Il-Bambina

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or as we Maltese also refer to it Our Lady of Victories, or ‘il-Bambina’. This day is a solemnity for us, due to what happened in Malta on the 8th of September, Pope Francis had declared this day as a solemnity for our diocese, that means that we celebrate it even if it falls on a Sunday.

Today, we do not only commemorate the birth of Our Lady, but we also remember the end of the Great Siege in 1565, and later in 1943, the end of the Second World War.

The nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is not recorded in any of the Gospels, neither is there any reference about her upbringing. What we know is from writings known as Apocrypha (these are religious writings which do not form part of Scripture, that is the Church does not consider them to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, like the other books we find in the Bible). However, we do know that Mary’s birth was part of God’s plan of salvation, and it happened to fulfil what had been written, “the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel.” (Is 7, 14) According to tradition, her parents were Anne and Joachim. She was born in Nazareth and her parents instilled in her a love for God and great faith in him. We have proof of this in her answer to Angel Gabriel, when he asked her to be the Mother of God.

Her strong and steadfast faith allowed her to accept God’s plan for her. Her ‘yes’ had such a great impact, that we still feel its effect even today.

Today’s Gospel is from the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, and it gives a long list of names, it starts from Abraham right up to Jesus. His is the genealogy of Jesus. It could be that somewhere along the way, we lose track of all these names, however it would be well to go over them and know who they are. It is a long list, which includes both men and women. It includes people who led good lives and others who made very bad choices. It shows us that God does not only use those who walk the right way, but God choses everyone, he also choses people who like us, are not perfect. This is a list of people like us, it shows us that God always kept his promise to be with his people.

In this passage, we hear about the birth of Jesus. We know that Mary was with child before going to live with Joseph. Joseph was a just and righteous man. If he was to obey the law, he could have had Mary stoned to death. But he was a God-fearing man, and he trusted in God, and so he believed the message given to him to take Mary as his wife and to accept the child as the promised Messiah.

We are all born of a mother, and we are ourselves parents. If we were to look back, we realise that who we are today, is greatly influenced by our upbringing. Mary was the one to bring up Jesus. We also know that she continued to be with him, even during his public life and remained with him, even when he was on the cross. Mary and Joseph, both fulfilled their mission, they were good parents for Jesus, and they always remained faithful to God. And God was always with them. God has entrusted us with our children. How are we fulfilling this mission? How are we influencing our children? Are we behaving as Christian parents should? Like Mary and Joseph, we are to trust God and do as he asks. And God will be with us, he will guide us and provide for our needs.

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 1, 1-16. 18-23)

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfil
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. Today we honour Mary by saying the rosary together.
  4. Through Mary’s ‘yes’, God could fulfil his plan of salvation. What is God asking of you today? Let God show you what he wants of you, by staying in silence and in meditation. Pray to the Holy Spirit so that he helps you to discern what God is asking of you. Today, to what are you going to say ‘yes’?
  5. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St Matthew (1, 1-16. 18-23).
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with a white clot
    v. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  6. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested)
  7. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  8. Be creative 😊
  9. Go to the Prayer Corner section to continue praying as a family

When is your birthday?

Today it is Our Lady’s birthday. Do you think we can give her a gift?

Let us listen to today’s Gospel, however we are not going to hear about the day she was born, instead we are going to listen to a long list of names!

  • Like Mary and Joseph, we are to trust God
  • A printout of today’s activity, print it on construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Colour
  • Glitter or gel pens
activityDownload

Who are your parents?

And your grandparents?

And the parents of your grandparents?

The list of names we have heard, are names of Jesus’ family! At the end we hear St Joseph and the Virgin Mary being mentioned too. Both Mary and Joseph loved and trusted God. Do you know what to trust means?

