January 01

The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 
Lectionary: 18

Reading 1Nm 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."

Responsorial PsalmPs 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8.

R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.

Reading 2Gal 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
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.

GospelLk 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem 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.

Scripture Study :

January 1, 2012 Mary, Mother of God

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Today the church celebrates the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. The first reading describes how God's blessing was called down on the people of Israel in the days of old. In the second reading, Paul describes the coming of the ultimate blessing, Jesus himself. The Gospel reading tells us of the shepherds' visit to the manger and Jesus' circumcision. The readings call us to ask ourselves how ready are we to respond to God's blessing in our own lives. Are we, like Mary, ready to say, "yes," without understanding the plan but full of faith and trust that the one who calls us knows what He is doing.

NOTES on First Reading:

* 6:22-23 The rite of invoking the name of Yahweh on the people is here reserved to the sons of Aaron (priests). This is a postexilic restriction of the much earlier practice. See 2 Sam 6:18, 1 Kgs 8:14, Deut 10:8; 21:5.

* 6:25 The idea of the shining of God's face may come from the liturgical theophony.

* 6:26 God's showing his face is symbol of His favor. In times of distress He was said to hide His face.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 4:1-11 This chapter is a defense of Paul's gospel and a midrashic development of the Abraham story. To become an heir to the promises of Abraham "deeds of the law" are not required but faith makes one God's offspring in the real sense.

* 4:4 The term, "fulness of time" refers to the time set by the parent in 4:2. Freedom came with Christ. The word translated as sent (ex apostellein) developed with a specifically religious meaning of "to send someone in the service of the kingdom with authority fully grounded in God." Here the mission of the Son is expressed in the purpose. The Son's preexistence is not spoken of but perhaps implied. The phrase "born of a woman" emphasizes the human condition of the mission. The phrase comes from the Old Testament (See Job 14:1; 15:14; 25:4).

* 4:6 The life giving Spirit of the risen Son is the dynamic principle of adoptive sonship (Rom 1:3; 8:15-17).

NOTES on the Gospel:

* 2:16 The sign that the shepherds find that was given to them by the angels, (the manger) doesn't just indicate the tuthfulness of the angels but also indicates that the One that they found is Savior, God's sustenance of His people.

* 2:17 The shepherds tell others about the Good News which is complemetary to the news given to Mary in 1:31 33 and told by her in 1:46-55 and anounced by Zechariah in 1:68-79.

* 2:17-18 In spite of this no mention is made later in the Gospel of any one knowing any of this.

* 2:19 Mary doesn't grasp the full meaning of the angels' message. Verse 19 becomes a refrain in 2:51 and marks her journey of faith. See 8:19-21; 11:27-29; Acts 1:14. Mary becomes the model believer.

* 2:21 Jesus like John is circumcised (1:59) and is so stamped as a member of God's people from whom salvation was to come. This is a reference to 1:31 and interprets the name, Jesus to mean "God saves."

"He was called Jesus"

Meditation: What's the significance of a name? For the Jewish people the giving of a name had great importance. When a name was given it represented what that person should be in the future. An unknown name meant that someone could not be completely known. To not acknowledge someone's name meant both denial of the person, destruction of their personality, and change in their destiny. A person's name expressed the reality of his or her being at its deepest level. A Jewish child was named at the time of circumcision, eight days after birth. This rite was instituted by God as an outward sign to single out those who belonged to the chosen people. It was a sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his posterity.

In fulfilment of this precept, Mary's newborn child is given the name Jesus on the eighth day according to the Jewish custom. Joseph and Mary gave the nameJesus because that is the name given by God's messenger before Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb. This name signifies Jesus' identity and his mission. The literal Hebrew means the Lord saves. Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man will save his people from their sins(Matthew 1:21).  In the birth and naming of this child we see the wondrous design and plan of God in giving us a Savior who would bring us grace, mercy, and freedom from the power of sin and the fear of death. The name Jesus signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son who became man for our salvation. Peter the Apostle exclaimed that there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 2:12). In the name of Jesus demons flee, cripples walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. His name is exalted far above every other name (Philippians 2:9-11). The name Jesus is at the heart of all Christian prayer. It is through and in Jesus that we pray to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians have died with one word on the lips, the name of Jesus. Do you exalt the name of Jesus and pray with confidence in his name?

"Lord Jesus Christ, I exalt your name above every other name. For in you I have pardon, mercy, grace and victory over sin and death. You humbled yourself for my sake and for the sake of all sinners by sharing in our humanity and by dying on the cross. Help me to always praise your holy name and to live for your greater glory."

January 1
Mary, Mother of God

Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). Elizabeth proclaims: “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is thefruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lordshould come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan.

Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Paul’s further statement that “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’“ helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan. God’s “first” thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was “first” in God’s mind, Mary was “second” insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his mother.
The precise title “Mother of God” goes back at least to the third or fourth century. In the Greek form Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of the Church’s teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos!” The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in the Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times.

Comment:

Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas: Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children.

Quote:

“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord’s humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).