Solemnity of Mary Mother of God

Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (2: 16-21) about the shepherds’ visit to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Fr Paul says we begin our New Year with the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, honouring Mary as the mother of God, which can be traced back to the Council of Ephesus in 431.  By the 7th Century, January 1 was observed as a celebration of Mary Mother of God, but then different things happened and different emphasises were placed and this occasion changed in to various other celebrations; for example, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ. In 1974, Pope Pius VI replaced those celebrations with the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, therefore, bringing Mary’s feast day back to the very first day of the year.

This solemnity we celebrate today, is about Mary’s motherhood of Jesus and, on this day, we are reminded of the role the Blessed Virgin Mary played in the plan of our salvation.  It was only through Mary’s ‘yes’ that everything came to be;  Christ’s birth was made possible; God dwelling among us became a reality after Mary said ‘yes’… ‘Be it done unto me according to thy word’’; and so, Fr Paul says, calling Mary the mother of God is the highest honour we can give her.

As we all know, 2020 has be a very difficult, strange, unprecedented year and, for our reflection today as we begin a new year, Fr Paul says we might ask, through the intercession of Mary, that this coming year we will all receive God’s blessings.

Fr Paul, on behalf of Fr Peter, Prodencio and himself, wishes everyone a happy and holy New Year!