Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Collect of the Day
O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
~BCP pg. 243

The Psalm 
34

The Readings
Isaiah 61:10-11     +     Galatians 4:4-7     +     Luke 1:46-55  

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman . . . so that we might receive adoption as children.
~Gal. 4:4-5

Mary the mother of Jesus has been revered with many titles, examples of devout Christians through the centuries fulfilling the word Mary speaks in her song: "All generations will call me blessed." One of the most important of these that the church affirmed quite early was the title Theotokos--"the God-bearer," or the similar designation "Mother of God." It's a profound title, not simply for what it tells us about Mary, but even more significantly, for what it tells us about her Son. To affirm that Mary is the Mother of God is to confess that Jesus is both truly human and truly God; truly "born of the Virgin Mary" and also "eternally begotten of the Father."

The mystery of the Incarnation is never exhausted, and can lead to some heady theology, indeed. But surely the loving regard in which Mary has been held by so many faithful through the ages, her universal appeal, is not unconnected to the universal experience of birth. It is at once the most ordinary and extraordinary fact of human existence: we are all born into this world. And, wonder of the ages, even God is born into this world. God the eternal Word is born in time, draws life from his mother's breast, sleeps on her shoulder, plays under her watchful eye. God the eternal Word becomes the child of Mary, so that we might become the children of God.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for your love in coming and being born among us, that we might be reborn in you. Thank you for the great faithfulness of Mary in bearing you into our world, and give us grace that, like her, our whole being may exult in you, our Savior. Amen.