Monday, January 1, 2024
Happy New Year 2024 !!!
Buon Anno Nuovo 2024 !!!
Themes for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
This feast day celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as the mother of our Lord Jesus. The first reading gives a traditional blessing. The second reading tells how Jesus was born of Mary to save us. And in the gospel, we hear how the shepherds visited the Holy Family after the birth of Jesus.
- The Aaronic Blessing: The blessing from Numbers, given to Aaron and his sons, highlights God’s desire to bestow protection, grace, and peace upon His people. This theme is a reminder of God’s constant care and the power of His blessing in our lives.
- Universal Scope of God’s Blessing: Psalm 67 speaks of God’s merciful blessing and its global impact, making His ways and salvation known to all nations. This underscores the universality of God’s love and His desire for justice and guidance for all peoples.
- Divine Sonship and Adoption: The reading from Galatians emphasizes the pivotal moment in salvation history when God sent His Son, leading to our adoption as God’s children. It celebrates the intimate relationship we have with God, where we are no longer slaves but heirs.
- The Shepherds’ Witness and Mary’s Reflection: The Gospel account of the shepherds visiting the infant Jesus and Mary’s contemplative response exemplifies the human encounter with the divine. Mary’s role as a reflective and pondering mother highlights her deep faith and understanding.
- Jesus’ Naming and Mary’s Obedience: The naming of Jesus on the eighth day, in accordance with Jewish custom and divine instruction, signifies Mary and Joseph’s obedience to God’s will. This event also marks Jesus’ formal incorporation into the chosen people.
- Mary as the Theotokos: The celebration of Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos), invites reflection on her unique role in salvation history as the mother of Jesus, God incarnate. It honors her obedience, faith, and integral part in God’s plan of salvation.
Reflecting on these themes during the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, deepens the understanding of God’s blessing and care, our adoption as His children, the importance of obedience to God’s will, and Mary’s exemplary role in salvation history.
Dearest Mother Mary, you were graced with a grace beyond any other. You were preserved from all sin and remained perfectly obedient to the will of God throughout your life. As a result, you became the perfect instrument of the Savior of the World by becoming His mother, the Mother of God. Pray for me that I may ponder this great mystery of our faith this day and ever more deeply rejoice in the incomprehensible beauty of your motherly soul. Mother Mary, the Mother of God, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.