The birth of Mary was Heaven’s way of saying: ‘Get ready, the Saviour is on the way.’ On 8th September, we celebrate the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prophet Micah tells us that God chose her even before she was born. God honoured her first, and she was proclaimed blessed in the prophetic song of Elizabeth. She was and remains an intercessor. In the miracle at Cana, she pleaded with her son to help the new couple. She continues to accompany us in the battle against evil. In her various apparitions in Fatima, Guadeloupe, Lourdes, and other renowned and remote places around the world, she asks us to pray fervently for ourselves and for many souls that are constantly destroyed by this terrific dragon called the devil. Saint Louis Marie de Montfort says, “ The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue, will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.” The Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us what it means to co-operate with the grace of God. Besides, we learn from her what it means to submit totally to the will of God by saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Do we make efforts to imitate the virtues and sanctity of this great woman who was and is still honoured above all women? Micah 5:2-5a; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23; Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary