Mother Church celebrates January 1, the first day of the year, as the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. Since 1967, the Holy See designated this day as the “World Day of Peace.” On this day, the entire Universal Church shares man’s deep yearning for peace, which seems more elusive today than ever before.
It is therefore appropriate that this day be dedicated to the woman of peace, Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. This feast, closely connected to the feast of Christmas, is the most important and oldest of the major feasts dedicated to our Lady Mary. It is based on the source of her privileges: that is, her motherhood.
Jesus Christ, God’s Son “born of woman” (Gal 4:4) came to deliver us from sin and make us children of God. Jesus is also the Son of Mary who, as the Fathers of Vatican II Council say, in their document Lumen Gentium, is “truly the Mother of God and of the Redeemer … not merely passively engaged by God, but freely cooperating in the work of our salvation through faith and obedience.” The Holy Spirit prompts Elizabeth to acclaim Mary as the “mother of my Lord” (Lk 1: 43).
The Entrance Antiphon of this day’s Mass says of Mary: “Hail, holy Mother! The child to whom you gave birth is the King of heaven and earth for ever. Amen.” In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we hear the Lord’s blessing upon the Israelites. This blessing, in the form of a prayer, was frequently used by priests when they blessed the people. In the second reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, we hear how Mary is being affirmed as the Mother of God. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of woman.” In the Gospel of Saint Luke, we hear the words of the shepherds saying to one another: “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
First Reading: Numbers 6: 22-27.
The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
V/ The word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
The Book of Numbers, which gives an account of the census of the Israelite people, is the fourth of the first five books of the Bible; the first being Genesis, which deals with the origins of the world and the origins of the Israelite people, the second, Exodus, tells the story of the escape of the Israelites from Egypt, the wandering in the desert and the covenant on Mount Sinai; the third, Leviticus, gives lists of the laws of the priests of the tribe of Levi, and the fifth, Deuteronomy, contains a code of civil and religious law framed by the teaching of Moses; it is also an account of the final preparations for entering the Promised Land. Collectively, these five books form a unit known either as the Pentateuch (from the Greek for five books), or as the Torah (the Hebrew word for Law).
In the passage selected for our meditation, we hear how the Lord is blessing the people of Israel. This blessing is in form of a prayer that was frequently used by the priests as they blessed the people. We hear that the Lord makes his face shine upon the people and that he is gracious to them. When the grace of God shines on his people, there is grace everywhere. God’s blessing on his people will culminate in the fulfillment of the long-promised Messiah, Christ Jesus, who comes into the world through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the Jewish people, the love and mercy of God became manifest. Through the Jewish people, God has made his physical presence among us in the Holy Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Wherever God’s blessing dwells, there peace dwells. In the course of this Eucharist, let us call on our Lady Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace, to help all God’s people, wherever they may be, to work for peace and to be guided by the light of the truth that sets man free. Amen.
Second Reading: Galatians 4: 4-7.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
The Letter to the Galatians is the first of the so-called “great” epistles of Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. God inspired Paul to write it at a very providential time, because it provides the best commentary to the decisions of the Council of Jerusalem, which is recounted in Acts 15: 23-29. At that gathering, the Apostles, with the help of the elders, or presbyters, of the local church of Jerusalem, and, as they themselves tell us, in union with the Holy Spirit, decided that Christians of Gentile origin were under no obligation to conform to Jewish customs and traditions.
Some Jews had been bent on imposing the ancient rites of Israel, circumcision, for example, on others and Paul had to step in strongly to spell out very clearly the truth about justification through faith and about Christian freedom.
In the passage selected for our meditation, Saint Paul evokes the belief he expresses strongly in just about all his letters; namely, that Jesus is both God and man, “born of woman, born under the law.” When Jesus came into the world, he did not just appear out of heaven. He was born of a woman, like the rest of us, except that he was without sin. Through the incarnation, all the elements that hold man in bondage – sin, the flesh, death and the Law – have been conquered by Jesus.
Our Beloved Mother Mary freely participated in God’s plan of redemption for us, by accepting to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we continue our prayer this day, let us be thankful to God for giving us Mary, the Mother of our Saviour, through whom we receive endless blessings throughout our lives. May she continue to intercede for us to her Son that we may continue to enjoy health in body and in spirit. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Luke 2: 16-21.
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
Today’s feast is the celebration of the Motherhood of Mary, Mother of Peace. Our world is yearning for true and lasting peace. In his message to the world on this day, Pope Francis calls for the strengthening of human bonds through a culture of care which serves as a path for peace. He regrets that alongside testimonies of love and solidarity that the world has experienced, especially to counter the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic, “we have also seen a surge in various forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and wars and conflicts that bring only death and destruction in their wake.”
“These and other events that marked humanity’s path this past year have taught us how important it is to care for one another and for creation in our efforts to build a more fraternal society. That is why,” continues the Holy Father, “I have chosen as the title of this year’s Message, A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace. A culture of care as a way to combat the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation so prevalent in our time.”
A few years ago, the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, also speaking on this day that is dedicated to Mary Mother of God, said, among other things, that “The path to the attainment of the common good and to peace is above all that of respect for human life in all its many aspects, beginning with its conception, through its development and up to its natural end. True peacemakers, then, are those who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions, personal, communitarian and transcendent. Life in its fullness is the height of peace. Anyone who loves peace cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life.” Mary, our Mother, is a woman of peace, who happily agreed to bear God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.
We therefore give thanks and praise to God the Father because Mary conceived his only Son. Mary is our Lady, full of grace and virtue, conceived without sin. She is the Mother of God and our Mother, and dwells both body and soul in heaven. Sacred Scripture refers to her as the most exalted of all creatures, the blessed One, the most praised among women, full of grace, she whom all generations shall call blessed.
The Church teaches us that, after Christ, Mary occupies the place that is highest and closest to God, because of her divine motherhood. Saint Paul tells us in the second reading of today’s Mass that when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law. This means that Jesus did not suddenly appear on earth. He became truly man, like us, taking our human nature in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary.
Saint Cyril says that he is exceedingly astounded that anyone could doubt that Mary should be called the Mother of God. “If our Lord Jesus Christ is God,” he asks “why should the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to him, not be called the Mother of God?”
The Fathers of Vatican II Council say, in their document Lumen Gentium that the motherhood of Mary will last forever until the perpetual consummation of all the elect. For, having been assumed into heaven, she has not left behind this salvific mission, but, through her constant intercession, continues to obtain for us the gifts of eternal salvation. With her motherly love, she looks after the brothers of her Son, who are still wayfarers and a prey to danger and uncertainty until they at last reach their heavenly home.
Our Lady, close to her Son, fulfills her mission as the Mother of peace by interceding continually for us with her Son. Filial devotion to Mary is therefore an integral part of the Christian vocation. We are always ready to run instinctively to her, who consoles us in our distress, enlivens our faith, strengthens our hope, gets rid of our fears and invigorates our timidity.
Let us pray. “O God, you made Mary’s virginity fruitful and so held out to mankind the reward of eternal salvation. Through her you gave us her son to be the source of our life: grant that we may experience the power of her prayer for us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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