By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
Piety
(Psalm 67)
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may God's face shine upon us. Selah
So shall your rule be known upon the earth,
your saving power among all the nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May the nations be glad and shout for joy;
for you govern the peoples justly,
you guide the nations upon the earth. Selah
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still;
that the ends of the earth may revere our God.
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/010107.shtml
January 1 is a triple header in the liturgy of the Church. It is the octave of Christmas, it is the feast of Mary, Mother of God and it is the feast of the giving of the name Jesus. For the Jesuit it is the titular feast of the Society. It is the day Mary is honored as the Mother of Jesus Christ and because he is both God and man by his two natures that make one person, she is also mother of Jesus who is the Eternal Word of the Father. Truly a special day for us to honor Mary!
We celebrate the continuing work of Mary in the Church. She recognizes the Church as the Mystical Body of her son. She began her work for the Church with the “Behold your son” words of Jesus on the Cross. John stands in as the Church being entrusted to Mary. Our Spiritual journey has Mary as our best role model for the way she took care of her Son. How we should cherish Jesus we can learn by looking at Mary in her mother’s love for her son.
This is the time when we make resolutions for the New Year. Some suggestions are in order. It is a good time to make plans on how we can love better those who are in our lives. Love is practiced by how we give ourselves. Mary is the model of love in how she was present to Jesus. We need to recognize the Christ of each other. Daily Mass is one way to be present to Jesus. It is a real gift we can offer up for those we love.
Action
Doing something special for one person you love each day is a good plan to have. The living out of love is not an accident. It needs a plan that gives form to good intentions. A helping hand takes many forms. Letting your fingers do the walking on the phone makes it possible to say hello to another each day. The smile of happiness flows out of the special ways we reach out to those we love.
Make this New Year special by the intentions of your heart. Begin this New Year aright by celebrating God’s love for you in Mary.
Happy New Year!
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