(1) The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Westminster Cathedral)

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of three liturgical feasts in which we celebrate a birth: Christmas, the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, and the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Only the three most important figures in the Bible receive the honour of a liturgical celebration to commemorate their nativity.

(2) A quote from The Gift of Silence by Jerome Kodell, OSB:

The favorite images of Mary in art are the moments of silence: the annunciation; the scene at the crib—as a Christmas carol says, ‘How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given’; and Mary holding the body of Jesus in her arms beneath the cross. The silence of Mary is not an empty silence. It is a silence of contemplation: of waiting, of pondering, of loving. Mary pondering the message of Gabriel at the beginning and Mary with Jesus at the end: these are two different moments—of bewilderment, surprise, and apprehension, and loss of life, pain, and sorrow. The word that comes out of these moments is then and for all eternity the word of acceptance, submission: Fiat, ‘let it be.'”