Chaplain, Fr. Brien Mark Catabay urged SJCBI employees to put into practice Fiat, Stabat and Magnificat as Mary’s gifts, during their morning fiesta Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of Mary at the Parish Church of Parokia San Jose Mangmangged last September 8.
Fr. Catabay explained that the birthday of Mary is a time for the faithful to focus more on Mary’s three gifts to the Church.
“Sa araw na ito, hindi si Mama Mary ang bibigyan natin ng regalo. Mas maganda siguro kung titignan natin ang mga regalo ni Maria sa’tin. Tatlong regalo ang pwedeng ibigay ni Maria sa atin, tatlong regalo na pwede nating gamitin bilang isang katiwala ni Kristo, bilang anak ni Maria,” Fr. Catabay said in his homily.
(Today, we do not just offer Mother Mary our gift. Maybe it would be better if we also look at Mary’s gift to us. Mary offers us three gifts which we can use as a steward of Christ, a child of Mary)
The Parish Priest of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish presented these three gifts contained in three Latin terms: Fiat, Magnificat, and Stabat.
“Sa unang regalo ni Maria, Fiat, matuto tayong palaging sumunod sa kagustuhan at plano ng Diyos para sa ating buhay…Sa pangalawang regalo ni Maria, Magnificat, matuto tayong magbigay puri sa Panginoon hindi lamang sa pamamagitan ng ating mga labi, kun’di pati rin sa paggawa ng kabutihan…Sa pangatlong regalo ni Maria, Stabat, matuto tayong tumindig para sa katotohanan, hustisya at kapakanan ng iba,” he stated.
(The first gift of Mary, Fiat, should teach us how to always follow God’s will and plan for us…The second gift of Mary, Magnificat, should teach us to praise the Lord not just with our lips but also with our good deeds… The third gift of Mary, Stabat, should teach us how to stand for truth, justice and for others’ sake.)
The feast happens nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The faithful meditates on this day the mystery of how St. Anne conceived the infant Mary free from original sin.
Fr. Catabay also said that only three birthdays are celebrated in the Church.
“Sa kalendaryo ng ating simbahan, tatlong tao lamang ang ipinagdiriwang natin ang kanilang kapanganakan. Una ay si Hesukristo, December 25. Pangalawa ay si John the Baptist, pinsan ni Hesukristo, June 24. At pangatlo, ngayong araw na ito, ipinagdiriwang natin ang kaarawan ng ina ni Kristo, September 8,” the Chaplain added.
(In the calendar of our Church, there are only three personalities whose birthday’s we celebrate. First, Jesus Crist on December 25. Second, John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus Christ, on June 24. And third, we celebrate the birth of the mother of Jesus today, September 8)
Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Marialis Cultus, described Mary’s birth as a cause of great joy as it is considered the “dawn of our salvation.”
This feast celebrates how her birth brought forth a glimmer of light and cast out the darknes of sin into the world. Her light prefigures the arrival of Christ, the Light of the world.
Led by the Campus Ministry, the Marian celebration culminated with the praying of the Living Rosary in the afternoon at the SJCBI grounds.
By Jim B. Pagalilauan
