SATURDAY, August 15 Saint Mary the Virgin

Today is the feast day of Mary, the pure and holy mother of Jesus. Christian tradition has given her the title of Theotokos--God-bearer. Little is actually known about Mary the person. She would likely have been in her teenage years when betrothed to Joseph, and the gospel accounts of her life are sparse. What stands out is her willingness to be an instrument of God's salvation. She is portrayed as one who accepts her call to an extraordinary and risky enterprise with joy, not trepidation. All of the lessons appointed for her feast reflect this joy and praise of God. Most well- known is the song that springs from her heart upon hearing the message from the angel Gabriel that she would bear the holy child. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."

The day upon which we honor Mary, the God-bearer, ought to remind us that we too are called to bear the presence of God into the world in which we live, "not only with our lips, but in our lives."

Mary's yes is not the yes of self-denial, almost of irresponsibility, as it has been traditionally presented to us. Mary knows to whom she is committing herself.

-Ana María Bidegain

PRAY for the Diocese of San Diego (Province VIII, USA)

Ps 34 or 34:1-9; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 1:46-55