The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in the Catholic Church every year on January 1. It is one of the ten obligatory solemnities on which the Church commands her faithful to be at Mass.
On this day we remember the Motherhood of the Virgin Mary, a privilege that is the basis of Her veneration (Greek Theotokos - Theotokos - Theotokos).
The liturgical texts of January 1 especially emphasize the idea of "holy exchange"
(sacrum commercium): God took on human nature in the bosom of Mary to join us to His Godhead.
Mary brings us the blessing of God. Where there is She, there is Jesus. Therefore, we need to receive her like St. Elizabeth, who let Mary into her home and immediately recognized the blessing, saying: "Blessed art thou among wives, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!" (Lk 1, 42). These are the words we repeat in the prayer "Hail Mary". By accepting Mary, we become blessed and learn to bless ourselves.
Mary, blessed Mary, was a blessing to everyone she met: to Elizabeth, to the couple in Cana of Galilee, to the Apostles in the Upper Room. And we are called to bless, to speak good things in God's name. The world is heavily polluted by backbiting, by bad thoughts about others, about ourselves, about the world. But backbiting destroys, and blessing renews and gives strength to start each day anew. Let us ask the Mother of God's grace to be for others joyful bearers of God's blessing as she is for us.
Our Holy Mother of God teaches us that the first step to bringing life is to love it within ourselves. As today's Gospel says, she "kept all these things in her heart" (Lk 2:19). Good is born from the heart: how important it is to keep the heart pure, to keep the inner life, to pray! How important it is to teach the heart to care, to love people and the world around us. Everything begins with caring for others, for the world, for creation.
The New Year will be good if we care for others as Mother God cares for us.
Holy Mother of God, sanctify our year! Grant us that there may be harmony in our families, peace in our hearts, and Christian love throughout the whole earth!
Amen.
