The above picture is an Oil painting of Our Lady of the Southern Cross by Paul Newton, which was commissioned by Cardinal George Pell for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. I had the opportunity to see this picture in the Cathedral in Sydney and it is beautiful. Of all the pictures, images and depictions of Mary, the painting of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is one of my favorites. The prayer on the back of the prayer card is very inspiring.
Mary, you are the Mother of Jesus, our Lord. Your presence in the upper room inspired the first disciples to trust completely in the promise of the Risen Christ:
I now consecrate myself to you under the title or Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians, so that I might be a witness to your Son Jesus in the power of His Spirit.
Mary, teach me to be attentive to the voice of God in silence and to live a life of service in truth, joy and peace.
Amen.
Today, on September 8th, we celebrate the Nativity or Birthday of Mary, the Blessed Virgin and the Mother of God. She is a wonderful example for us of humility, obedience, purity and love. She is the disciple par excellence. I would certainly encourage anyone to begin to develop a relationship with her who was so very close to Jesus. She is a model disciple and is praying for all of us from Heaven.
So, how will you celebrate Mary's birthday today? Mary would want us to turn to her Son Jesus and ask Him once again to come into our lives and into our hearts. As she declared in her Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord," so our souls and our lives should proclaim and magnify the Lord to our neighbors around us. This is the commandment that Jesus has given us : "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another"(John 13:34-35).
Mary, being the faithful disciple, loves us and even people who may struggle to love. I will pray for you as you strive to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
To learn more about today's Feast, please click here.
God bless you,
Fr. Joshua
Wonderful reflection! The painting is beautiful and so is the prayer!
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