Weekly Reflections for January 1, 2023
Happy New Year! Today, we also celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. What a wonderful way to ring in 2023. On the Octave Day of Christmas, we honor Mary alongside her Son.
There is a phrase occasionally heard in the Church: “Know Mary, Know Jesus…No Mary, No Jesus.” We cannot have One without the other, and their relationship is key to our salvation.
To Catholics, the title, “Mother of God” is a simple matter of logic. Jesus is God the Son. Mary is His mother. And so, she is the Mother of God in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. But this title is more than just a statement of fact. It points to an important reality in our Faith.
Mary is a mother to us too. All she ever wanted was to lead us to her Son, to see us love Him as a brother. Full of grace, and assumed into heaven, Mary intercedes for us to foster this relationship with God. Imagine asking for assistance from someone who can look over and speak directly to Jesus. Much like the Queen Mother of ancient King David, Mary has more power and influence than we may realize.
Stay close to Our Blessed Mother, and she will bring you closer to Christ. Meditate upon her Son Jesus in the Holy Rosary. And come to her in your moments of need. Hail Mary!
The Catechism teaches us:
971 “All generations will call me blessed“: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.” The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.