Saint Bernard of Clairveaux taught us that we do not in any way obscure the glory of God the Son by praising his mother Mary, for there can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son, since she is who she is because of her Son, Jesus, our Saviour. As with anything else, of course, if we exaggerate this principle we will be in danger of error, but there is a great deal of spiritual insight in it.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, nine months after the Feast of the Annunciation, so we celebrate the birth of Mary nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Just as we celebrate the birth and afterwards the birthdays of any child, so we must with gratitude and joy celebrate the birth of Mary and in doing so remember the gift which she gave to the world by putting herself at God's disposal by accepting the mission of being the mother of the Saviour.