Feast of Nativity - A Model of Faith

  •   Fri, Sep 07 2012
  •   Alban D’ Souza – Udyavar.

Sep 8, 2012.


The Christians all over the world are celebrating the feast of Nativity or simply birthday of Mary Mother of our savior Jesus Christ as well as our Heavenly Mother.

The feast of Nativity is traditionally celebrated on 8th of September 2012.  This Feast is commonly called as “Monti Fest” in Konkani . There will be 9 days Novena as a preparation for the feast and on the 10th day the feast is celebrated .The feast is very popular among the Christians of Mangalore, Goa and the  Mumbai settled Konkani people, but nowardays celebrated by the Konkan people settled all over the world. People living in the West coast of Indian Christians celebrate this feast as Nove- Jevnche  or in other words  festival of Harvest. The new crop (Corn) or kanas to be blessed by the priest in the church as thankfulness to God for the new harvest as the giver and provider of bread and this will be distributed to all the faithful gathered around the altar in the church for the special Mass/prayer. The faithful then take this corn/kanas to home and put it in the food specially (warn or Ross ) by the Head of the family with a special prayer then eat the food together with all the family members. So it is also a festival as a symbol of family unity.

This feast is celebrated with joy and happiness as it is the harvest festival as well.  The farmer is getting ready to get the crop for the year.
There is a special joy for the children during this period because as I said earlier during the 9 days novena children bring  variety of flowers in the basket to the church then these flowers will be showered  offered in front of mother Mary’s statue every day. This is amazing to see when children gathered around the altar. There is a significant preparation for 9 days before the feast to honour Mother Mary. At the end of the celebration of Mass the church authorities distribute sweets/sugarcane to the children.

If we go back to our salvation History (God’s plan to redeem man from sin through His son Jesus) was pre-planned. If we go back to our Bible – Old Testament God sent to His chosen people of  Israelites several Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jacob,  Abraham Moses and so many, even God anointed some Religious  Kings like David, Solomon  so on, to spread the God’s love to people in their Kingdoms, but still mankind remained unfaithful to God not turned to God, but God did not abandon man and He loved man so much that He at last  sent his own son Jesus Christ in order  to save man from bondage of sin so that man can re-unite with God who forgives every sin by the blood of Jesus who gave away his life for the sake of mankind’s redemption or salvation. With this plan God selected Mother Mary in His salvation plan, and accordingly God sent Angel Gabriel to Mary and gave the message that she will bore a son through the Holy spirit (we know St. Joseph was her Posco husband- means caretaker husband)and the son will be called Emmanuel (Jesus)  or simply God amongst us which made Mary exhausted and  fearful, but Gabriel said to her do not be afraid Mary I was sent by God to convey this message to you and at once Mary  not afraid but kneeled down and bowed to God and obeyed what God had said to her let it done by faith.

She said Angel Gabriel I am the handmaid of the Lord. Now with this great “Yes” to the Angel on the day of annunciation, the Virgin conceived in her Womb, through the work of the Holy Spirit the eternal word and on Christmas night gave birth to the Messiah” (Jesus) at Bethlehem and in the fullness of time Jesus was born to Mary the son of God was made man for our salvation, and the virgin became the true mother of God and eventually Jesus established the Kingdom of God for ever for the mankind for the believers. This immense gift Mary has received is not reserved to her alone, but is for all. In her faithful virginity, in fact God has given & stored man & woman the goods of eternal life, the spiritual gifts, because by means of her we have received the new life (life in the Spirit- as Jesus said to be born again in Spirit every time we die to sin) in us. Mary therefore, after given flesh to the only begotten son of God, became the Mother of all believers & of all humanity. She will intermediate us with God if we pray to her constantly (as Jesus performed His first miracle at Cana by mother Mary’s request changing the water into wine for a wedding ceremony ) because she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let us verify &reflect the significance of saying Mother Mary as mother of God?

We have a human nature. Isn’t it? It is not that we have assumed the nature of Dogs, even though we might love the house dogs very much. We are human beings not dogs, but God is different. He desperately loves us,, his children and creatures and while He maintains His nature of God, because he wanted to come to us he assumed our human nature so that we uniting ourselves to Him, could assume His nature in turn.
So God has two ways of existing remaining just as He is:

1) His natural state of being is divine (God continues to be God)
2) And the nature God assumes is Human. (So as God He also becomes man to exist with us humanly as everything is possible for God.)

