The Church celebrates only three birthdays in her calendar: the Nativity of the Lord on December 25, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on June 24, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8. The reason is the same in each case — these are births of those already sanctified, and in Mary's case the Church looks to the one preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception. The date is fixed nine months after December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, so that the two celebrations belong to one another. The observance began in the East and reached Rome by the seventh century, where Pope Sergius I provided it, along with the other principal Marian celebrations, with a solemn procession. It was long associated in Jerusalem with the dedication of a church near the Sheep Pool honoring Mary's birth; the site is venerated as the home of her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne, whose memorial the Church keeps on July 26. Scripture records nothing of Mary's birth; the liturgy simply rejoices that the dawn of salvation appeared. The Mass is celebrated with white vestments, the Gloria, and a proper preface. The Gospel is Matthew's genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham, ending with Mary of whom Jesus was born, or the announcement to Joseph that follows it. The Collect asks that the feast of her Nativity may bring an increase of peace. In many countries the day carries harvest customs and the blessing of seed, and in the Byzantine tradition it opens the liturgical year, which begins on September 1.

Feast

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Ordinary time

September 8

feast