through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright
man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.

While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and
said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has
conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for
he will save his people from their sins.“

All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin
will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means:
God–with–us.

Reflect

Today we celebrate the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We only celebrate three births in
the liturgical calendar: Jesus, John the Baptist, and Mary. Mary’s is the only one of these
births not recounted in Scripture. Tradition records the names of her parents as Joachim
and Anne, devout Jews who had asked God for a child and then dedicated her to his
service.

The readings today remind us that God works his wonders in and through even the
lowliest. The tiny town of Bethlehem in the land of the tribe named for Jacob’s youngest
son becomes the birthplace of the Messiah. A humble virgin from a small town in Galilee
becomes the mother of that Messiah.

This feast should remind us that no matter how insignificant we may seem in the world’s
eyes, we are precious to God, of infinite value. He has a plan for our good. He wants us
to follow him so that we can be like Mary, with God forever in heaven.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2023