January 1, the eighth day of Christmas, belongs to Mary.
No, not me. St. Mary the Virgin, mother of Jesus Christ, Queen of Heaven and Earth.
No, we Catholics do not worship Mary. I cannot stress this enough.
We DO NOT worship Mary. We venerate her, give her the respect and recognition she deserves because without her we wouldn’t have Jesus.
Mary “was, after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and men.”
Another misconception is that Jesus was the Immaculate Conception. No. Mary was the Immaculate Conception, born without sin. Chosen by God to carry, birth, and raise the Savior.
It is fitting we kick off every new year with Mary since she is our mother.
But why else does Mary have a feast day on January 1st? She has plenty of feast days throughout the year.
The story goes that she had Jesus circumcised eight days after his birth:
The feast is a celebration of Mary’s motherhood of Jesus. The title “Mother of God” is a western derivation from the Greek Theotokos, which means “God-bearer”. On this day, we are reminded of the role that the Blessed Virgin played in the plan of our salvation. Through the Holy Spirit, God the Father prepared Mary to be the dwelling place where His Son and His Spirit could dwell among men. Christ’s birth was made possible by Mary’s fiat, or sanctioning of God’s plan with her words, “Be it done to me according to thy word”. Calling Mary “Mother of God” is the highest honor we can give to her. Just as Christmas honors Jesus as the “Prince of Peace”, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God honors Mary as the “Queen of Peace”. New Year’s Day is also designated as the “World Day of Peace”, further acknowledging the role of Mary in our hearts and in our world.
Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also Mary’s son. Anyone who has been pregnant understands that bond before mother and child. You cannot describe it, but damn, it is something else and special.
Mary stuck by Jesus throughout his life. His love for his mother is a reminder that we should listen to and love our mothers. After all, she was the one who convinced Him to perform His first miracle.
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Comments
Mother and child, beautiful. Father and child, not equal, but complementary.
Enjoying these
Thank you for these, especially clarifying that Catholics do NOT worship Mary and that the Immaculate Conception refers to her and not her Son. Both misunderstandings are widespread, even among those who should know better.
This Southern Bapterian is enjoying the series, especially this one. Thank you, Mary.
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Seven days after his birth, not eight. It’s a common mistake. A boy is circumcised (unless there are medical reasons not to) on his eighth day, when he is seven days old.