January 1: On the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God

Mary, the Holy Mother of God

This solemnity is a rather recent
addition to the cycle of seasons,
Sundays, and feasts in our liturgical
year. We have Pope Paul VI to thank for
the 1974 enshrining of the devotion to
Mary into our calendar on January 1.

It is also a day in our calendar as a World
Day for Peace.

Let us pray…

God of heaven and earth,
you came to us and took our earthly flesh
through the gift of Mary’s yes.
She is our Mother in faith,
as she is your earthly mother.
We are thankful beyond our ability to thank you
for the gift of her Son as our brother and savior.
Through her self-giving,
we have been reconciled to you.
Bless us as we begin this New Year
and endow us with the desire and ability
to create a world of peace.
We ask all this,
through the intercession of Mary to you,
one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen

A Message from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

If we have a box in which we keep our money, we know the one thing we must always give attention to is the key; we never think that the key is the money, but we know that without the key we cannot get into our money. The Mother of the Babe is like that key; without her we cannot get to Our Lord, because He came through her. She is not to be compared to Our Lord, for she is a creature, and He is the Creator. But without her we could not understand how the Bridge was built between heaven and earth.

As she formed Jesus in her body, so she forms Jesus in our souls. In this one Woman, virginity and motherhood are united, as if God willed to show that both are necessary for the world. Those things which are separated in other creatures are united in her. The Mother is the protector of the Virgin and the Virgin is also the inspiration of Motherhood.”

–Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Christmas Inspirations)
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen