To celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is to contemplate the dawn. It is not yet the midday sun – Christ, “the Day of the Day” – but it is the first brightness that announces its rising. St. Augustine, in Sermon 189 on the birth of the Lordoffers us a precious framework for understanding this feast. Although he preaches on the Nativity of Christ, his intuitions illuminate the “nativity” of the one who made this birth possible: Mary.
Augustine opens by saying: “The Day that made every day has sanctified this day for us… Who is this Day of the Day but the Son born of the Father, the Light of Light“ (Serm. 189, 1). The September 8ththe Church looks to Mary as the dawn prepared by God to receive the Day: her birth signals that salvation is already dawning in history.
Mary, “earth” from which the Truth flows
Augustine unites the mystery of Christ with that of His Mother in simple and powerful words: “He clothed himself with flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary…” (Serm. 189, 2).” (Serm. 189, 2). And, to explain the place of Mary, he goes down to the origin: ” Where does Mary come from? From Adam… If Mary is earth, let us recognize what we sing: Truth has sprung from the earth ” (Serm. 189, 2).
The Nativity of Mary reminds us that God works with our clayHe takes the “earth” of humanity to make the Savior germinate in it. In Mary, “Truth sprang from the earth and Justice looked down from heaven” (Serm. 189, 2).“(Serm. 189, 2). Her birth is a sign of this confluenceGod bends down (“Justice… from heaven”) and humanity, in Mary, offers the good soil where redemption blossoms.
Grace that is not “one’s own”: learning to receive
Augustine insists that salvation is a gift: “From where does it come to a man to be able to be righteous?From where does it come to a man to be able to be just, from himself? What poor man gives himself bread…For the just man lives by faith“(Serm. 189, 2).
Mary’s life, from the very moment of her birth, proclaims that all is grace. Her existence opens a path of faithTo celebrate her Nativity is to learn not to invent our “own” justice, but to accept the justice that God gives us. To celebrate his Nativity is to learn to to receiveto let God fertilize our history as he has fertilized his own.
He was born for us to be reborn
The axis of Augustinian preaching is clear: “If he had not had human generation, we would not reach divine regeneration.If he had not had human generation, we would not attain to divine regeneration: he was born so that we might be reborn“(Serm. 189, 3).
The Nativity of Mary is ordained for this purpose: to prepare for the rebirth of all. The path of the Church – and ours – passes through the house of Nazareth. This is why Augustine turns contemplation into a decision: ” His mother carried him in her womb; let us carry him in our hearts… she gave birth to the Savior; let us give light to his praise. Let us not be sterile; let us allow our souls to be made fruitful by God. ” (Serm. 189, 3).
On today’s feast, Mary teaches us to gestate Christ through faith and to “enlighten praise” in concrete works of charity, patience and service.
Uplifting humility
Augustine dwells on the humility of the Word: “Narrow was the stable; wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was placed in a manger… He who filled the world found no place in the stable; placed in the manger, he became food for us…” (Serm. 189, 4).” (Serm. 189, 4).
Mary, born today for us, is school of that humilitysmall, available, poor before God. And Augustine, with his pastoral audacity, invites us not to fear our littleness: “…”. Come to the manger two animals… do not be ashamed to be a donkey for the Lord… We are his mount, we are going to Jerusalem. When he sits down, he does not crush us; he lifts us up. ” (Serm. 189, 4).
Mary’s simplicity does not crushon the contrary, it lifts upIt makes room for Christ to “sit” in our life and lead it gently towards Jerusalem, communion with God.
From admiration to praise
Before the mystery -“She conceives, and she is a virgin; she gives birth, and she remains a virgin” (Serm. 189, 2)-Augustine teaches us: “It is God… let admiration pass, let praise come…” (Serm. 189, 4).“(Serm. 189, 4).
The Nativity of Mary moves us to just that: to admire God’s work in a creature and to praise praise the Author. The best way to celebrate it is to imitate itThe best way to celebrate it is to imitate it: to listen to the Word, to believe it, to keep it, to offer our land so that the Truth may continue to sprout.
That on this September 8th the dawn of Mary awakens us from sleep, as Augustine says: “You were asleep and she came to you.You were asleep and she came to you; you were snoring, and she awakened you; she made a way for you through herself so that you would not be lost” (Serm. 189, 2). And may we, looking into his cradle, learn to let God to let God fertilize our souls so that the Truth may continue to spring forth today in our land.