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| The Nativity of the Virgin, c. 1400 by Andrea de Bartolo |
So here we are today, in the Wellington Archdiocese, celebrating the Birthday of the Most Holy Virgin Mary with our churches all locked and no Holy Mass until September 21, earliest.
A reader of this blog said she was going to take Our Lady a tussie-mussie, letting herself in to her parish church with her own key, as she has done every day since the beginning of this lockdown lunacy, to pay a visit to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and honour the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Once upon a time, on this feast day the faithful went on pilgrimages. That was in what used to be Catholic Europe. But hello, now we're in 'Delta Alert Level 2 with some additional restrictions', so Cardinal Dew meets with the priests of the Archdiocese on Zoom, and they decide that Mass in our churches is too hard. For another two weeks at least.
In Greece, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was once an occasion for special ceremonies, bonfires and processions. Now, in Wellington Archdiocese, it is an occasion for no ceremonies whatsoever, because Cardinal Dew says they might turn into 'spreader events', the like of which have never ever been seen in the Wellington Archdiocese (but you never know), and such 'spreader events' (never before seen in this archdiocese) can cause 'distress in the community'.
On this feast parents with sick children used to 'sell' them to Our Lady, trusting that now they were her slaves She would heal them. Now, in Wellington Archdiocese, we 'keep people safe' by publicly ignoring Her.
In many churches in Central Europe, the winter seed grain was blessed on this day. In Hungary they blessed the first grapes. Now, if you could get into our churches, where 'private prayer is not permitted', you couldn't even bless yourself let alone grain or grapes - or at least not with holy water.
How long will we be in Level Two? "We do not know", says the cardinal. Only Ardern,Little&Co, Death Dealers to the Nation, are supposed to know.That's privileged information. But Cardinal Dew does know that his priests are "are all in different ways providing pastoral and spiritual care to the people, as they are to one another."
And neither his Eminence know "whether the increased restrictions in this level might be relaxed a little at a later date while still keeping us in Level 2." So that would be Level 2 when it's really Level 1, disguised as Level 2.
And we lay people do know that "(Kia Ora Koutou) Father is enjoying his break so please be mindful of that" and to let him know by phone if you've left him some food on his doorstep. And we know that there's been a prayer tree message sent out. At least one.
"Anecdotally," says Cardinal Dew, "it seems that many people are feeling vulnerable with the high transmissibility of the delta virus, and its presence in Wellington in this outbreak." That's as opposed to the last "outbreak", which hasn't happened yet.
"The high level of compliance with the government’s restrictions during this outbreak is another indicator of this personal concern, and also shows that people feel responsible for one another and for the common good of all," said Cardinal Dew. Makes you think of the Tv One 'News' vox pops, all without exception on the same page as The Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern - and his Eminence Cardinal Dew.
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| Not in New Zealand |
What follows is not required reading. But it might take your mind off levels and spreader events and 'the common good'.
The man, filled with wonder, asked what this glorious sight meant since it occurred on this day and no other. He received the answer that the Angels rejoiced because the Blessed Virgin was born on that night, and Our Lord desired that the Church on earth should join the celestial choirs in celebrating this feast. The man went to the local Bishop, St. Maurilius, who established a feast in honor of the birth of Our Lady to be celebrated every year on September 8. (1)
This Marian feast was especially dear to Catholic women of the past. In many central European countries this day was referred to as "Little Lady's Day" (Kleiner Frauentag) distinguishing it from the Great Lady's Day, the Feast of Assumption.
In some areas of Russia, on this day it was traditional for family members to visit newly-wed couples "to visit the young, to look at their life, to teach wisdom." A festive dinner followed with special toasts as the beer was brought to the table. By having this reunion on Our Lady's Nativity, the newly-weds were shown that Our Lady ought to be their model.
Many Hungarians believed that the sun tossed roses from its beams on the Nativity of Our Lady. In the Hungarian villages along Central Ipoly, the women climbed the nearby hill to watch the sunrise on this day, hoping to see Our Lady surrounded with roses in the rising sun. This belief is based on the Apocalypse where Our Lady is described as "A woman clothed with the sun" (Apoc 12:1).
Processions & Maria Bambina
The traditional time for pilgrimages to Marian shrines was the 30 days following the feast of the Assumption (August 15) until the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15). Statues or images of Our Lady in the cities and villages of Catholic Europe are often given special honor on one of the Marian feast days that take place during these 30 days.
