1st January. Mary, the Holy Mother of God
1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27
The solemn priestly prayer for God to bless and protect us is especially apt at the beginning of a new year
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.
2nd Reading: Galatians 4:4-7
The distance between God and man has been bridged — so 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 visit of the shepherds to the stable in Bethlehem. The final verse relates it to the 8th day of Christmas.
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.
The power of a 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 that title she is still reverenced 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.
The usual reaction of those who witnessed the miracles of Jesus was amazement. For example, when his face shone like the sun at the Transfiguration, Peter was awestruck and said, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here.” Such reverence was normal to Mary, our Mother in the faith, the first believer in Christ. But she was also a flesh-and-blood woman of her times, hard-working and willing to serve. It would be illusory to imagine her as a Christmas card Madonna, serene and seated against a golden background glistening with snow, with hovering angels. Such a figure is simply not true to her life. For the real Mary from Nazareth knew no triumph in her lifetime. No one has ever lived, suffered and died in greater simplicity, sharing in the dignity of the poor.
We know this through a few short sayings in the gospels. In her own eyes, Mary was the handmaid, the lowly servant of the Lord, depending entirely on Providence and sustained by the goodness of God. The bishops at Vatican II told us that Mary stands out among the poor and the humble of the Lord, who confidently await salvation from God (Lum. Gent. 55). In the Church’s first four centuries, writers emphasised the faith of Mary at the Annunciation rather than her divine motherhood. The Virgin believed, and in her faith conceived, or as Augustine put it, “She conceived Jesus in her heart before conceiving him in her womb.” Mary, who is also venerated as Mother of Good Counsel, 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 St John, she is present at the beginning and the end of Christ’s public life.
John is the only one to record the presence of Mary at Calvary, as in the terse statement, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his Mother” (Jn 19:25). When all the signs and wonders performed by Jesus seemed to many to have been a delusion, his mother stood there faithful to him to his last breath, still believing in God’s power to save. Her faith in Jesus 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 new life when he said to John, “Behold your Mother.” The mother of Jesus will henceforth be the mother of all his disciples, including you and me.
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Marvelling and Treasuring
Today on the feast of the Holy Mother of God, which is the octave day of Christmas, we see Mary, in the gospel, 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 been preached 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. MH