Happy Birthday Mom

 Seeing the significance of the Christian calendar

09/08/2020

Romans 8:28-30 Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

One of the best ways to study the Christian faith is to examine more closely the Christian calendar. The Christian calendar, or better, the liturgical calendar, tells us not only what days to celebrate what feasts – when to buy Christmas presents and when to hunt Easter eggs, etc. – but it also reveals deeper mysteries of our faith. The feast days, therefore, do not fall haphazardly or arbitrarily on the annual calendar. Rather, they are carefully choreographed to teach us something about being Christian.

The 19th century Jewish scholar Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch famously said, “The calendar is the catechism of the Jewish People.” That statement is even more true for us Christians and our calendar. In other words, the more you study and scrutinize the liturgical calendar, the more you learn your faith. Let’s consider how the calendar can be our “catechism” as we celebrate the Nativity (birthday) of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

First of all did you know there are only three birthdays we celebrate on the Christian calendar? Of course, you know that December 25 is the Birthday of Jesus. Today, September 8 is the birthday of Mary. But less familiar is that June 24 is the birthday of St. John the Baptist. The reason for John’s birthday being on June 24 is because of what we read in Luke 1:56, “Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months and then returned to her home.”

If Mary “traveled in haste” (Lk. 1:39) to visit her cousin Elizabeth immediately after Mary miraculously conceived Jesus, then that puts Mary’s pregnancy about 6 months behind that of Elizabeth. Why? Well, presumably, Mary remained with Elizabeth until she gave birth to John, which only took three months. Hence, John is born six months before the Birthday of our Savior. (All the women caught that calculation faster than the men, no doubt.) Can you see how the calendar serves as a sort of “catechism” revealing deep spiritual truths? These dates are not plopped down without a purpose.

Let’s examine a little more closely the birthday of Mother Mary through the lens of the liturgical calendar. Sept. 8 may seem a rather random dates blithely picked by some medieval pope, but it isn’t. Most pregnancies take roughly 9 months, and so what date is exactly 9 months prior to September 8? It is December 8th, which is the Immaculate Conception. When we recall that the Immaculate Conception is the conception of Mary (and not of Jesus, please people!), we see how much sense it makes to celebrate Mary’s birthday on September 8.

By the way, the roots of the Immaculate Conception can be traced all the way back to the 5th century in Syria. In other words, Mary’s Immaculate Conception, and her subsequent birthday 9 months later, are not random, arbitrary dates on a calendar, but reveal a rich liturgical heritage in the Church, going all the way back to her very beginnings. This is how the calendar serves as a catechism.

My friends, don’t we ignore our own calendars to our own detriment? If I miss my mom’s birthday on June 2 – which I never do! – I would feel horribly inadequate as a son. If I forgot my parents’ wedding anniversary on May 16, I might feel like I have forgotten my roots: their love (and God’s love) is the reason I exist. Likewise, I hope people will remember me on my birthday on July 12, and congratulate me on my priestly ordination anniversary on May 25. Incidentally, I will celebrate 25 years as a priest next year: my silver jubilee!

Why are these dates important to me and to you? Aren’t they just arbitrary or accidental moments on the calendar? Aren’t they just the purposeless points of the earth's orbit, spinning like a top on its axis and circling the sun like a whirling dervish? Not at all, our personal calendars tell us who we are, they reveal our roots, and they unveil our destinies. If we look really carefully at our calendars, they will teach us that we all originally come from God, and are eventually headed back to him. Paul taught the Romans the same truth: “All things work for good for those who love God” especially the key moments of birth, death, marriage and ordination. The calendar is our own personal catechism, revealing the deepest mysteries of our existence.

As we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us be extra attentive to the times and seasons of the Christian calendar. Calendars help us not to miss important birthdays, and they teach us not to miss a lot more than that.

Praised be Jesus Christ!