Mary the Moon vs Lucifer the 'Light Bearer'

If today were Lucifer’s birthday, or the day marking his creation, he would have already planned his party. He would have obsessed about who he would invite. Then he would think to his prideful self, "Actually the whole cosmos, all of creation angels and men owe me honor and glory".

I would imagine that the lucifercentric day would begin in the dark with loud drums pounding in a faster and faster pace until a spotlight suddenly came on. It is focused solely on him, he sits enthroned on a stage larger than the earth. He waits for the whole cosmos to stop and turn toward him in an act of veneration, chanting ‘all hail Lucifer”. After all, he was supposed to be the greatest angel, the Shining One, the Light Bearer.

It would have to be a day where no other creature could be honored. No one else must be born on this day. The idea that he would have to share that spotlight or cede the honor to anyone else would be repulsive to him. Thankfully, there is no such day, no such thing as Satan’s birthday. 

Instead, today we joyfully celebrate the opposite. There’s a type of holy inversion where we celebrate the beginning of the reversal of the Fall and the turning back of the forces of evil. Today is Mary’s birthday. Today we celebrate the thing that Lucifer hated most: being upstaged by a lowly, rural, teenage human girl who was brought into this world to be the New Eve, the Immaculate One who said no to sin and yes to redemption. The one who brings us the Light of the World, for she is the real light bearer.

In the readings for this day, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the spotlight is focused not on Mary but on Jesus. The secret of Marian spirituality is that it is never Marycentric, but always Christocentric. The first reading is from Micah is a messianic prophecy that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. The responsorial psalm, is short and speaks words similar to Mary’s magnificat, “He has been good to me”. The gospel acclamation is the only hint we would have that it is Mary’s birthday. “Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God”. 

Mary is ike the moon reflecting the light of the sun of justice, In humility, Mary’s big day becomes a spotlight on Jesus. This is why Mary is called the moon. Her light begins and ends with the Son. It glows as a reflection of his light and it always reminds us that even in the darkness of this world there is hope. The message of the moon is that the sun is still there and it will come again in morning glory. The christocentric Gospel reading celebrating the birth of Mary begins with the words, “This is how the birth of Jesus came about.”

Mary’s birthday is for the sake of Jesus’ birthday. She would have it no other way. It pleases Mary to be the moon in service to the sun. She, as a human, is doing what Lucifer, as angel, was supposed to do. 

In contrast to the Light Bearer, Lucifer, she knows that the source of light is not herself. Her humility is a weapon against the Evil One with whom she has total opposition or enmity. Humility is in total opposition to pride. It is the golden mean between pride and self-loathing. Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Mary is also called the Seat of Wisdom. Christ is the Wisdom seated on a throne. Mary as the throne, the handmaid of the Lord,  holds up the Luminescence greater than the light of reason and the light of faith. Like the moon, she makes his light approachable and gentle.She provides a way to see the light of the sun without being overwhelmed by it so that we may find our way to Christ through her. As for Lucifer, he remains stuck in the opposite of humilty in two ways. Though he is no less prideful, he is full of self-loathing.