Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
This title is remarkable. “Mother of God.” In the Kyrie, one of the strophes is: Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, Christ have mercy. We must always remember that Jesus is Son of God and Son of Mary. There is this element of divine and human. For God’s plan for salvation to work for humans, God had planned that He would need to empty himself to become human. To do that he would be born of a virgin, incarnate. Something never conceived by anyone prior to this miracle. Nor duplicated.
So, what is needed for this New Year? I think a blessing. A blessing that God said thousands of years ago. Just as Jesus gave us the Our Father, God gives us the blest of blessings. It is:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly, and give you peace!
We have discovered just how complicated life can become when we focus too much on the secular world and not enough on the spiritual world. And for the New Year, perhaps resolutions involving prayer would be best for all. For example, begin today praying for someone in your family. Pray for a friend or someone where you work. It does not need to be a long prayer or with a lot of words. Just heartfelt. Or better yet when someone asks you for prayer do not just say you will but do! Right there, say a prayer for that person so they can hear you praying for them. This will also help you to remember to pray for them later. It is too easy to say you will pray and then forget. But it touches their heart and soul when you pray for them right now.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen