01 Jan 2024 -Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
01 Jan 2024 -Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27
A new-year prayer for God to bless and protect his people
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,
Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
Responsorial: Psalm 66: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
R./: May God bless us in his mercy.
God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help. (R./)
Let the nations be glad
and exult for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples.
you guide the nations on earth. (R./)
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him. (R./)
2nd Reading: Galatians (4:4-7
Through adoption, we can call God “Abba! Father!”
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Gospel: Luke 2:16-21
The shepherds visit the manger. Later, Jesus is circumcised and named
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
A woman of strong and simple faith
At the Council of Ephesus (451), the mother of Jesus was solemnly proclaimed as Mother of God or Theotokos, acknowledging the Godhead of her Son, Jesus Christ. Under this noble title she is still honoured by most Christians around the world, and today’s feast invites us to place our hopes and plans for the new-starting year under her motherly care. We can entrust to her our personal concerns and those of our era, the conflicts the glaring injustices, the unequal wealth and opportunity, the war in Syria and Iraq; in short, all that troubles peace and fairness in our world at this time.
In spite of everything, we can enter this new year of 2024 with a sense of wonder and trust. Somehow we can share in the spirit of Saint Peter at the Transfiguration of Christ when he said, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here.” Such wonder and reverence was typical of Mary, our Mother in the faith, the first believer in our great Christian family. But Mary was also a flesh-and-blood woman of her times, a hard-working girl from Nazareth, cheerfully willing to be of service to others. It would be illusory to imagine her as a Christmas-card Madonna, set serenely against a golden background with hovering angels. Such a figure is simply not true to her life-story as told in the Gospels. The real Mary from Nazareth knew no riches or privelege in her lifetime. Nobody has ever lived, suffered and died in greater simplicity, marked by a strong and simple faith.
As she saw herself, Mary was the handmaid of the Lord, trusting in Providence and sustained by the goodness of God. Indeed, she stands out among the Lord’s anawim, the humble hearts who confidently trust that God has everything in hand (Lumen Gentium 55). In the first four Christian centuries, Church writers emphasised Mary’s faith rather than her divine motherhood. As St Augustine put it, “She conceived Jesus in her heart before conceiving him in her womb.” Also venerated as Mother of Good Counsel, Our Lady can be our guide and counsellor in the area of faith. She wants to beget faith in us, to be our Mother in faith. That is why, in the gospel of John, she is present at the beginning and the end of Christ’s public life.
John is the only one to record Mary’s presence at Calvary, as in the terse statement, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his Mother” (Jn 19:25). When all the miracles of Jesus seemed a delusion to many, his mother stood there faithful to him to his last breath, still believing in God’s power to save. Her faith did not need astounding miracles, but rested on childlike trust in the mysterious ways of God our Father. Nor did her role as mother cease then, for in his dying hour Jesus gave it a new focus when he said to John, “Behold your Mother.” The mother of Jesus will henceforth be the mother of all his disciples, sharing with us her strong and simple faith.
On this we see Mary marvelling at what has happened, treasuring the events of Christmas in her memory, and pondering them in her heart. The image is that of the contemplative woman who ponders the marvels the Almighty has done for her and for all people. She ponders in response to what the shepherds said to her. Those simple, humble shepherds had preached the gospel to her, repeating what had been told to them by the angels, “Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” It is this good news, this gospel, that she treasured and pondered over.
The same gospel has come to us, and we are invited to treasure it, to ponder on it and to respond to it, as Mary did. Today, New Year’s day, is a day when many feel drawn to make good resolutions. What better new year’s resolution could we make today than that of adopting Mary’s stance before the grace of God? Today’s feast invites us to share in Mary’s sense of awe and wonder before God’s merciful love, made known to us in Christ, her son. As we look towards the new year, which begins today, we ask Mary to help us to treasure the gospel as she did, so that Christ might come to others through us as he came to us through Mary.
Key Message:
Thanking God without “Why” or “When” questions!
Homily:
In the second reading, God wants us to call Him as “Abba, Father”. When the Apostles asked how to call God, our Lord Jesus taught them to call Him as “Our Father”. This is a great privilege for us. Almighty God is not only our God but also our Father. The Lord Jesus is our elder brother. Mamma Mary is our divine Mother. All angels and saints are the children of God, praying to God on our behalf.
