The beginning of the new year.
Simon Tokarszevsky was sent to exile in Siberia. In his memoirs, he describes an interesting event. His mother was waiting for him at one station. She approached him and hugged him. Then she turned to the other exiles and exclaimed: “I also want to bless you all in the name of your mothers.” Then she approached from man to man, to all those who had to go into exile. She hugged everyone and blessed them with the sign of the cross on their foreheads. Some of the men started to sing the song Holy God… The song Holy God gradually came out of the mouths of all the convicts.
The author notes: Mother’s blessing and immediately the song became a boost and courage for the difficult time that was ahead of us.
We stand on the threshold of a new year. We experience a feeling of uncertainty, but also hope and expectations for the future. We can wish for a “happy new year”, but we can’t quite plan it ourselves. On the first day of the New Year, we realize the need and importance of God’s blessing.
On the first day of the civil year, the Church reminds us of an important article of faith that the Mother of Jesus is the Mother of God. And the Church lets us read the text of the Gospel, where it is mentioned how Mary reacted to the shepherds’ visit to her Son’s manager. “Mary kept all the words in her heart and thought about them” (Luke 2:19).
Why this view of the Mother of God on the first day? What does it mean for us that Mary is the Mother of God? Does this mean that Mary gave birth to Jesus as God? Not! Mary is not a goddess. Mary conceived, gave birth, and raised Jesus Christ in his human nature; thus, she is the mother of Jesus Christ only in his human nature. But we believe that from the first moment of conception, the human nature of Jesus Christ was united with the eternal person of the Son of God, and therefore Mary is the Mother of God. We believe that the epithet Theotokos speaks of the truth of our belief that Jesus Christ, one of the three divine persons, took on a human nature through his mother, the Virgin Mary, in addition to his divine nature – which he has had from eternity. He became like us through his mother at the time of his conception in her womb. Therefore, from the beginning, the Church has honored Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, as the Mother of God.
On what basis do we believe in the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary? We believe in the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, because that is how the Scriptures present her to us, clearly and expressively. In several places in the Gospels, we have evidence that the Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus. At the announcement, “that she conceived of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18), at the memory of the shepherds: “They entered the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they fell to the ground and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11). Joseph received an order from the angel: “Get up, take the child and his mother with you, go to Egypt” (Mt 2:13) and then in Egypt a second order: “Take the child and his mother with you and go to the land of Israel” (Mt 2.20). When Jesus was teaching, “his mother was standing outside” (Mt 12:46). When the people saw what Jesus was doing and teaching, they said, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” Isn’t his mother called Mary” (Mt 13:55)? In the account of the wedding in Cana of Galilee we read: “The mother of Jesus was also there” (Jn 2:1). The Gospels show very impressively that Mary – like other mothers – carried Jesus for nine months under her heart and gave birth to him when her time came (cf. Lk 2:5-7). In particular, the angel’s announcement speaks of the maternal mission of Mary, that she is the mother of Jesus, the mother of the Son of God: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And therefore the child will also be called holy, he will be the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). And Elizabeth also confesses: “What did I do to deserve that the mother of my Lord comes to me” (Luke 1:43)? “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And therefore the child will also be called holy, he will be the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). And Elizabeth also confesses: “What did I do to deserve that the mother of my Lord comes to me” (Luke 1:43)? “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And therefore the child will also be called holy, he will be the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). And Elizabeth also confesses: “What did I do to deserve that the mother of my Lord comes to me” (Luke 1:43)?
We believe that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God, both physically and spiritually, because she conceived Jesus physically and accepted him in faith with her “fiat”, and that is how we say that she is the Mother of God.
As a dogma, an article of faith, that the Virgin Mary is the mother of God “Theotokos”, as taught by the Eastern churches, was declared by the council in Ephesus in 431. This is what St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the most important martyrs.
These and other arguments lead us today to Mary, the Mother of God, to ask her to intercede with her Son at the beginning of the new civil year. We believe that Mary is an inexhaustible source of grace that we receive from her Son through her. During the entire liturgical year, we remember this and implement it in our lives. This is also our prayer to the Mother of God. We want to understand with her eyes, her heart, the whole depth, as it is only possible for us, of the love of God. Here is also the beginning of the respect for her mother’s heart. We believe that the Mother of God blesses us in the name of her Son, and the Son in turn blesses us in the name of the Father in the Holy Spirit.
