Feast day of the birth of the Blessed Mother of God...

September 8, 1986 [Milan]

"On the feast of my nativity, paradise exults and the Church Suffering and Militant look upon me as a sign of joy, of hope and of motherly consolation.
My birth is cause for your joy. At the moment your heavenly Mother is born, like the rising dawn, the radiant day of your salvation is already near at hand and certain for you. Close to my crib, heaven leaps for joy, with the countless cohorts of angels, who have been forever awaiting this ineffable moment. Round about my crib, there gather festively the spirits of the prophets and the just who have lived, prepared and hoped, in the expectation of this joyous event. Over my crib, with immense love of predilection, the Father bends down as He contemplates his masterpiece of creation; the Word, in the expectation of placing Himself in my virginal and motherly womb; and also the Holy Spirit who is already communicating Himself to my soul with the fullness of love. For this reason, my birth is above all a cause of great joy for you all, who love to call upon me as the cause of your joy.
My birth is also cause for your hope. Even now the Redemption, awaited, longed for and predicted for hundreds of centuries, is about to become a real event of your history. I am born to give birth to Jesus, your Redeemer and Savior. There breaks a new dawn for all humanity. Sin is about to be conquered and, for the Spirit of Evil, the moment of his complete defeat draws near, while all creation prepares itself to receive the gift of its total renewal. For this reason, my birth becomes also a cause of hope for all of you, who love to call upon me as Mother of Hope.
My birth is above all cause for your consolation. The little creature, scarcely born, whom you contemplate again today in her crib, is wondrously intended to become the Mother of Jesus and Mother of all humanity. And this gives you great comfort in the painful times in which you are living. Because you all have an immaculate Mother who knows you, understands you, helps you and defends you. Above all in the bloody hours of the great suffering to which you are being called, how much comfort you find in the sure knowledge that your Heavenly Mother is always at your side, to share your suffering, to strengthen your trust and to be a consolation to your many sorrows.
Do not be afraid. Have no fear. Feel at your side your heavenly Mother, whom you venerate today at the moment of her earthly birth, in order to become, especially in these your times, a cause of joy, of hope and of consolation for all."
--Our Lady Speaks to Her Beloved Priests (1987);Interior locution to Fr. Stefano Gobbi, MMP,(#333, pp.512-13).

Prayer: Blessed Virgin Mary, at your birth the patriarchs and prophets rejoiced, for you announced the coming of our salvation. We celebrate your birth and ask your help in our daily lives. In a world filled with violence--particularly against the preborn, the elderly and disabled--fear, and anxiety, help us to be examples of living in gospel joy...Amen