For example, you are with your parents, and you need to cross the road. When they ask you to cross, you will do so, because you trust them, you know that they love you and they will protect you from danger. When they prepare your meal, you will eat it, because you know that it is safe for you to do so. You trust them that they used ingredients which not do you any harm. When we trust someone, it means that we know that person will take care of us and will tell us the truth. So when this person asks us to do something, and we might not understand why we are being asked to do this thing, we do it just the same, because we trust this person.

This is what Joseph and Mary did. They both trusted God. When Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to be the mother of Jesus, she did not understand. However, she replied that since this was what God wanted of her, she would do it. Joseph did not understand what the angel told him, however, because God asked him to take Mary as his wife, that is what he did. And although their life, because of this choice, was not an easy one, they knew that God was always with them and he was taking care of them.

God loves us a great deal. We are to trust God, just like Mary and Joseph did. What do you think God is asking you to do? (allow the children to give their answers)

It is not always easy to do what God asks of us, but like Mary and Joseph, we are to obey God, because we know that what he asks of us is for our own good, and because we know that God is always with us.

Do you remember what we said that we are celebrating today? (Mary’s birthday)

Would you like to give Mary a present?

A gift we can give her is by saying the Hail Mary. In today’s activity, we are going to colour Mary, who is with her parents, Anne and Joachim. There is also the Hail Mary prayer. Print it on construction paper and cut along the edge. Colour it and go over the prayer with the glitter or gel pens. When you are ready, fold it as indicated. You can put it in your room, so that before going to sleep and/or when you wake up, you say this prayer.

When you are ready, sing, Who am I because like Mary and Joseph, we are children of God and like them we want to obey and do what God asks of us.

Sign of the cross

Pray the Hail Mary.

When is your birthday? Today we are celebrating Virgin Mary’s birthday!

  • God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, he has also chosen us to do special things
  • Printout of today’s activity
  • Pencil
activity Download

Although today we celebrate the birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel does not mention this. This is because none of the Gospels include it. We know that she was born, and the first time she is mentioned, is when Angel Gabriel goes to her with a message from God. When Mary was born, she was not a celebrity. She was born in a small village, called Nazareth. However, today, if the not the whole world, the vast majority of the people, know who she is!

For God, we are all special; and the same way that God had a plan for Mary, he has a plan for us too.

What was God’s plan for Mary? (for her to be the mother of Jesus)

What do you think God wants from you? (allow the children to reply)

It could be that for now you do not feel that you are special, neither that what you do is special, however, rest assured that God created each and every one of us with a great plan in mind. Part of this plan is that like Mary, we too, are to help others get to know Jesus.

How can we help others know about Jesus? (allow the children to give their answers) (we talk with them about Jesus, we do not shun away from telling them that we go to mass, in fact we encourage them to join us, we behave as true friends do, we help whenever we can, we do not hurt others, we share what we have …)

However, before all this, we need to know Jesus ourselves. How will we get to know Jesus? (we pray, we go to mass, we read the Bible, especially the New Testament, we attend catechetical meetings)

What do you enjoy most of your birthday? Could it be receiving presents?

We can give Our Lady a present too. What can we give her? (allow for answers)

(we recite the rosary, we go to mass, we help others, we read stories from the Bible where she is mentioned, we put flowers in front of her statue or picture, we read about her apparitions in Lourdes https://bekids.mt/saint-bernadette-soubirous/ to Bernadette and to the three children in Fatima https://bekids.mt/saints-francisco-and-jacinta-marto/)

Now you can use what you have thought of to complete this week’s activity. In each of the gifts write down what you are going to give to Our Lady.

How would you feel if someone promised you something, but you never received it? You will not feel happy about it! You will be disappointed. So, in the same way, see that you give Our Lady, what you have promised her, and she will be very pleased with you.

After finishing the activity, sing Do what’s right. Our Lady, teaches us that we are to make good choices, this is what she did, and that is what we should also try to do.

Sign of the cross.

We recite the pray Mary said, to praise God. Let us pray the Magnificat.

Coming soon.

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.