The biblical view of Mary is that she has been specially set apart by God in the order of grace. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, was one of the first to affirm this when she proclaimed Mary’s blessedness upon her visitation: “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:41-42)
Dec. 25 is a date that even non-Christians recognize – and many even celebrate – as the day Jesus Christ was born in the little town of Bethlehem. But was Christ really born on Dec. 25? Some claim the Church only chose this date as a way of co-opting an older pagan winter-solstice holiday in an attempt to gain converts, and it really has nothing to do with Christ’s birth.