Looking Back at Mary: Our Birthday Gift to the Blessed Mother

Outside of the Biblical sphere, Mary is portrayed as a proactive figure in the history of the Church, tirelessly aiding Christians in their spiritual battles. She is especially known for her astonishing apparitions before religious and lay people. On one occasion, the Virgin Mary helped another Mary known as St. Mary of Egypt in the young woman’s struggle against lust. Through a forlorn cry to the Blessed Mother, St. Mary of Egypt overcame her lust and received Holy Communion. Years later, the Virgin Mary visited the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico as a dark-skinned Aztec woman. There, she consoled the peasant St. Juan Diego and instructed the building of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This particular apparition would soon blossom into a devotion and the emblem of the right-to-life movement of the United States of America, for people consider the image of the ‘Mexican Mary’ as a model in protecting the embryos carried by mothers (Craughwell, 2016).

Today, the Blessed Virgin Mary continues to protect and bless those who invoke her. Her tender character as the “Handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38) and the Mother of Christians (John 19:26-27) inspires people to be grateful and humble in every turmoil of life. For Lourdesians, the Mother of Christ becomes their Mother too. She is revered as the Lourdesian master’s “Model of Faith”, and is celebrated as the patroness of Lourdes School of Mandaluyong under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes. Furthermore, her presence continues to saturate the academic and spiritual formation of her children through intimate encounters with her such as the Living Rosary celebration and the performance of the Panunuluyan, a dramatized portrayal of her struggles with St. Joseph during the night of the Birth of Christ. With her warm image framed in every classroom of the school and her intercession mentioned in every prayer, Mary proves her perennial care for her Lourdesian children and to the rest of creation.

And so, as gifts are traditionally given to birthday celebrants, the Catholic Church now joyfully offers her gifts to the Blessed Mother - Masses are being celebrated; flower bouquets are being fashioned; novenas are being recited; hymns are being sung; and hearts are being offered to God through Mary. On this special day, the Lourdesian community joins the Church in a universal birthday celebration in honor of the loving Mother Mary and her gifts to the militant, penitent, and triumphant Church. May the tender embrace of the Blessed Virgin Mary envelope the Earth and bring it to the love of the Triune God.