New Years - Year A
Today we honour Mary with a solemnity mass acknowledging a title for her that dates back to the Council of Ephesus in 431: “Mother of God”. The speciality of this year is that it coincides with the beginning of the New Year 2017.
In his infancy narrative Luke twice tells us that Mary was a mother of deep, reflective prayer. First, shortly after the birth of Jesus, the shepherds came from their fields and told Joseph and Mary of the angelic vision they had experienced about the infant child. In the vision the shepherds were told that the new-born child was the “Messiah and Lord” (see Lk 2:2-14). What was Mary’s reaction to this astonishing news? “Mary kept all these things, reflecting upon them in her heart” (2:19). Second, Luke preserves another tradition about Mary that points to her as a mother of deep, reflective prayer. When the boy Jesus was 12, Mary and Joseph, had a startling experience in which they believed they had lost Jesus in Jerusalem after celebrating the annual feast of Passover. In a state of “great anxiety” they found Jesus in the Jerusalem temple sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions. Jesus’ response to his relieved and anxious parents was thus: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” What was Mary’s reaction to this experience? “His mother kept all these things in her heart” (2:51). In short, Mary is a mother who turned to prayer both at moments of great joy (Jesus’ birth) and at moments of great anxiety (Jesus’ absence). The necessity for prayer throughout life is certainly one of the most important lessons that Mary, as Mother of God, teaches.
Although Paul does not develop a rich Mariology, in today’s second reading from Galatians (4:4-7) he does discuss the implications of Jesus being “born of a woman, born under the law”; “so that we might receive adoption as sons”. Jesus, the Son of God, being born of Mary allows all of us to be co-“heirs” to God’s kingdom. Paul teaches us that when we profess God as “Abba, Father!” we bear witness to our title as “sons” of the living God.
“Mother of God” is the oldest title the church gives to Mary. Sacred Tradition teaches us that like the ancient Israelites in the 1st reading from the Book of Numbers (6:22-27), we too experience a blessing and a grace bestowed upon us by the Lord. We are in the privileged historical position of recognizing and celebrating the role that Mary, the Mother of God, has in bestowing God’s grace and blessing upon us.
