Birthdays!

By Mercy Gutierrez

Liturgically, we just celebrated the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8th) and this feast day left me with many thoughts. As you might know, Catholics don’t usually celebrate saints’ birthdays in the Church. Pope Benedict remarked that “the Church always argued that it was premature to celebrate a birthday because the rest of the life of the person born on that day was subject to such ambiguity.” Obviously, the Blessed Mother is exempt from this norm because of her Immaculate Conception and grace-filled purity throughout life. However, Catholics typically celebrate the end of a saint’s life, usually marked by their date of death, knowing that is when the saint encountered the full splendor of Christ and entered into eternal life with Him. So, with our eyes fixed on eternity, it makes sense to celebrate the beginning of eternity rather than the beginning of our earthly life.

As women, God has entrusted us in a special way to celebrate life. The question remains, “how can we celebrate life while still reminding our children (biological or spiritual children) about our journey toward everlasting life?” This summer, I was impressed that my daughter received a special call from her Godfather on the date of her baptism, June 23rd. Every year, he has made a point to celebrate her “birth in Christ” more so than her natural birthday eight weeks earlier. Likewise, I hear of families who celebrate the feast days of all saints who carry their children’s namesake. Similarly, other families celebrate feasts of each child’s patron saint selected during their sacraments of First Communion or Confirmation. A friend of mine, upon entering religious life, was given a new name by her Superior and a new “birthday,” namely the feast of the saint given. No matter the tradition, the point remains the same. We must always orient our lives and that of our families toward heaven. Persevering in holiness is no easy task! So, any reminder of our heavenly destination and those who have successfully gone before us is a welcomed birthday gift in my mind!