Happy Birthday, Mary and an Unexpected Gift

Today is the Blessed Mother's birthday!  I wrote an article for The Integrated Catholic Life about the history of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and a few ideas to celebrate the feast, along with a lovely prayer I found online.

My daughter placed her statue of Mary in the middle of our kitchen table to honor her birthday.  As I passed it throughout the day, I thought of the Blessed Mother and offered prayers of thanksgiving for the many favors and blessings she has bestowed upon me and my family.

This morning, I reorganized a cabinet in my bedroom as I searched for a missing receipt.  To my surprise, I came across a little book called The Sorrows of Mary.  I have no idea where this book came from as I do not remember purchasing it or receiving it as a gift.  I tucked it into my purse and took it out to read it this evening after Mass. 

While reading the first chapter, I discovered that the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is just one week from today-- September 15th.  As I continued reading the beautiful meditations, it occurred to me that Mary had given me a gift on her birthday.  She wanted me to read this little book in preparation for her feast day next week.  She never ceases to surprise and amaze me!

I searched for this book online, and the only link I could find to purchase a copy is at the Life of Christ Newsletter Bookstore.  Many of the meditations are taken from a book called The Mystical City of God by Venerable Mary of Agreda.  This is a multi-volume set that is not exactly an easy read, but I've read parts of the abridged version, The Divine Life of the Most Holy Virgin, and it's much shorter and a beautiful reflection on the life of Mary.

Related links:

You can learn more about the Seven Dolors (Sorrows of Mary) at http://www.7dolors.com/

Another intersting site I discovered is an Italian devotion to Bambina Maria (Baby Mary).