Mary Mother of God Homily - Year B| Homily for 1 January 2024

 

My dear friends all around the world, today there are going to be 2 celebrations. The first, is the New Year, a change in the calendar year, which is going to be celebrated by all people irrespective of their country and religion. The second celebration, and the more important one is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Unfortunately, this solemnity doesn’t receive the attention it deserves and it is often overshadowed by New Year celebrations. The Church puts the feast of this solemnity on the first day of the New Year to emphasize the importance of Mary’s role in the life of Christ and of the Church. We commemorate the various saints on different days of the year, but Mary is the most prominent of them all.  She has a special role and mission given to her by God and she is a powerful intercessor for all of our needs here on earth. As I have covered the historical setting behind this feast in an earlier video, the link to which you can find up here, I’ll reflect more on the spiritual meaning behind this feast in today's video.

In the readings today we see the theme of ‘being on a journey’ emerging. The 1st reading contains a blessing for the Israelites who are making preparations to leave Mount Sinai and head into the promised land. Yahweh speaks to Moses with words of blessing for the journey. It recognizes that all blessings come from God and without his blessing nothing is possible. We pray that these words of blessing, the words of strength, courage and hope will accompany our journey through the year ahead of us. The message of hope contained in this blessing will be fully realized in Mary, who was destined to become the Mother of God.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Galatians that Christ has come in the flesh, born of a woman, to free us from the old master i.e. the Law making possible our adoption as members of God’s household. Paul’s stress here is on the reality of the human nature of Christ, the Self-humiliation of the Son of God who deigned to be born of a mother like any human child. As children of God, we must be therefore free from the entanglements of this world and focus more on our relationship with Christ than earthly relationships.

In the gospel, we have the scene of the shepherds visiting Mary and Joseph. Mary’s role is certainly highlighted here as she treasures and ponders on the words spoken by the shepherds. The question that often comes up when we affirm Mary as the mother of God is whether we are giving more importance to Mary than to Jesus himself. We need to understand that we are affirming the divinity and sonship of Jesus, not the divinity of Mary. Mary becomes an instrument in God & and Jesus’ mission. She is collaborating in the mission of the Divine Son.

A mother gives birth to a child. She makes a child visible. Mary made Christ visible. As the Church, we are called today to make Christ visible through our lives. This is the mission that is entrusted to each of us. Through our words, through our actions, the witness of our life we are called to make Christ visible to all. This is the most important thing for us today, this is what evangelization is all about - To make Christ present. Motherhood is not restricted to only biological motherhood. Hence. whether you are male, or female, this feast has a message for each one of us. Motherhood implies a relationship which includes, the biological, psychological, and spiritual relationship with Jesus and so therefore this goes beyond just the physical ability of giving birth. Just as Mary participated in the divine plan of God by her Yes, we too are called to participate in God’s plan for us in our life. In celebrating her special feast day, we acknowledge the great gift of Mother Mary for the Church and the world; we call on her to be actively involved in our daily life; we imitate her virtuous life as a great inspiration; and we cooperate with all the graces we get through her.

Our life is nothing but a journey. Each day of our life we move one step closer to our creator. A new year, therefore, must not only be a time of celebration but rather a time of introspection. Have I grown spiritually this year? Have my relationships with people improved? How is the new year going to be any different from the old? A celebration of the new year without this introspection would be only a commercial celebration. Making resolutions is an important part of the New Year celebrations, and as we begin our journey into the new year let's make a different resolution this time – Let's resolve to practice Mary’s virtues of Faith, obedience, purity and humble service. One day at a time, let us grow in these virtues and try to become true sons and daughters of our Heavenly Mother, the Holy Mother of God.

I’d like to end with the words of this beautiful prayer which I came across:

Dearest Mother Mary, you loved your Divine Son with a perfect love. 

Your heart burned with an unquenchable fire of motherly charity. 

Come be my mother and care for me as you cared for your Son.

May I also love you with the love Jesus had for you and with the love He now lavishes upon you in Heaven. 

Mother Mary, the Mother of God, pray for us. 

Jesus, I trust in You.