Today is New Year’s Day, but it is also a major feast in the Catholic Church. In the new calendar, it is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and in the old Latin Mass and Byzantine Catholic calendars it is the Circumcision of Jesus.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to ask her to be the Messiah’s Mother, Mary—a devout Jew raised in the Temple—knew well that the Messiah had to suffer as well as triumph, and that she would share in those sufferings. She was also an unwed young girl, subject to a law where unwed pregnancy could be punishable by death. But Mary bowed humbly and said (Lk. 1:38), “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.” Mary’s yes launched the start of mankind’s salvation from sin. God became man in her womb, and received from Mary all His human DNA. The God-man grew inside Mary, and was born to her, and spent the overwhelming majority of His earthly life living with her. She was at the Crucifixion and the Ascension. No one was or is closer to Jesus than Mary: through the remarkable plan of God, and in the tradition of Jewish monarchy, Mary serves as Jesus’s Queen Mother in Heaven too. After Jesus gave Mary to John the Apostle and all faithful disciples at the Crucifixion, Mary became our mother as well, and we should turn to her for help in following and loving her Son.
Today also commemorates a specific Gospel event. Luke 2:21 tells us, “And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb.”
The feast of the Circumcision is meaningful in so many ways. It marks the first time Jesus is called by His name, a name which all must invoke to be saved. It’s also a reminder of the obvious fact that too many Christians forget: Jesus was a Jew. He and his mother and foster father Joseph faithfully followed and observed the Mosaic Law until all things were fulfilled. Thirdly, Jesus’s Circumcision reminds us that all followers of the true God must be visibly set apart from the wickedness of the world. For the Jews, it is a physical mark; for Christians, baptism imprints an indelible and irreversible character on our souls, and we must live accordingly. As Jesus commanded us (Matt. 5:16), “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
This is so beautiful. Thank you, Catherine. Happy New Year!
With all due respect, Mary is not the mother of God. It's illogical to begin with. She was a Jewess whom God Almighty put Jesus life force in her womb. Jesus was to be born a Jew and balance the scale for a man, Adam, who brought sin into the world. Adam was not a God but a perfect son of God (look at the lineage in the beginning of Matthew). Therefore that balance would be another perfect son of God to maintain integrity unto death. Where Adam failed, which Satan was a part, Christ proved a vulnerable, perfect son of God could succeed. He conquered, thus giving us a reconciliation with his Father, God Almighty.