God in being God is eternal. He is the source of everything, and therefore He does not need to come into existence through a mother. However, the same God being human has a beginning in time & comes into existence in reality-the World as you and me  through an earthly mother Mary and act of Holy spirit  From God as Jesus is without sin because He is divine at the same time.

Therefore, Mother Mary is clearly the mother of God not in the way that He is God but as God in the way that He assumes a human nature. So when we celebrate the feast of the Mother of God (Nativity) we are not recalling just a simple way of saying a kind of catch phrase or a symbolic image. We are re-affirming a precise truth of our faith.

So Mary did not generate a simple man, who became the son of God, but she gave birth for God Himself made man. Therefore because of this, Mary most holy becomes the model of faith, peace, love and unity since the entire human race, every human person has been thought of by God, with love from all eternity so that we might be His children for ever. 

Alban D’ Souza – Udyavar.
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Comment on this article

  • leeda, Bantwal-Denmark

    Sun, Sep 16 2012

    Thanks well written and write more
    about the faith. God bless Your work.

  • Lawrence Saldanha, Kanajar/Kuwait

    Mon, Sep 10 2012

    The least we can understand about faith is that there can be no family business or family dynasty in eternity which we are already fed up here on earth.

  • Agnello, Mangalore /Muscat

    Sun, Sep 09 2012

    Lawrence,
    Ha! ha! Very True
    Amen

  • Lawrence Saldanha, Kanajar/Kuwait

    Sun, Sep 09 2012

    Dear friends,

    When it comes to faith which one does not have to prove anything and as long majority around you says Amen, you can write anything and get away with it. God Almighty save the World from irrational Theologians.

  • Daniel, Mangalore

    Sun, Sep 09 2012

    Happy Monti festh to all. Well written.
    Great one who understand and accepts 'God's plan for humans salvation.'
    What use if one beleives that- all things possible to the Creator or Almighty God and in the same time doubt and doesn't beleive God's own power to come down to earth in the form of man with full divinity to reveal His heavenly Glory, love and mercy. Since mother Mary accepted the and said YES to God's plan of salvation God has fufilled the promise throgh Jesus Christ. Who lived, preached, healed, corrected, performed all miracles exctly as how God would do and all the time mother Mary was all along.
    God does not do magic but miracles that too with ones own will and not against ones will. Need kind heart to understand and courage to accept as the Apostles and early followers embraced. The truth is truth JESUS Christ is the invisible image of God. We Christians as Children of God to be proud as we only know who is God and how is the God.
    Thank you Mother Mary saying Yes To God's plan of Salvation, interceding for us and your blessings.

  • Diljyoti,Allahabad, Kinnigoly

    Sun, Sep 09 2012

    Well written article with so much rich input. Each one needs to read this article in order to understand the celebration of the 'Feast of The Nativity of Our Lady' Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

  • Max and Jessie Rasquinha, Mangalore, Houston/Dallas, Texas

    Sun, Sep 09 2012

    Our faith in Mother Mary was doubled and tripled ecversince we visited Lourdes and Fatima where she appeared and shared her messages to the world of peace.

    All of the above was further uplifted by our visit to Izmir in Turkey where Mother Mary appears to have lived her later life after the crucifixion of her only beloved son.

    The reliable reports in Izmir reveal that Mother Mary moved to Turkey from Jerusalem along with St,. John the Evangelist upon the specific dsire of Jesus Christ who pleaded to John from the cross to take care of his Mother.

    The place where Mother Mary lived with St. John the Evengelist is kept in a very sacred manner, and alongside her home they have bnuilt a small chapel and a place of prayer.

    Reliable reports also reveal that a small congregation of jewish community also moved with Mother Mary and St. John to Turkey The people of Turkey also feel that Mother Mary ascended to heaven from Izmir, and Vatican has confirmed this sight as a place of pilgrimage.

    We are sending this msg from our bus journey, s double-decker luxury from Houston to Dallas on the day of Nativity. Our bus has the luxury of wifi facility, and we are truly blessed.

  • Norbert Sequeira, Mumbai

    Sat, Sep 08 2012

    Very well written. Painstakingly compiled.

    Let Mother Mary bless us all.

  • Asha.Pinto, Mangalore

    Sat, Sep 08 2012

    Beautifully written. But th bible gives a different genology of Christ.
    It says he will be from the seed of David ..he is not.
    Immanual and Jesus are two different names...


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