Every year on September 8, the Church calls us to rejoice in the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. The feast may seem quiet compared to Pascha or Theophany, but in truth it is the first visible step in the unfolding of our salvation. The Church places this feast at the very threshold of the liturgical year, so that from the beginning we hear the good news that: the one who will give birth to the Savior has entered the world.
“Today creation receives a gift which is worth more than the whole visible world,” proclaims St. Andrew of Crete, “for the child born of Anna is the Mother of the Creator.” In other words, Mary’s nativity is not only a personal celebration for Joachim and Anna after years of reproach from their neighbors, but a cosmic event. The whole world, visible and invisible, prepares to welcome the One who will trample down death by death.
At the heart of the feast is a reversal: Joachim and Anna, long barren, are suddenly granted a daughter who will bear the Fruit of Life Himself. Their sorrow turns into joy, their barrenness into abundance. St. John of Damascus sees this as a sign: “The barrenness of Anna was the prelude to the fertility of the Virgin…for she who was barren gave birth to her who was to remain virgin, and from her would spring the fruit of life.”
Their story mirrors the history of Israel. The Old Covenant, despite its faith and struggle, could not bring salvation on its own. But in the fullness of time, the New Covenant would be born — not through human striving, but through God’s gracious intervention. In Anna’s womb, God shows that He makes the impossible possible.
Because of this, the whole cosmos rejoices. The apolytikion of the feast declares: “Your Nativity, O Theotokos, has brought joy to all the inhabited earth.” Once again, St. Andrew of Crete echoes this: “Let all creation celebrate with joy, for the holy temple of the Creator is born.”
This is not private joy. It is joy for angels and men, for the righteous of Israel and the nations, for the very earth that will feel the footsteps of the Incarnate Word. When Mary is born, creation has hope once more.
The Nativity of the Theotokos is therefore a feast of hope. The celebration of this feast reminds us that God’s providence is always at work, even when life feels barren or faith seems fruitless. It teaches us that humility is exalted, that joy will come, and that in Mary’s birth we already glimpse the coming of Christ Himself.
As we celebrate this feast, we are invited not only to honor the Virgin’s nativity but to let its message shape our lives. Just as God prepared Mary to be a living temple, so we too are called to prepare our hearts as dwelling places for Christ. Just as creation rejoiced at her birth, so let us rejoice in the Lord’s mercy toward us.
Today is the dawn of joy. Today we remember that salvation has already begun. And today we proclaim with the Church: “Your Nativity, O Theotokos, has brought joy to all the inhabited earth, for from you has shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God.”