09/08/2026
Today the church commemorates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A legend from the 2nd century tells of how Mary was conceived:
Once upon a time there was a Jewish couple named Jo’-a-chim
and Anne. They were elderly, and their neighbours reproached
them for not having any children. But God heard Anne’s
laments and sent an angel to tell her: “You shall conceive and
bear, and your offspring shall be spoken of in all the world.”
And so it came to pass that Anne conceived; and when the time
was fulfilled, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Mary.
Both parents vowed to dedicate their child to the service of
God, and when she was three years old they presented her in
the temple at Jerusalem. “And the high priest placed Mary on
the third step of the altar, and the Lord God put grace upon the
child, and she danced for joy with her feet, and the whole
house of Israel loved her.
Let us Pray: Eternal God, who revealed the mystery of your loving providence in the birth of Mary, the Mother of our Lord, grant that we who now call her blessed may be clothed with the light of your new creation and rejoice with her in the radiance of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. AMEN
