September 8 | The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we are travelling all the way back in time to the first century BC. The world is a turbulent, intense, and often dangerous place. Mighty empires are rising and falling, kings are battling for total control, and ordinary people are just trying to survive in a harsh landscape.

It was then, in total obscurity, away from the glittering palaces and noisy cities, a baby girl was born. She didn't come with royal fanfare, massive armies, or vast riches. Yet, this simple, quiet birth would echo through eternity. She would grow up to carry the savior of the world, and she is a woman whose very name brings comfort to billions of people across the globe. Who is this extraordinary, history-altering figure, the Blessed Virgin Mary? Today, we are focusing on the very dawn of her amazing story, the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Nativity is just a fancy, traditional word for birth. Every single year, the Church throws a massive, global birthday party for Mary on September 8th. Now, if you are quick at math, you might notice something really cool about that specific date. Grab your calendar and count backwards exactly nine months from September 8th. Where do you land? December 8th. That is the day the church celebrates her immaculate conception, the exact moment Mary herself was miraculously conceived.

Nine perfect months after that conception on December 8th, The world was gifted with her birth on September 8th. Unfortunately, the Bible does not chronicle the details of Mary's infancy or her early life. But don't worry, early Christians were just as curious as we are. They wanted to know absolutely everything about her. Because of this, some non-authoritative sources emerged in ancient times, such as a famous text known as the Proto-Evangelium of James. They recount some of the church's earliest traditional beliefs and stories about Mary's nativity.

And her childhood. Even though we might not have a detailed diary of her teenage years, we know exactly what her heart was like. We know this because of the words she spoke later in life, words so powerful they are prayed by millions of people every single day. She boldly proclaimed, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Let that sink in for a second. She recognized that despite her low estate, her humble, quiet background, God chose her for something monumental, and she was absolutely right. All generations, including ours right now, truly do call her blessed.

St. John Vianney, a very wise priest, gave us the ultimate cheat code for this. He said, let us live as the Blessed Virgin lived, loving God only, desiring God only, trying to please God only in all that we do. That is your mission and your challenge for this week. You don't need to be famous, wealthy, or powerful to change the world. Mary certainly wasn't, but she did everything with profound, unstoppable love. Today, pick one small moment and pause and ask yourself, am I trying to please God right now?

Try to love God only and desire God only in that single, everyday action. If you can do that, you are walking right in the footsteps of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.