Today the Universal Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary’s (BVM) Nativity. This feast dates back to the 5th century and marks the anniversary of the dedication of a basilica in Jerusalem which was built on the location of the home of St. Anne, the BVM’s mother.
Maria is named after the BVM and so we honor her today and ask her intercession for our community:
Through her, Queen of heaven and of earth, all grace is given to men and women. Through her, by the will of the Trinity, the unbelieving receive the gift of faith; the afflicted are tendered the works of mercy; and the members of Christ grow in likeness of their Head. In Mary all human nature is exalted. We rejoice in her birthday, as the Church has done from the earliest times. We humbly implore her intercession on behalf of her namesake, Maria College.