Understanding the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 8, 2026 • View profile •

Understanding the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of only 3 birthdays that is celebrated on the Church calendar. The other two are, of course, the birthday of Jesus and the birthday of John the Baptist.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary begins the earthly life of the Mother of our Lord. Preserved from Original sin, Mary was prepared from the moment of her conception to fulfill the calling to be the Mother of the Savior.

At the time of her birth, a pure vessel for the King of Kings was brought to life. The Vessel prepared for the Holy One was beginning her life of obedience and surrender.

Her birthday is more about Jesus than her. Like everything else in her life, it points us toward Jesus. The pure birth of Mary directs our gaze forward to the pure and holy birth of Jesus our Lord.

It is a time for us to draw near to Our Lady and to fall deeper in love with her.

"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

She is our Mother. We are her children. She loves us and just as we adore and celebrate our earthly mother on her birthday, we are called to love and celebrate our Blessed Mother. She intercedes for us. She loves us. She goes to her Son Jesus on our behalf.

"Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence" - St. Francis de Sales.

"What a joy to remember that she (Mary) is our mother. Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?' - St. Therese of Lisieux

Why do we celebrate her nativity:

Catholics celebrate the Blessed Mother's Nativity because it reminds us of the profound gift the Father gave us in His Son - Mary's Son- Jesus.

Her obedience and love for the Father led to our salvation. It led to her resounding YES to God.

"She (Mary) is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious Lily of the Valley." - St. Augustine

Things we learn about Jesus from the Nativity of the Blessed Mother

There are four things we learn about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by meditating on the Nativity of the Blessed Mother.

- Jesus Is The Promised Savior

- He Saves Humanity through a lineage of grace while being fully man and fully God simultaneously

- He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament

- Obedience is followed by Grace

"From Mary we learn to surrender to God's Will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God." - St. Pope John Paul II

It is important to remember that by honoring Mary on her Nativity that we, in turn, are honoring Jesus. We are not worshipping or giving a greater honor to Mary than we do Jesus. That is to never happen. However, when we honor Mary, we, in turn, honor Jesus.

"We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus her Son" - St. Louis Marie de Montfort

Blessed Mother - Pray for us.

About the Author

Catholic365 Contributor

Amelia Monroe Carlson

Amelia Monroe Carlson graduated from the University of North Alabama with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism. Being raised as a Methodist during her early years, it was not until she entered college where she began to take her faith seriously. She was baptized as a Southern Baptist in Muscle Shoals, AL and began immediately serving in international missions and in the church.

During college, she became the Co-founder of an International Ministry, where she spent time traveling and speaking to church groups and in large conferences. She authored a Bible study and traveled abroad on mission work. She sat on the Mid-South Interfaith Conferences in Mississippi, where she defended the faith and discussed beliefs with leaders of various religions.

After a business trip to Washington D.C., where she was introduced to a former Baptist who converted to the Catholic Church, she was placed on a journey to enter into the Catholic Church.

Amelia is a military wife and currently residents with her husband and daughter in Tennessee. She is a nine time award winning journalist, receiving press awards for various categories including investigative journalism, best news coverage, and best single feature. It is her desire to help Catholics, particularly Cradle Catholics, see the beauty in their faith which converts see and appreciate the fullness of truth which the Church has held and guarded throughout history. It is her desire all Catholics fall as much in love with Jesus as she is, and love the Church to a greater capacity than they could imagine.

Amelia taught PRE for 4-6 grade at St. Mary Catholic Church in Bolivar, Tennessee from 2014-2016. She served as Youth Director at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Somerville, Tennessee in 2017-2018. She now teaches 7th grade (1st year Confirmation) PRE class at St. Philip. She's also a writer and frequent podcast guest on Our Warpath.

She has a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Francis de Sales, St. Padre Pio and St. Maximilian Kolbe.

To contact Amelia for speaking inquiries at conferences, retreats, or parishes contact her via social media on Facebook (Amelia Monroe Carlson), Twitter (@2_catholic ) or send a text to: (731)518-7161.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ameliamcarlson
Twitter: @2_catholic (Catholic ministry account)

Twitter personal account: @ameliamcarlson

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Understanding the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Amelia Monroe Carlson

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