The Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least since the 8th Century. The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of only two saints: Saint John the Baptist (June 24), and Mary, Mother of Jesus.
John the Baptist is considered especially sanctified even before his birth. His birth to Elizabeth and Zachariah is foretold in the first chapter of Luke, and it is also recorded (Lk 1:41) that Elizabeth felt the infant John "leap in her womb" when Mary approached her soon after the Annunciation.
The birth of Mary was also miraculous. She was conceived without sin as a special grace because God had selected her to become the mother of His Son (the feast of her Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8). The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, though generally believed throughout the Church for many centuries, was formally declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
The Angelus:
V: The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary
R: And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
V: Hail Mary, full of grace: The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
R: Holy Mary, Mother of God: Pray for us sinners now and
at the hour of our death. Amen.
V: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.
R: Be it done unto me according to thy word.
V: Hail Mary ...
R: Holy Mary ...
V: And the Word was made flesh
R: And dwelt among us.
V: Hail Mary ...
R: Holy Mary ...
V: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V: Let us pray.
All: Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace unto our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ, our Lord, Amen.
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