WEEKLY REFLECTION – On January 1, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In addition to thinking of this solemnity as a Holy Day of Obligation, we can also think of it as a sort of Catholic Mother’s Day. Because as the Mother of God, Mary is also the Mother of the Church and all Her members (see CCC 963 – 970).

And so it is on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Our Church family gathers for the most important meal any of us ever partakes in – the Holy Mass. Just as our own mothers rejoice at the union of their families on special days, Mary rejoices at the unity of the Church family at Mass.

As we continue to rejoice in the reality of the Incarnation, God become Man, we remember the holy vessel whose courageous and faithful “yes” birthed our Savior. At Christmas we praise God for the gift of His Son, and we praise Him for the gift of Mary’s role in birthing His earthly life.

January 1, of course, is also the beginning of a new year in the Roman Calendar. It is not the beginning of our liturgical year, which begins on the first Sunday of Advent. Even so, January 1 is seen as a time for setting new resolutions to break bad habits, build good ones, and generally have a “better year” than the one before. Any resolution we make to better ourselves can be encouraged by looking to Mary for her example, advice, and assistance. She is not just our Mother in the historical sense of giving birth to Jesus, our Brother; she is our Mother in the here and now.

This New Year’s Day, take your cares to our Lord Jesus through His Mother’s intercession. It is God alone who enables us to become who He created us to be. Let us begin the year by asking Him for the grace we need to be our true selves, and thus to imitate Mary, who was fully herself in the truest sense.