Search
From the Pastor's Desk: January 1, 2023
-
From the Pastor’s Desk: January 1, 2023
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God
Today a new year begins and the Christmas Octave concludes with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We begin the new year celebrating the generosity and fiat of Mary that made her the Mother of God. This feast celebrates both the divinity of Christ and what that implies for Mary’s maternity. We also celebrate the World Day of Peace, rejoicing that the Prince of Peace is born.
As the Lord teaches the Israelites in today’s First Reading, we invoke his blessings as we begin a new year, giving thanks for the year just concluded and asking his favor in the year to come. Aaron and the priests invoke the Lord’s blessing, just as our priests do. An adaptation of this formula of blessing is used even today in the Church. The Lord promised Israel that if they entered a covenant with Him, they would be His prized possession. May the Lord see in us this year His prized inheritance in doing what is pleasing to Him and bring Him glory!
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Today, we are reminded that Mary was the Mother of Jesus who was born in the form of human flesh making us her spiritual children and our mother in grace. And just as we learn from our natural mothers how to be good human beings, so we learn from Mary how to become mature Christians. She is the living school of wisdom where we learn every virtue that leads to joy and holiness. St. Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Just as Mary's womb was open to receiving God's Living Word at the moment of Christ's Incarnation, so her heart was constantly open to receiving God's ongoing words and messages as her Son continued to speak through the events of her life. This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart on God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. As a new year begins, we remember this moment of salvation history as the beginning of a new phase of Mary’s relationship with God. Inspired by her example, let’s strive to begin this new year as a year of more profound love for Christ; in that way, it will indeed be a happy new year. (c.f. epriest.com)
Since 1967, January 1st celebrates the World Day of Peace. “No one can be saved alone. Combatting Covid-19 together, embarking together on paths of peace” is the theme of the 56th World Day of Peace. “Clearly, this is not the post-Covid era we had hoped for or expected. This war, together with all the other conflicts around the globe, represents a setback for the whole of humanity and not merely for the parties directly involved. While a vaccine has been found for Covid-19, suitable solutions have not yet been found for the war. Certainly, the virus of war is more difficult to overcome than the viruses that compromise our bodies, because it comes, not from outside of us, but from within the human heart corrupted by sin (cf. Gospel of Mark 7:17-23).
What then is being asked of us? First of all, to let our hearts be changed by our experience of the crisis, to let God, at this time in history, transform our customary criteria for viewing the world around us. We can no longer think exclusively of carving out space for our personal or national interests; instead, we must think in terms of the common good, recognizing that we belong to a greater community, and opening our minds and hearts to universal human fraternity. We cannot continue to focus simply on preserving ourselves; rather, the time has come for all of us to endeavor to heal our society and our planet, to lay the foundations for a more just and peaceful world, and to commit ourselves seriously to pursuing a good that is truly common” -Pope Francis
It is such a blessing to begin the new year with Mary, and on this New Year's Day, together with Fr. Jaison and the entire St. Luke staff, I wish all of you God's blessings for the whole year to come. May God bless you and your families as He blessed Mary, that we too may bring God's love and joy to one another and give Jesus to this world that hungers so much for His presence. May Mary, the Mother of God- the Prince of Peace, continue to intercede for deep and lasting peace in our hearts.
Happy, peaceful, and joy-filled New Year 2023!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
