Mary! The Mother of God!

Throughout the ages, the Catholic Church has willed that the faithful begin the calendar year with the observance of a holy day of obligation, and in so doing counters the godless aspects of New Year’s Day festivities and by encouraging Christians to usher in the New Year in Christ Jesus, not in carousing, drunkenness and revelry.
Our Savior taught us that we are in the world but not of the world. “Set your minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are of the earth,” St. Paul said to the Colossians.
The Second Vatican Council teaches us that: “Mary is the Pattern of the Church in its perfection.” Thus, with the Mass of Jan. 1, the Church points us to Mary, the Virgin Mother of God!
Mary, the Sinless One!
We pray that, throughout the year, Our Lady will shield us from the evil one and shower us with the graces we need to, “overcome the world.”
Mary, Mother of God!
What an astounding title! Imagine! One of our own has this unfathomable name!
Yet, some might legitimately ask: “How can a mere mortal be called the Mother of God”?
From apostolic times, Catholics have believed firmly that Mary is the Mother of God. In fact, this is the most appropriate of all her titles. She is, as the ancient Greeks proudly professed: “The Theotokos, the God Bearer.”
God the Father, in His infinite love for us, sent His Son to be our Savior. From all eternity, the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, shared His Divine Nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In order to become man, the Son willed to enter our world just as all humans do.
And so, to assume our human nature, God the Son would be born of a woman.
Matthew and Luke tell us that Our Divine Redeemer was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus took His human nature from Mary, the humble Virgin of Nazareth.
Therefore, Our Lord has two natures, the Nature of God and the Nature of Man. In the mystery of the Incarnation, His Human Nature is united with His Divine Person. Jesus Christ is True God and True Man. Jesus Christ, the God/Man is flesh of Mary’s flesh and bone of Mary’s bone. The Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God!
The wonders of Catholic faith never cease! With the assurances given to us by Jesus Christ as He hung on the Cross of Calvary, we too can call Mary, mother. She is Our Blessed Mother. She knows us each of us by name. In her love, she keeps us close to her Immaculate Heart for she is the most loving of all mothers.
Let us keep our heavenly mother in our hearts, as well. Never let one day of this New Year pass without invoking her name in prayer. She is especially pleased when we pray the Rosary. As Pope John Paul taught us, it is precisely here that the Mother of the Redeemer teaches us of Jesus.
My dear friends, why not make a New Year’s resolution that would please her greatly, one that would bring us enormous spiritual growth?
Let us ask Our Blessed Mother to teach us to have a deep devotion for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and for the Most Blessed Sacrament. At the close of the Eucharistic Synod, this was the profound prayer of our Holy Father united with the Bishops.
In unity with the Universal Church, the Church in heaven, in purgatory and on earth, let us proclaim with the heavenly choirs of angels: Mary is the Mother of God! And, my dear friends, how wonderful! You and I can add with great love: “The Virgin Mary is my Blessed Mother in Heaven.”
Have a blessed New Year!