01 January 2026 – Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
01 January 2026 – 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.
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 privilege 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:
Mamma Mary is mother of God and also mother of us!!
Homily:
Testimony: Friend1 : Why are you so close to Mamma Mary always? Friend 2: Because even when I am guilty of sins, I still feel so close to her. I am sure. that my Mamma Mary will still hug me, cover me under her mantle and plead to her Son, just for me.
Today’s Gospel message portrays the scene of God lying in a manger as a small baby and the shepherds are worshipping this cute baby Jesus, who is also our God. Our Lord Jesus came all the way from Heaven to be with us. As we see during the lifetime of our Lord Jesus, He helped all the helpless. When people were hungry, and there was no food to eat, our Lord multiplied five loaves of bread and two fishes. When the Apostles were hungry, our Lord cooked food for them, by the time they returned from fishing. He did both big miracles and small tasks, whatever His children needed at that point of time. So our Lord Jesus knows how much we need Him.
This year we will try to grow in our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus. Let us pray before anything else in the morning.
Mother Mary was always filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us consider how our Mamma Mary overcame the tough challenges in her life..
1. Revealing her resolution to ‘remain a virgin always’ to her spouse.
Mamma Mary resolved to be a virgin for God all through her life. So she had to reveal this secret to her future spouse that she would remain a virgin always. This would have been a tough task, that too when She was so young. But Mamma Mary boldly revealed her resolution to Saint Joseph, trusting in Almighty God. By the grace of God, Saint Joseph eagerly and joyously resolved to remain a virgin for God on hearing Mamma Mary’s resolution. (References from ‘Poem of the Man-God’)
The Takeaway:
Mamma Mary boldly followed God’s will even though it was not part of human norms. Hence we need to be willing to stand outside the box, if it is God’s will, only trusting in His providence.
2. Waiting on God to reveal her innocence to Saint Joseph:
One of the most challenging situations for Mamma Mary to trust in God would have been to wait on God to reveal her innocence to Saint Joseph. The Holy Bible says that Saint Joseph was pondering on how to divorce Mamma Mary. At the same time, what would have been the agony of Mamma Mary? Mamma Mary had lost her parents at the age of 3. Now if Saint Joseph also does not accept her, what would she do with her baby? She was waiting on God to solve this issue. In the ‘Poem of the Man-God’, Mamma Mary says that she underwent huge agony from the time when Saint Joseph came to know about Mamma Mary’s pregnancy till God revealed the reason to Saint Joseph. And she purposefully refrained from revealing to Saint Joseph, the whole story of the Annunciation, for God. God in His perfect time, sent His Angel and explained to Saint Joseph.
The Takeaway:
Mamma Mary trusted in God in the toughest of toughest times. Mamma Mary never tried to vindicate herself. She made God her vindicator. In our tough times too, we should never lose hope. We can leave to the Lord the care of proclaiming us and remain in silence.
3. Travelling to Bethlehem in the final stage of her pregnancy:
Saint Joseph was dismayed on how to handle the situation of taking Mother Mary to Bethlehem when it was time for Mamma Mary to deliver. Mother Mary was full of peace and she was also happy with how God had pre-arranged events so that His Son may be born in Bethlehem. She edifies Saint Joseph saying, “Don’t be afraid. Everything will be alright. God finds a shelter for the animal, which is about to give birth. Do you think He will not find one for His Messiah? We trust in Him. Don’t we? The harder the trial, the more we trust..”
Saint Joseph listens to Mamma Mary with attention and gets up happy.
The Takeaway:
These same words of Mamma Mary to Saint Joseph also edify us. The harder the trial, the more we should trust.
4. Searching for a room in Bethlehem:
Saint Joseph searched for a whole day for a room and finally ended up in a den. He finally consoles himself saying, “It is better than nothing”.
The Takeaway:
Though they were sincerely following God’s commands, they faced only rejection. If people misinterpret our good intentions, accuse us falsely and reject us, let us be encouraged that our loving Lord Jesus is there to take care of us.
5. Prophecy of Simeon:
When the baby Jesus was presented in the temple, the prophecy was of sorrow. Already Mamma Mary, when carrying the child, would have suffered on mediating the words of Isaiah, that “He will be called a man of sorrows”. During the presentation there was also was a sorrowful prophecy. Which mother can carry her child happily in her womb when it is written that He will be called a man of sorrows and has to do the penance for the sins of the whole world?
The Takeaway:
The sorrows undergone by Mamma Mary are unimaginable. The surprising part is if anyone else in that position would have given themselves to ‘self-pity’, resulting in deep depression. But Mother Mary resolved to live everything that God had planned for her, and courageously lived according to His plan.
6. The flight into Egypt:
Joseph wakes up from his dream and tells Mamma Mary to get ready to flee to Egypt. Saint Joseph makes all the required arrangements as the journey will be a difficult one over the mountains and the desert. Mamma Mary cries on seeing the sufferings of Saint Joseph.
The Takeaway:
There is a fragrance of holiness and chastity between Mamma Mary and Saint Joseph. When Saint Joseph suffers, Mamma Mary weeps for him. When we suffer too, our Mamma Mary weeps for us. Let us be confident of our Mamma Mary who cares for us.
Whatever problems come, let us resolve to trust in our God, just like our Mamma Mary, in this New Year!!