As we begin a new year, we are full of anticipation for what it will mean for us. However, we know that when we place our hope and confidence in the hands of God, God’s Son, we will not be disappointed by the intercession of his mother. It was not yet heard who fled under her protection, begged her for help and comfort, and asked her not to listen to him. After all, Mary is also our Mother. When Jesus was dying as our brother for our sins, he entrusted us all to her care when he said to his mother, looking at the apostle John: “Behold, your son” (Jn 19:26). We realize that everything happens from God’s providence. Therefore, in our human life, there is no coincidence, no senseless event, that everything has its goal and its role in God’s general plan.
This is how Dag Hammarskjöld, one of the first UN secretaries-general, who tragically perished in Africa, understood it. He wrote in his diary: “When I said yes to God for the first time, I began to understand the meaning of life. When I repeated yes, then everything made sense. Because now everything has a deep meaning, I cannot live otherwise than in the spirit of yes.”
It is right to start the new year with your real “yes” to God through Mary. Mary played her role in God’s plan. God has a plan for me too. We must implement this plan. Knowing how to accept God in your life, in every situation of life, every day. What awaits us during these days of the year? What will we have to deal with? It will certainly be advantageous for us when we have a prayer tree with God, a human Mary, the Mother of God, and ours.
We can find inspiration in the so-called Ten Commandments of Christian Love.
1. Have respect for every person, because Christ lives in him. Have compassion for the misfortune of your brother, your neighbor.
2. Think good of all people, do not think bad of anyone. Try to find something good in every person.
3. Speak only well of everyone, do not speak ill of anyone. Try to correct the evil you have caused with your words, do not cause misunderstandings between people, but reconcile them if possible.
4. Speak kindly to everyone, never raise your voice, do not offend anyone, do not make someone cry, and try to please people rather. Be good.
5. Forgive insults, do not harbor anger in your heart, and always reconcile first.
6. Do everything to benefit your neighbor, be as good as you expect people to be to you. Never think of what others owe you, but think of what you owe others.
7. Have compassion for the suffering and help them, encourage and advise them.
8. Work honestly, because others benefit from your work, as you benefit from the work of others.
9. Participate in social assistance provided to your neighbor. Be generous to the needs of your fellow man. Be generous to the needs of the sick and suffering. Try to look for people in your neighborhood who need help.
10. Pray for all people, including your enemies.
Isn’t that a memento? It touches the happiness of each of us.
One Chinese story tells of a peasant who had an old horse. It happened that once his horse ran away. Those around him wanted to make it easier for him to lose his horse, and that’s why they felt sorry for him. The old man answered them: “Bad luck? Misfortune? Who knows?” After a week, the horse returned and brought a herd of wild horses. Now the neighbors congratulated the old man. The old man responded by saying, “Luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” Later, when his son wanted to saddle a wild horse, he fell to the ground and broke his leg. They all shook their heads that it was bad luck. The old man spoke again, “Misfortune? Bad luck? Happiness? Who knows?” A few days later, an army passed through the village and the healthy men were dragged away. When the neighbors saw that the farmer’s son was not taken because of his broken leg, they said that he was lucky. At this, the old man said, “Luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
Everything can appear to be evil at first glance, and it can be good in disguise. And everything that can look good can be evil. Therefore, it is wise to leave things to God’s decision, what is happiness and what is bad luck, and let us give thanks because with those who love God, all things can be understood as good.
Have you ever heard the phrase: “And everything will be good, and everything will be good, and indeed everything will be good!?” (Juliana from Norwich from the journal of patients of Masaryk’s oncology clinic in Brno).
At the beginning of the new year, let’s ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary for the necessary blessings, graces, gifts, success, health, strength, and wisdom… “Mother of God, I entrust this entire new year to your protection. We believe in the love of your Son. And we pledge our allegiance to his teaching of love.
