Mary wants to bring us to Jesus (Lk 2:16-21)
Let’s decide on the first day of the year: let the Mother of God guide us to Jesus.
New Year’s Eve was short for many of us. We are not dreaming. What did we come to ask for on the first day of the new year? The Church reminds us today that we all have one Mother. What do we want to ask her?
Anyone who wants to accomplish something great needs a living role model, an ideal he would try his best to emulate and follow. This applies above all in moral perfection.
And that is why on the first day of the year, on the Feast of the Virgin Mary, let us remember how the Virgin Mary behaved, what she experienced when she stood by the manger of her Son and listened to the shepherds who came to worship their God, about whom the angels informed them.
Evangelist St. Luke writes: “Mary kept all these words in her heart and thought about them” (Luke 2:19).
The Virgin Mary seems to want to whisper or call to our hearts so that we don’t waste time already on the first day of the year and start acting and living the way Jesus expects us to. Jesus and Mary are a challenge and hope for the new year.
Sv. After his personal experience of meeting Jesus near Damascus, Paul advises that in the name of Jesus, “every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bow” (Phil 2, 10). This name has the same power in every age. It transforms human hearts into the highest acts of spirit and love. It gives strength to the persecuted, the suffering, and the imprisoned. One lives and dies in the name of Jesus. Sv. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury in England, bishop, and teacher of the Church, strove for Christian perfection throughout his life and meditated a lot. He is one of the most outstanding educators of humanity. He prayed like this every day:
“Jesus, be my strength in every suffering, in every behavior, in every temptation, in every weakness, in every danger.” Grant me until the hour when I stand before your face to live in faith, hope, and love, and lead me to eternal joy.” With such determination, entering the new year is more specific.
What does God want us to be in the new year?
KIND – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32)!
ACTIVE – “And do what you say, do not be mere hearers who deceive yourselves” (James 1:22).
MERCIFUL – “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36)!
THOSE WHO GIVE WITNESS – “Worship the holy Christ the Lord in your hearts, always ready to defend everyone who challenges you to give a reason for the hope in you” (1 Pt 3,15).
STRONG – “Finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might” (Eph 6:10).
BEARING FRUIT – “That you may live as befits the Lord and please him in everything, bearing fruit in all good works and growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10).
RENEWED – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
EXEMPLARY – “But be an example of the believers in word, behavior, love, faith, purity” (1 Tim 4,12).
SAINTS – “Be holy in all your actions” (1 Pt 1,15).
ZEALOUS – “Be steadfast, steadfast, ever more zealous in the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).
THE WATCHFUL – “Therefore be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not know” (Mt 24:44).
These suggestions cannot harm anyone—Vice versa. A new year with Jesus and Mary is a new hope for every person. We can start writing a new letter of life that will bring success.
Jesus Christ came to save all people and is our example in everything. Only he could say: “Learn from me…” (Mt 11, 29).
Next to Jesus, the Virgin Mary is the Queen of all virtues. It teaches us how to practically fulfill the law of brotherly love given to us by Jesus Christ. “In her life, this Virgin was a model of that motherly love that should permeate all those who cooperate in the rebirth of people…” (Lumen Gentium, 65).
Of all those virtues, her motherly love should be noted. Let’s remember how anxiously and lovingly she searched for the lost 12-year-old Jesus for three days. What joy it was when she found him (cf. Lk 2:41-52). And what is her love for us, since she is our spiritual Mother?
Deprived of the throne, Napoleon was abandoned by his brothers and sisters, kings, most loyal generals, wives, and nations – only his mother did not abandon him. His mother’s heart floated over the ocean to him. “I’m still there for you if you’re looking for me,” she wrote to her son.
“If mothers judged at the last count, I believe,” says L. Perlaky, “hell would remain empty…”
St. Anton says about one sinner: “He once had a dream. It seemed to him that he was standing before God’s judgment seat, and the evil spirit was listing all his sins. He placed his written sins in the balance of God’s justice to add weight to his words. The bowl sank deep and outweighed the good deeds. He seemed lost. At that moment, the Mother of God stepped forward, placed her protective hand on the second bowl, and pressed down. Then the sinner woke up. He understood the admonition this dream gave him. He began sincere repentance.”
On the first day of the new year, we can be sure that the intercession of the Mother of God has enough power to stay the punishing hand of the righteous Judge and ask for our forgiveness. “The Virgin Mary united with Christ in pain and in will. That is how she deserved to become the distributor of blessings that Jesus won for us with his blood (St. Pius X).
Therefore, let’s start or continue the veneration of the heavenly Mother today. We believe that honoring our Mother is one of the hallmarks of a Christian and an essential sign of our righteousness. That is why those who need her help, comfort, and strength in hope constantly turn to her in prayers.
“Mother of infinite love, rejoice and save those who hope in you.”
“You are all beautiful, Mary; there is no spot in you…” The words of this well-known Marian song, taken from the Old Testament book of the Song of Songs, are often echoed in our temples to celebrate our heavenly Mother.
And indeed, nothing has diminished from her beauty. On the contrary, we continue to celebrate her; we sing her songs of gratitude to God for putting such a beautiful idea of virtues in the Virgin Mary. “It is the new heaven and the throne of God, the model of purity, which heralds joy to the whole world, the protector of our life…” (From the great vespers of the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos).
In one family, the children are looking at the family album. They judge and find fault with everyone. The uncle has no hair, the grandmother has an old-fashioned hat, the father is strict… Then, they look at a new picture for a while – the picture of the mother. At once, everyone exclaims: Our mother is golden! The child’s mind fell silent at the sight of the mother. They weren’t looking for fault here. A child’s heart of love awoke and spoke.
This image from everyday life tells us a lot, and we can also apply it to our heavenly Mother. He talks about her beauty, purity, and goodness, which have no stains.
St. Bernadette, a visionary from Lourdes, was fortunate to see the Blessed Virgin more often. In connection with this, she said, “Once a person has seen her, he cannot love anything else on this earth.” He would like to die so that he could see her again.”
The Holy Scriptures say very little about the Virgin Mary. The Gospels are occasional messages. They say a lot, but they do not describe the life of Christ or his Mother in detail. Nevertheless, we know enough, and our imagination helps us to be able to imagine what is essential about the life of the Virgin Mary so that we can observe her in all her holiness, spiritual beauty, and greatness. “Why is she worshiped as the most excellent, unique member of the Church, as her prototype and most proven model in faith and love, and the Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, shows her filial devotion and love as a beloved mother” (LG 53).
In this way, the Virgin Mary became the ideal of purity for us. She ascended to a moral height and approached God’s throne as the Mother of our God. She is the “lily,” the “unfading flower of loving fragrance,” with which she illuminates the Christian world.
The American poet and novelist HW Longfellow thanked God for the Virgin Mary as follows: “If our religion had given us nothing but you, model of motherhood and womanhood, noble heart, you good and powerful, endlessly patient and calm, faithful, kind and pure, it was enough it would, and it would be a proof for us that our faith is true and right…”
To love the Virgin Mary means to love and follow her virtues. There is always something in her life that we can follow and learn from. Above all, she taught us to despise sin and be virtuous according to her noble example.
“You are all beautiful without spot – original sin, guilt – ask the Son for us in sorrow – when the voice of an evil deed is heard in us.” The fact is confirmed a thousand times that people, small and great, uneducated and scientists, people of cold balances, and people with hot feelings, found and are still finding a way to God through the Virgin Mary.
It is up to us whether we step into the new year on time, correctly, and confidently. It only depends on us. Jesus and Mary love us and are waiting for ours: Yes!