Quick testimony – “When I wake up in the morning, I used to think about unnecessary things instead of thanking and worshipping God. Then when I sat for prayer, I used to feel very bad and repent. This used to use up my time with God. And I would get up from my prayer time unsatisfied.” God our Father does not want us to repent all the time. He is our Almighty Father waiting to see us running towards Him. It is unbelievably easy to satisfy God, our loving Father. After losing all the wealth in sinful ways, when the prodigal son went back to his father, what did the father do? He did not count all the sins that his son had done. He did not even mention any of the sins committed by his son. All the Father wanted was to see his son coming back to him with a repentant heart. Is it too hard for us?
Our Lord Jesus Christ instantly forgave the good thief. Our Father will forgive our sins instantly and throw our sins behind His back. So never keep repenting all the prayer time for your sins. Repent, believe that God our Father has forgiven your sins just like the father of the prodigal son. Next, communicate with Him as your loving Father, who is deeply interested in listening to you. If you are getting distracted, pray by listening to worship songs on youtube or any other means. I really found it useful. Read only a small portion of the Bible, do not force yourself to read a full chapter a day. You may not understand it. As soon as some verse speaks to you, immediately stop reading and meditate on that verse all through that day. Do not worry about completely reading the full Bible. Understanding what you read and relating it to your life is more important. For entertainment, plan to read books which will benefit your soul, like “Introduction to Devout Life”. Plan to read books authored by saints – they are food for our soul and they make our life meaningful.
Our mandatory New Year Resolution will be to spend one hour daily in prayer. Most people say it is difficult to find an hour to spend with God. We can sleep early at night. Not wasting time at night is essential for the next day. Before sleeping, take 10 minutes and go through all the activities of the day in your mind like a movie. Do not become emotionally tied or judgemental when you do it. But this will help you in rearranging your days.
Today’s children are our future church. Talk to them about Jesus and His Heaven. Like Saint Don Bosco, we can talk to them in their language. Speak with them only in stories and songs. Otherwise they will feel bored. I was surprised to hear a child in Grade-1, “I was feeling lonely today in my class. So I asked the child Jesus to come and sit by my side. Then I felt strong”. The parents of this child have made the child understand that the child Jesus is always there to take care of her.
Develop any skill set that is useful to God. It may be singing like singing in choir or playing any instrument or teaching catechism class. There should be some accomplishment from our life for God. We cannot face Him empty-handed when our time is over.
I used to think that since our Mamma Mary has been taken to Heaven with body and soul, her time is never over. She has to keep taking care of us from Heaven. Little Therésè of the Child Jesus wrote, “I am so used to suffering. How can I be in Heaven without suffering?” Likewise our Mamma Mary has been used to pleading for us to Her Divine Son right from earth. How can She stop pleading for us in Heaven too?
Mamma Mary never hesitated or argued with God or His Angels.
When they gave the impossible message, that she would conceive as a virgin, she submitted herself totally. Mamma Mary knew that women who were becoming mothers before marriage were killed by pelting stones at them. Even then she said “YES”.
She did not talk on her behalf to Saint Joseph when he found that Mamma Mary was pregnant. So the Almighty Father sent His Angel to explain the truth to Saint Joseph.
Mamma Mary explained her vow of virginity to Saint Joseph, before they got married. She stayed as a virgin all through her life.
When Our Lord Jesuse was hanging on the cross, she did not worry about who would take care of her as she did not have any other child apart from our Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus, understanding her plight, asked His disciple to take care of His Mother.
Since our Mamma Mary never sinned, she crushed the satan under Her Holy feet. Let us pray to her. She will crush the satan that is troubling us under her Holy Feet.
We should pray for peace in the world to our Mamma Mary. The world requires more prayers to Mamma Mary for the wars to end.
All through her life, Mamma Mary was obedient to God. She was always blessed with the bare minimum of things to fulfil the needs of her life. Nothing concerned Her because Her only concern was “obeying God”.
Today’s Gospel reading says that Mamma Mary pondered all these things in her heart. She never tried to figure out anything. On the way to Bethlehem, she did not try to figure out how they would find a room to deliver, or what would happen if she got the delivery pain on the way. She did not question why she had to leave for Egypt suddenly. She did not question why Saint Joseph had to die early or why her Son Lord Jesus had to be crucified on the cross. She knew that nothing was in her control. But She knew that the Almighty Father was in control of the situation. Mamma Mary never asked “Why God? Why?” or “When God? When?” She submitted herself to God without any questions. Once the good things happened like the shepherds came and worshipped their baby, Mamma Mary stored them in her heart and pondered over them.
