January 1, which is New Year’s Day on the Gregorian Calendar, is the Solemn Feast of Mary, Mother of God, in the Roman Catholic Church.
The New Year’s Day is the Octave Day of Christmas, which
means that it is the eighth day from the day of the Nativity of the Lord. St. Paul VI gives a reason for the Church to honor
Mary as the Mother of God on this day:
In the revised ordering of the Christmas
period it seems to us that the attention of all should be directed towards the
restored Solemnity of Mary the holy Mother of God. This celebration, placed on
January 1 in conformity with the ancient indication of the liturgy of the City
of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of
salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery
brings to the "holy Mother...through whom we were found worthy to receive
the Author of life."(Antiphon and Collect, January 1, Roman Missal) It is
likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of
Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk.
2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift
of peace. It is for this reason that, in the happy concurrence of the Octave of
Christmas and the first day of the year, we have instituted the World Day of
Peace, an occasion that is gaining increasing support and already bringing
forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many (Marialis
Cultus, paragraph 5).
Because Christ is the source of peace (John 14:27), as
well as the Davidic prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6-7), Mary is also the Queen-Mother
(Gebilar) of Peace. Therefore, the Word Day of Peace, which is January
1, is celebrated in connection to Mary’s motherhood, as the Mother of God, the Queen-Mother
of Peace, on the Octave day of Christmas.
Though most Catholics do not feel absurd about Mary
being the Mother of God, Jews, Muslims, and some non-Catholic Christians find
it rather preposterous that God has a mother. They may argue why the Creator,
God, had to have a created being to be His mother. But such an argument is, in
essence, the same as denying a fundamental Christological truth that God the
Son was incarnated in the human flesh and came to us through human birth. It
was Mary, in whose womb that the incarnated God the Son (John 1:14) was
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and who gave birth to him
(Luke 2:7). Did God the Son lose his divinity when he was incarnated in Mary’s
womb? Did his divinity dissipate when he was born as a human male infant? Of
course not. Christ the Son retains his divinity, which keeps him in hypostatic
union with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, even he has been incarnated
and come to us in the human flesh of a Jewish man, Jes us, the firstborn son of
Mary. In fact, this was debated at the Council of Ephesus, which established
the doctrine that Mary is the Theotokos,
the Mother of God. The Greek word, “Theotokos”
literally means “God bearer” or “one who bears and gives birth to God”.
Therefore, Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant.
In celebrating this solemn Marian feast, therefore, a
focus on our theological reflection and contemplation is Mary’s identity in
relation to her Son, the Christ. The truth is that Mary is not just the mother
of Jesus, but the Son of God (Luke 1:32-33, 35), who was begotten by the Father
(Colossians 1:15) and born of her as the incarnated Christ (Luke 2:7).
Though he did not name Mary, Paul captures the Marian
identity as the Theotokos in the below narrative, the Second Reading of
the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God:
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
sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and
if a son then also an heir, through God (Galatians 4:4-7).
In this pithy Pauline epistle text, we see Jesus, the
incarnated Christ, as the eternal Son of God and as the human Son of Mary. Mary
gave birth to him under the law (Leviticus 12:2-8; Luke 2:22), and with her
husband, Joseph she brought the Son to God in the Temple for the firstborn
dedication under the law (Exodus 13:2,12,15; Luke 2:23) to ransom those who are
worthy for redemption (Exodus 13:12-15). Therefore, the first portion, Galatians
4:4-5, reflects the Lucan infancy narrative (Luke 2:1-40). Then, the second
portion, Galatians 4:6-7, addresses that we have become children of God through
Christ the Son, who was incarnated in and born of Mary (John 1:10-14; Luke
1:30-33, 35; 2:7), because his Spirit has been sent to us by God, pouring out
His love to us (Romans 5:5). And this is the Spirit that makes us the children
of God (Romans 8:15). Therefore, as Jesus calls the Father (Mark 14:36), we,
too, now may call God the Father, “Abba,
Father” (Romans 8:15), for He is made more intimate to us through the
spiritual adoption through the Christ the Son, incarnated in and born of Mary.
Christ, the Son of God, who is begotten of the Father
(Colossian 1:15), is divine. He received human nature from Mary the Blessed
Virgin, the Immaculate Conception upon conception (Luke 1:28,30-33,35), and was
born of her (Luke 2:7) for our redemption (Matthew 20:28; Galatians 3:13; Colossians
1:13-14; Revelation 5:9-10); cf. Exodus 13:12-15) so that we may be adopted as
God’s children (Galatians 4:5). Therefore, as St. John Paul II puts it, Mary is
Redemptoris Mater (Mother of Redeemer).
The Christ received not only human nature but also circumcision and Jewish name, “Jesus (Joshua)”, which means “the Lord (Yahweh) saves”, “Yahweh is salvation”. This name was given to Mary by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:31). But according to the Jewish tradition, a newborn baby boy’s name cannot be announced until brit milah (circumcision) is completed. This reflects that circumcision marks God giving Abram, which means “exalted father”, a new name, Abraham, which means “father of multitudes” along with the covenant and blessing (Genesis 17:5-11). This is why a circumcised baby boy also receives blessings from mohel, who performs circumcision, and parents of the child. And the Christ received the circumcision on the eighth day from his birth, under the law (Genesis 17:10-11; Leviticus 12:3), to put an outward sign to be distinguished as a blessed Abrahamic son of God (Luke 2:21).
When the circumcision (brit milah) is
completed, the parents give this blessing:
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of
the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of
the universe, who has sanctified this beloved boy from the womb, inscribed the
law in his flesh, and sealed his offspring in the holy covenant. The living
God, our Rock, has ordained that the beloved of our flesh be redeemed on
account of the covenant that he has placed in our flesh. Blessed are you, God,
who makes the covenant.
Then, together with her husband, Joseph, Mary blessed
her Son with this priestly prayer as he continue to grow:
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! (Numbers
6:24-26)
The blessing concludes with peace. And it is more
meaningful that Mary the Mother of God, the Queen-Mother of Peace, says this
prayer to her Son, the Prince of Peace, while assuring the protection and
providence of Yahweh (the Lord) with His face shining upon her Son’s face
graciously.
The flesh of the incarnated God is from the flesh of
Mary the Blessed Virgin, the Immaculate Conception. Therefore, the flesh of the
Christ is perfectly unblemished to redeem us (Exodus 12:5-14). On this flesh,
there is the mark of God’s blessing and covenant through His covenant with
Abraham, through circumcision (Genesis 17:4-11). To keep affirming what his circumcision
is about, Mary the Mother of God, together with her husband, Joseph, continued
to bless the newborn Christ in the human flesh of Jesus.
On the Octave Day of her Son’s birth, I am sure that
Mary had many things in her heart to contemplate, as she did upon being visited
by the shepherd on the day of her Son’s birth (Luke 2:16-19). And we, too, have
many things to reflect in our hearts on the Christmas Octave Day, to kick off the
new year: the true peace only from the Christ, the significance of the Mother
of God for our redemption and adoption as God’s children, and more.
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