Tuesday 08 September 2020 - Nativity of the Virgin Mary - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1, 1-16. 18-23 - Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, you are worthy of all praise: from you has risen the sun of righteousness, Christ our God.

Dear Christians! Today the Church celebrates the nativity of the Virgin Mary. The anniversary is so important for us Christians that we should always pray for it and entrust it to God who gave us life.

The Gospel that the Church presents to us today is taken from St. Matthew, and describes the lineage of Jesus Christ, his ancestors. This is the beginning of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, before speaking about Jesus and his life, Matthew retraces his genealogy. Having a trace of his origin is important. Jesus comes from a very real lineage through his foster father, Joseph, and his mother, Mary. The first part of this Gospel passage confirms the story of the Virgin Mary celebrated today: she was the daughter of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Joachim is of the lineage of King David and Anne is of the lineage of Aaron, a priest. Thus, royalty and priesthood are united in Mary. Unsurprisingly, she is chosen by God to be the mother of his Son, the mother of the King and the eternal Priest.

In the second part of the Gospel we have just heard, the two great and unique attributes of this mother of God are revealed to us:

• Firstly, she is conceived immaculate. This quality immediately defines her holiness, confirmed by the greeting of the angel: "full of grace" (Lk 1, 28). She is conceived without sin because Jesus, the Saviour of all mankind, should be born of her. Without sin, she immediately enjoys this salvation. She confirmed her immaculate conception appearing to Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858.
• The second is her virginity, always preserved even though she gave birth to the Son of God. Many teachings describe the virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Old Testament, Isaiah clearly states that she is the virgin who will give birth to a son named Emmanuel. Many teachings of the New Testament, of the Fathers of the Church and of certain Councils confirm this.

Mary is Mother of God, Mother of Christ, Mother of humanity and also Mother of all believers, so let us not hesitate to plead for the grace and help of this helpful Mother.