It is a beautiful thing to get up when it is still dark and to be able to watch the various stages of dawn. The sky begins to lighten little by little, and at a certain point one can begin to see one part of the horizon get brighter and brighter, before the edge of the sun appears.
The reading of the human genealogy of the Messiah at the beginning of the Gospel according to St. Matthew bears a certain likeness to the dawning of day. The promise of Christ’s coming is made long ago in the time of the patriarchs of Genesis, yet, as the years pass, the promises through salvation get clearer and clearer as the brightness of Christ’s arrival draws nearer and nearer. The very last moment of promise that leads to the rising of this Sun of Justice, is that of one through whom the world is to receive His coming. Just as that brightest piece of the horizon lets you know where to look for the sun to rise, so the brightness of this first and greatest disciple of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, directs our gaze to be able to see her Son all the more clearly.
Today, let’s rejoice on Mary’s birthday, remembering how her birth heralded that final most anticipated moment of the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, the one promised to patriarchs, prophets, and people dwelling in “too small” Bethlehem.