Catholic Liturgical Calendar †
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Catholic Liturgical Calendar January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 FOR THE DIOCESES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2018 ⚭ † ☧ 2 JANUARY 2018 1 Mon SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD white Rank I The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Solemnity [not a Holyday of Obligation] Nm 6:22-27/Gal 4:4-7/Lk 2:16-21 (18) Pss Prop Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Theotokos) The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Theotokos) “From most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been venerated under the title ‘God- bearer’(Theotokos)” (Lumen Gentium, no. 66). All of the Churches recall her memory under this title in their daily Eucharistic prayers, and especially in the annual celebration of Christmas. The Virgin Mary was already venerated as Mother of God when, in 431, the Council of Ephesus acclaimed her Theotokos (God-bearer). As the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary has a unique position among the saints, indeed, among all creatures. She is exalted, yet still one of us. Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth. At the same time, however, because she belongs to the offspring of Adam she is one with all those who are to be saved. (Lumen Gentium, no. 53)1 1 http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/mary/index.cfm (last accessed 11 January 10:57am) 3 Her role in the mystery of the incarnation was celebrated on this day in Rome in the seventh century but was soon eclipsed by other feasts of Mary. Restored to the liturgical calendar in 1931, and to this day in 1969, the feast celebrates from a Marian perspective the Word made flesh, and so enriches the observance of the octave of Christmas and provides a solemn beginning to the New Year. “A plenary indulgence [under the usual conditions] is granted to the faithful who devoutly assist either at the recitation or solemn singing of the Veni Creator [Spiritus] on the first day of the year to implore divine assistance for the course of the whole year.” The most commonly known setting of the Veni Creator Spiritus is, “Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” In the Roman Office for January 1, which some eighth century manuscripts call the “Birthday of St. Mary,” many prayers, antiphons and responsories are found which honor the divine Motherhood of Mary. This memorial of Mary, the Mother of God, is celebrated on December 26 in the Byzantine and Syrian rites, and on January 16 in the Coptic rite. “Now Mary, as the Mother of God, is something more than an ordinary woman, and holds a place in the economy of grace different from that of any other woman, different from and above that of any other creature. She has been honored by the Creator as no other creature has been, for she alone has been selected by Him to be His Mother. If God has distinguished her from all other women, if He has chosen her to be His Mother, shall not we distinguish her from all other women, and honor her as His Mother?” ~Orestes A. Brownson, 1853 World Day of Prayer for Peace - January 1 (The Holy Mother of God) The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of all people for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated "world day for peace". The World Days of Peace are particularly intense moments of prayer for peace and for the commitment to build a world of peace. Pope Paul VI instituted these Days to dedicate to “thoughts and resolutions of Peace a special observance on the first day of the civil year”. Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice, but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love”. Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the Holy See. In the light of the newborn Prince of Peace, it reserves this day for intense prayer for peace, education towards peace and those value inextricably linked with it, such as liberty, fraternal solidarity, the dignity of the human person, respect for nature, the right to work, the sacredness of human life, and the denunciation of injustices which trouble the conscience of man and threaten peace. In response to the tragedies of September 11, 2001, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops designated January 1 a Day of Prayer for Peace. The bishops' declaration urged 4 Catholics to pray the rosary on January 1, seeking the intercession of the Virgin Mary under her title "Queen of Peace."2 Incorporating aspects of the scriptural readings or proper prayers for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God into a homily for the Day of Prayer for Peace In the first reading for today, the Lord himself gives a blessing to his priest Aaron through Moses in the Book of Numbers (6: 22-27). He directs Aaron to invoke the same three-part blessing still found among the Solemn Blessings of the Sacramentary, where God is asked to keep us, to shine upon us, and to give us his peace. The third blessing is the natural consequence of the first two: for it is only when we seek God's care and enjoy his rich blessings that we can know "the peace the world cannot give." The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 67: 2-3, 6, 8), like today's prayer for peace, is a call for God's mercy (antiphon: May God bless us in his mercy). With the Psalmist, we ask for the blessing of God's mercy "among all nations," in order that they may "be glad and exult," and that "all the peoples may praise God and all the ends of the earth fear him." Peace is to be found only in God, who rules the whole earth "with equity." Thus, just as God offers his friendship to all the nations, so does he offer his peace. Shepherds were among the poorest and most forgotten of Jesus' day. They had no political influence, no wealth or weapons, and no means of power. God first sent his angel to the poor shepherds in the Bethlehem hills to announce the good news of great joy that today his Son, the Prince of Peace, was born for all mankind. Today we join the shepherds (Luke 2: 16-21) and adore the child in the arms of his Blessed Virgin Mother. In his littleness, we are made strong. By his innocence, we are freed from sin. By his brokenness, we are made whole. Only a few days before, we sang the hymn of the Divine Child sleeping in heavenly peace. Today, as that child rests in Mary's arms, may we know heavenly peace as well! We, as members of Christ, with Mary as our Mother and Model, are called to the same faith, now in the grim reality of war, of terrorism, of hatred, of unrestrained violence and the threat of biological attacks. We may feel powerless in the face of so much real and potential evil, but we cannot allow ourselves the luxury of powerlessness. In doing so we shortchange the power of God who hears our prayer and works through us. We are called to believe that God has a plan for us and that God's plan will prevail. We are also called to collaborate in that plan by our own prayer made in union with Christ, our Head, by our efforts to promote peace with those whose lives intersect with ours. 2 http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/prayers/national-day-of-prayer-for-peace.cfm (last accessessd 11 January 2018, 9:28am) 5 Popular Piety and the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God On New Year's Day, the octave day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because "through her we have received the Author of life". The solemnity of the 1 January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechized, lends joy and happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with that which says: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners". In the West, 1 January is an inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of the new year and exchange "new year" greetings. However, they should try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings an expression of popular piety. The faithful, naturally, realize that the "new year" is placed under the patronage of the Lord, and in exchanging new year greetings they implicitly and explicitly place the New Year under the Lord's dominion, since to him belongs all time (cf.