back. And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there, and she received food from the hand of an angel.
*****************************
I don't know what your mother likes to get for her birthday, but most moms like roses. So give Blessed Mother a whole bunch of roses today. You know what I mean ...
St. Louis de Montefort tells the story of the monk who, while he was praying the Rosary, was given the grace of piercing the mystical veil and seeing things as they really are: he saw Our Lady, and every time he uttered a "Hail Mary," he saw a rose come out of his mouth, and an angel took every rose to add it to Our Lady's crown.
So how many roses will you give Blessed Mother today?
Ave Maria, gratia plena - Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesu
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
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