Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Today we embark upon this New Year. As we embark upon it may we call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in this new year. It is for this reason that the singing of the “Vini Creator Spiritus” “Come Creator Spirit” is a plenary indulgence on January 1st along with (1) receiving communion in the state of grace, (2) making a confession in a reasonable amount of time, and (3) praying for the intention of the Holy Father.
Today is also the eighth day following Christ’s birth. This day brings about the conclusion of what is known to us as the Octave of Christmas. The importance of this eighth day was also pointed out in our Gospel: “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” As time has progressed this day has also become dedicated to Mary as being Mother of God. Truly whenever we have the opportunity to celebrate the Blessed Mother we have the opportunity to dwell with Christ for all devotion to her always points the way back to her Son.
Throughout Christmas we celebrate the fact that God loved us so much that He took on our human flesh and dwelt among us. With that let us think how scandalous all of this may seem to the untrained mind. God was unable to feed Himself and instead relied upon His parents in order to receive His sustenance. He would go to the desert and there He would come to know the true meaning of hunger and thirst as He fasted for a period of forty days and nights. Through His circumcision He spilt His Blood as a foreshadowing of what would come through the ultimate spilling of blood upon the cross.
If we desire to be more human then we will strive to be more like Christ. Through this reality we are not called to becomes less human, but to become more human through this pursuit. As Saint Athanasius put it in today’s Office of Readings: “Our Savior truly became man, and from this has followed the salvation of man as a whole. Our salvation is in no way fictitious, nor does it apply only to the body. The salvation of the whole man, that is, of soul and body, has really been achieved in the Word himself. What was born of Mary was therefore human by nature, in accordance with the inspired Scriptures, and the body of the Lord was a true body: it was a true body because it is the same as ours. Mary, you see, is our sister, for we are all born of Adam.”
As we head into this new year may we continue to foster devotion to Mary in our life and within our family. All of this devotion draws us into a closer relationship with her Son, Jesus. In this manner we can strive to be more like Christ and in the process strip away everything that keeps us from achieving this goal. For many a New Year’s resolution never gets put into action or if it does it only lasts a few days and weeks before things return to normal and we begin to forget of what we once strived for. To pursue Christ is not a New Year’s resolution, but a way of life.