Going through trials without asking questions but thinking over and over on the good things that happen are some of the beautiful things we should learn from Mamma Mary. It delights God, our Almighty Father and gives us lots of peace and joy.
This day used to be the feast of the Circumcision (from 1568 to 1960), very suitable for the “octave” of Christmas (the eighth day after Christmas Day):
“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21)
I remember how we looked forward to 1960 when it was expected that the Pope would open the Third Secret of Fatima, confided to his predecessor, Pius XII, by Sister Lucia, one of the three child visionaries of Fatima in 1917, with mysterious instructions that it was not to be opened until 1960. Well that did not happen for 40 more years, when Pope John Paul II unsealed it in 2000, and it was a non-event. Though Sister Lucia, still alive, vouched for the authenticity of the message, the fanatics claimed that her true script had been suppressed or truncated, and have sustained a host of conspiracy theories to this day.
Meanwhile Pope John XXIII dedicated the first day of the 1960s, perhaps the most exciting decade of the last century, if you exclude the 1910s and the 1940s, marked by the worst wars of all time, to the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. and ever years since, all 64 of them, have been launched with this commemoration of Mary. Apparently, this was not an innovation but a recovery of the celebration of Mary on January 1st in the ancient Church. Vatican II was a Marian council in a way, devoting the eighth and last chapter of its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 21 November 1964, to Our Lady as a model of the life and destiny of the Church. “She is hailed as pre-eminent and as a wholly unique member of the Church, and as its type and outstanding model in faith and charity” (#53).
Let us meditate on her charity and on her faith.
Her charity is on display in her promptitude in visiting her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, a troublesome trip to the hill country (Lk 1:39), and in looking after her through the last three months of her pregnancy (Lk 1:56). As soon as she is aware she is needed or can be useful, she reacts warmly, empathetically, immediately, or to use a word found in today’s readings, graciously. She is a woman of compassion, and one of her titles is “mother of mercy, mater misericordiae.” That perception of her is expressed in a beautiful prayer, the Memorare: “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy assistance, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.” The same quickness of sympathy is portrayed in the story of the marriage-feast of Cana. She notices what people need and does what she can to provide it: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus comes across as less gracious, even rather churlish, on this occasion, but he lives up to his role as Saviour, indeed as “Saviour of the World” (Jn 4:42), for the wine is symbolic of Redemption and the miracle is the first revelation of his Glory. And of course on many other occasions Jesus shows the same graciousness as his mother, and we can imagine he learned it from her. His first words in John’s Gospel as “What are you looking for?” (Jn 1:38). Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus’s role as Saviour is inscribed in his name: Jesus = Yehoshua, shortened to Yeshua = “Yhwh saves” or “Yhwh is salvation” (also in Mt 1:21).
Mary’s charity is also on display in her Magnificat, in her identification with the poor and the downtrodden: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and raised up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things” (Lk 1:52-3). Charity also means love of God, and there is no character in Scripture so manifestly full of that love: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38). The same clarity, the same promptitude, the same graciousness.
But since Mary had dealings with angels and saw the saving events up close, how can we say she was a woman of faith? Well, even people who have very privileged religious experiences can undergo trials of faith. Mark’s Gospel gives us insights into the rocky ride that Jesus’s family went through when he began his startling and dangerous ministry; see Mk 3:21; 3:31-5; 6:3. She shared intimately in the Passion—“and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Lk 2:35)—, and that must include the agony (Mk 14:32-42 and parallels; Jn 12:27-8), the pain of betrayal (Jn 13:21), and the sense of divine abandonment (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46). John portrays her standing bravely at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-7). All of this demanded very great faith.
Mary appears only in a handful of places in the Gospels, yet every one of her words and gestures gives us food for contemplation. She stands at the threshold of the Gospel and at its end, pointing to the final salvation, a powerful figure, under whose protection we do well to place ourselves as we face a new year, with its blessings and trials.
Happy New Year.
One of my resolutions this new year is to be able to get close to Mother Mary. Please pray for me so that I can have this special moment with her every day through praying the rosary and meditation.
Thank you for homily, Blessed be God forever, through His Only Son Jesus Christ ???? and Holy Spirit Amen.