Mary's father Joachim was a wealthy member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He was deeply grieved, along with his wife Anne, by their childlessness. He called to mind father Abraham and the early Christian writing which says that “in the last day God gave him a son Isaac.”

Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God's displeasure with them.

As it turned out, however, the couple were to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”

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.”

Our Lady’s birthday has been described as “the hope of the entire world and the dawn of salvation”. That is why the Liturgy of the day says: “Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the Virgin Mary, of who was born the Sun of Justice…. Her birth constitutes the hope and the light of salvation for the whole world…. Her image is light for the whole Christian people”.

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.

This feast probably originated after the Council of Ephesus in 431, which established her right to the title of “Mother of God.” It was first mentioned in a hymn composed by Saint Romanus, an ecclesiastical lyricist of the Greek Church and later adopted by the Roman Church in the 17th century.

There are only three people whose birthdays have traditionally been celebrated by Christians. Jesus Christ, at Christmas; Saint John the Baptist; and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we celebrate all three birthdays for the same reason - all three of them were born without Original Sin.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Adela of Messines
2. Saint Etheburgh of Kent
3. Saint Isaac the Great
4. Saint Sergius I, Pope
5. Saint Thomas of Villanova