St. Padre Pio Centre of Australia

07/09/2026

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary invokes our Lady as “Virgin most renowned”. It is of course a fair description—most renowned because she alone is both Virgin and Mother; most renowned because through her virginity she became the Mother of God; most renowned as she herself foretold: For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

The Latin for this invocation brings out another dimension: Virgo prædicanda—literally, “Virgin needing to be proclaimed”—not that she is not already known and renowned, but that she still needs to be made known.

And this is so for one simple reason: Mary is the full flowering of the grace of Jesus Christ. To know her is to know what he has accomplished, what his victory has won. She shows in a singular manner what all of us are called to become…. In Mary we find the glorious truth that God created one of us without sin—that he became her Son, was carried in her womb, rested in her lap, obeyed her words…and that he assumed her body and soul to himself…. She is the realisation of all that he has promised us. The singular graces she received reveal what God intends to accomplish for all…. By keeping her free from sin, he shows that he desires to deliver all of us from sin and make us full of grace—defined by grace, as she was. In her becoming the Mother of God, we learn that he desires us to conceive him in our thoughts and bring him forth by our words and actions. He makes her virginity fruitful because he intends our souls likewise to be pure and fruitful. And he assumes her body and soul into heaven because he desires to raise our bodies to the same glory.

In proclaiming Mary we make known not only Christ’s masterpiece of grace but also what he desires to accomplish in us.

07/09/2026

Morning Prayer

Lord God, the day of our salvation dawned when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to your Son. As we celebrate her own nativity, grant us your grace and your peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

07/09/2026

𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟴
𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘
𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬

The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. Such a story, like many biblical counterparts, stresses the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning.

Saint Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary’s Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace.

Reflection

We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of two human beings has joined with God in his creative work. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. The new child has the potential to be a channel of God’s love and peace to the world.

This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God’s love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.

Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary’s birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.

07/09/2026

07/09/2026

FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, MATTHEW 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23
(Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 13)
KEY VERSE: "For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her" (v.20).
READ: Matthew constructed his genealogy to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of the scriptures concerning the Messiah. Except for Mary, the mother of Jesus, the other four women mentioned were all non-Jews. Each played a part in bringing about the birth of the Messiah through Mary, the mother of Emmanuel, whose name meant "God is with us." The virginal conception of Jesus inaugurated this new era of salvation. When Mary was found to be with child, Joseph, a righteous observer of the Law, was afraid to expose her to the Law because the penalty for adultery was stoning to death. An angel told Joseph not to fear to take Mary as his wife, as the child had been conceived through God's Spirit. Joseph was told to name the infant "Jesus" (Hebrew, Yeshua), meaning "Yahweh saves."
REFLECT: Mary, my mother, pray that I might be faithful to your son all my life.
PRAY: Ask Mary to intercede for your needs and those of your brothers and sisters.

07/09/2026

'105 YEARS OF SERVING CHRIST WITH MARY'

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the Legion of Mary, one of the largest lay apostolic organizations in the Catholic Church.

The Legion of Mary was founded on September 7, 1921, in Dublin, Ireland, by Frank Duff, together with a small group of Catholic laypeople. Its members, known as legionaries, dedicate themselves to prayer and apostolic works carried out in union with the Church and under the guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Over more than a century, the Legion has spread to countries around the world, promoting devotion to Mary while encouraging its members to actively participate in evangelization, pastoral service, visitation of the sick and those in need, and other works of charity.

As the Legion of Mary celebrates 105 years of service, it continues to live out its mission of bringing people closer to Christ through Mary, following her example of faith, humility, and generous service.

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Morning Prayer

06/09/2026

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, LUKE 6:6-11
Weekday
KEY VERSE: "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" (v 9).
TO KNOW: Jesus often disputed with the religious leaders about their rigid interpretation of the Sabbath law. Just as harvesting was prohibited on the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5), so was healing ̶ unless a person's life was in danger. When a man with a withered hand came to the synagogue on the Sabbath, the scribes and the Pharisees maliciously watched to see what Jesus would do. Since the man's life was not threatened, he could have waited until the next day to be healed. If Jesus healed him, he could be charged with a violation of the Sabbath law. Jesus knew that he was being observed as to what he would do, but he openly challenged his opponents by calling the man to stand in front of the assembly and stretch out his hand. Only Luke tells us that it was the man's right hand that was withered (See Mt 12:10-13 and Mk 3:1-6). This meant that he was probably unable to do physical labor; therefore, he was deprived of a livelihood. Jesus declared that the refusal to do good deeds was evil in itself, and he healed the man. The Pharisees were enraged by this so-called violation of the Sabbath, but they saw no problem in plotting Jesus' death on the holy day.
TO LOVE: Do I pray for people in my faith community who need healing?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, give me a compassionate heart to help those in need.