In many villages of Greece, it was a day of special ceremonies and grand processions, which often ended in a church dedicated to St. Anne; in this act of tenderness the people brought Our Lady to her Venerable Mother who bore her. To choose the man who would have the honor to carry the image of Our Lady in the procession, an auction was held and the privilege was given to the highest bidder. The money was then used to purchase a bull to be slaughtered for the feast that followed.
Often persons in these processions sought Our Lady's aid in their troubles and sorrows. Parents with sick children "sold" and handed over their children to Our Lady on the day of her Nativity, trusting that since they were now her slaves, she would heal them. The following year on the feast day, the parents bought their children – who were often healed and well – back from Our Lady. (7)
A similar auction was held in Orense, Spain. After Mass, the highest bidder was chosen to lead the cart carrying the image of Our Lady of La Franqueria to a platform in the central square. Two men, one dressed as a Moor and another as a Catholic, reenacted a lively and contentious scene where the Moor was eventually converted through the intercession of Our Lady.
Many Italian cities and villages have a special devotion to Our Lady's Nativity. In the hilly Langhe region in Piedmont, candles are placed in the windows of every house in the towns and the surrounding countryside. Bonfires are also lit on every hilltop in the area giving a glorious tribute to Holy Mary whose birth brought light to the world.
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| A village pilgrimage in Italy |
Devotion to Maria Bambina (the Infant Mary) is a charming devotion that began in Italy and spread throughout Christendom. This devotion began as early as the 11th century when the church of Santa Maria Fulcorina in the Diocese of Milan was dedicated to the "mystery of the Nativity of Mary" in the year 1007. Five hundred years later, St. Charles Borromeo consecrated the Cathedral of Milan, dedicating it to the Nativity of Holy Mary (Santa Maria Nascenti).
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| The miraculous Maria Bambina |
These official acts of honoring Our Lady's Nativity led to the custom of making representations of Our Lady as an infant. This custom was especially popular during the Counter-Reformation.
In 1735, a Poor Clare Sister from Todi, Italy, whose name was Sr. Isabella Chiara Formari, made a wax depiction of the Maria Bambina. That image passed through the hands of many devotees until it was entrusted to the Sisters of Charity who brought the Bambina to their Motherhouse in Milan in 1876.
This Maria Bambina was exposed for veneration for the first time on September 8, 1884, and taken to the infirmary for the night to comfort the sick sisters there. A novice who was unable to move because of her serious illness begged the Infant Mary for the grace for her recovery. She was immediately and miraculously cured.
At the same time, the image itself miraculously changed colors from the faded dull gray facial hue to the vibrant colors of a infant's face. Soon many pilgrims began to flock to her chapel to ask for favors. (10)
The devotion gained in popularity and the custom spread of presenting a small wax Maria Bambina as a gift to newly-married couples. In France, the statue came to be placed on cushions under a glass globe, the Globe de Marie, which was also given to newly-married couples.
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| A globe de Marie |
Changing Seasons & the Harvest
The Nativity of Our Lady falls in the month of the year that marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the harvest festival season.
For many Catholic peoples September 8 marked the end of summer. After that day the transition began from the summer practices to the autumn and pre-winter traditions.
In central and northern Europe peoples believed that the swallows began their journey south on this day. Austrian children recited this rhyme:
It's Blessed Virgin's Birthday,
The swallows do depart;
Far to the South they fly away,
And sadness fills my heart.
But after snow & ice & rain
They will in March return again. (11)
The reference to March refers to another Marian feast day, the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, for it was a common belief that the swallows returned on that date. This association of the swallows with Marian feast days caused the Catholic Germans of old to see the swallow as a symbol of Our Lady. This charming rhyme was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Dutch who recited it to their children.
In Hungary, the man chosen to carry the seed to the church to be blessed was given the privilege to sow the first seed into the ground on the same day. September is also the grape harvesting month. In some regions of France, the wine-growers celebrate this special feast by invoking Our Lady under the title of "Our Lady of the Grape Harvest." The new grapes are brought to the church where they are blessed by the priest. Several bunches of grapes are tied to the hands of a statue of Our Lady as a special offering to the Queen of the Harvest. After the ceremony, all partake in a festive meal featuring grapes.
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| Grape festival, Italy |
These Catholic peoples knew that the surest way to receive the blessings of their labor was by offering its fruit to Our Lord on a festival of His Blessed Mother. Our Lady's birthday most opportunely falls at the time of year when the harvest is ripe and the crops and livestock are at their best. (Here it's when the grapevines are budding, and full of promise- ed).
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by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877
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