2025 has arrived. Happy New Year to everyone. This is the day we Catholics call the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. In our church, it used to be the feast of the circumcision or the feast of the Holy name of Jesus.
As Jesus was born on December 25th, January 1st is the 8th day of the Octave of Christmas. On this day, when He was 8 days old, the child Jesus was circumcised according to the law. He was given His name by His earthly father, Joseph.
The feast of the Holy name has since been moved to January 3rd and January 1st has been designated as the day we honor Mary as the Mother of God.
The church decided to do this on the day Jesus is officially welcomed into the community of believers. Why? This is a profound mystery and truth that is absolutely foundational to an understanding of what Christmas and Christianity are all about.
Mary become the Mother of her own creator.
If you are looking for a New Year's resolution, here's one. Get to know Mary more. The deeper your relationship with the blessed mother, the deeper your relationship with Mary.
Stick to books the church approves and devotions the church approves. A good rule of thumb is buy from only authentic Catholic bookstores. You won't find fairy tale garbage like Medjugorje or Garabandal in there. You will find stories about places Mary has actually appeared (She hasn't appeared in Medjugorje or Garabandal even once).
Among those places are two that I will visit in September- Fatima and Lourdes. She has also been to Paris, Guadalupe, La Salette, Knock, and several other places.
What you will also find in these stores are tried and true devotionals and books by, and about, venerables and saints. People like Maria of Agreda, Catherine Emmerich and Saint Louis De Monfort are a great place to start. Read about Saint Bernadette, Saints Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, Saint Juan Diego, Saint Dominick. There are so many more. Start the journey today!
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