21/8 September – The Birth of the Most Holy Lady Our Queen, the God-bearer and Ever-virgin Marytranslated

Slowly and gradually, through the Divine Providence, the birth of the Virgin Mary was being prepared. Over a long chain of generations, their spiritual qualities were progressively elevated until at last the blessed couple Joachim and Anna became that fertile soil on which the most wondrous and fragrant flower, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, could finally take root and blossom.

The first word about the Most Holy Theotokos was spoken in Paradise by God Himself in the promise of the Redeemer for the fallen ancestors Adam and Eve. To the serpent, it was said: "I will put enmity between you and the woman. Between your seed and her seed. She shall crush your head, and you shall strike at her heel" (Genesis 3,15). In the Divine work of salvation, everything was cloaked in mystery. Angels and prophets were in wonderment, trying to penetrate this mystery but unable to discern its veil. Thus, the birth of the Virgin Mary was hidden in such a sacred manner.

The Most Holy Virgin Mary was born at a time when humanity had reached such moral decline that their redemption seemed impossible. The wisest minds of that era recognized and often openly spoke about how God must descend into the world to restore faith and prevent the ruin of the human race. The Son of God...