January 1, the Church commemorates the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mother of God. The Feast falls within the octave or eight days of Christmas.

We honor Mary with a special title, “Mother of God.” On one level, this is preposterous. From another perspective the title is most fitting in that it recognizes her unique position as the one who bore God’s Son in her womb and nourished him there for 9 months before entrusting the Savior to the world. She is that first ray of dawn that announces a new day for humanity. We come together to recognize her at the start of a new year.