Homily: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Parish Feast day Psalm 139: 14 reads, “I give you thanks, for I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works”. Life is the most precious gift and we do well to keep a day each year to thank God, our creator, in a special way for this great gift. Today we celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to thank God for the gift of Mary to the world. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the three nativities the Church celebrates during the year of worship. The other two are the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the Nativity of St John the Baptist. The Nativities of Jesus Christ, Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist are celebrated because of the singular mission each had in salvation history. The salvation history is the story of God’s relation to man. It is the dramatic story of God’s calling and reaching out to restore the rebellious/disobedient family of Adam to the Trinitarian Family. The climax of the story comes when the Father sends his Son into the midst of history for the salvation of the world. (Cf “The Family of God” edited by Scott Hahn &Leon Suprenant, Jr.) According to St. Paul, “When the time had fully come God sent forth his son, born of a woman. (Gal 4:4) Mary is the means by which Jesus comes into the story, into history. Mary is wonderfully made by God for a purpose. She is born, tended and formed to become the Mother of the Savior. Mary’s motherhood, we say, defines her role, the part that God has chosen for her to play in the dramatic story of salvation history. Mary is able to perform her role in salvation history because of her faith and obedience. She fulfills the will of God perfectly in her life because of her faithful response to God’s word. Each and every one of us is unique and is wonderfully made according to the purpose of God. St Paul tells us in the second reading that God has chosen us for a special purpose. He has set a plan in place to bring us who are chosen to the blessings that he has prepared. We have been called to be Christians; to be conformed to the image of Christ. We celebrate the Nativity of Mary and our parish feast day as disciples in action; answering Jesus’ call to go, make a difference. We know becoming a disciple of Jesus or a Christian means accepting the invitation to belong to God’s family; the Church. (CCC. no 2233). The Church is the great family. So let us continue work for our Church/our parish to become a true home and family for everyone. To do so, let us allow our faith and faithful obedience to the word of God help us to live up to our responsibilities as disciples in action seeking to make a difference wherever we find ourselves. I would like to conclude by conveying Most Rev Barry C. Knestout’s prayers and cordial regards to you on this parish feast day. I wish all of you a happy parish feast day celebration. Please come to the picnic after 11:30am Mass. Thank you for your devoted services and material and spiritual support for the parish. May Mary our Mother who generously makes her response of faith, hope and love to the call of God intercede for us. .