{"id":924,"date":"2013-01-01T09:08:41","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T14:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=924"},"modified":"2013-01-01T09:08:41","modified_gmt":"2013-01-01T14:08:41","slug":"why-have-mass-on-new-years-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/why-have-mass-on-new-years-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Have Mass on New Year’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

People will sometimes ask me if there is Mass on New Year’s Day.\u00a0 The answer is always, yes there is Mass on New Year’s Day but it is not New Year’s Day we are celebrating.\u00a0 New Year’s Day marks the beginning of a new year on the secular calendar.\u00a0 It is seen by many as a day of new beginnings and new hope.\u00a0 Each year there are huge celebrations across the world for New Year’s.\u00a0 People will make New Year’s Resolutions.\u00a0 Some resolutions might be broken before the day is off and some will be kept.<\/p>\n

It is a good day to celebrate Mass in the church.\u00a0 Every day is a good day to celebrate in church.\u00a0 But the New Year’s Holiday is not the reason that today is a holy day.\u00a0 Our holy day is to honor Mary.\u00a0 Today we celebrate “The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.”\u00a0 Once again we honor Mary for saying yes to God to be the mother of Jesus.\u00a0 But the title we honor her under today is not simply Mother of Jesus<\/em> but Mother of God<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In the early centuries of the church, there was great discussions over this title of Mary.\u00a0 Some said, that in Greek, the title should be Christokos<\/em> meaning “mother of Christ” because Mary is the human<\/em> mother of the human<\/em> Jesus.\u00a0 God is eternal and thus Mary is not God’s mother.\u00a0 On the other side was the title Theotokos<\/em> meaning “Mother of God.”\u00a0 Ultimately, it was agreed to use the title Mother of God<\/em> not to say Mary was God’s mother but to stress Jesus is both human and divine.<\/p>\n

But why today?<\/p>\n

Today completes the “Octave of Christmas”\u00a0 (octave mean eight days).\u00a0 It was the Jewish custom on the eighth day after the birth of a son to bring him to the temple for the prescribed rituals.\u00a0 Our gospel ends with Mary doing just that.\u00a0 So, today we honor for her role as Mother of Jesus.<\/p>\n

We also always honor Mary for the example she is to us.\u00a0 At the Annunciation, Mary said yes to God.\u00a0 At the Wedding Feast of Cana, when they ran out of wine, she told the servants, speaking of Jesus, Do whatever he tells you<\/em>.\u00a0 Mary did not know what Jesus would say or do but she knew he would do the right thing.<\/p>\n

Today’s Gospel <\/a>also speaks of how the people listened to what the shepherds said about Jesus.\u00a0 Mary could have been dancing for joy, saying ‘look how great my son is.’\u00a0 Mary did not.\u00a0 The gospel said Mary kept all these things and reflected on them in her heart.\u00a0 Once again Mary is an example for us of how she takes time to reflect on what is going on in her life.\u00a0 Mary is a woman of peace.<\/p>\n

We need to have quiet time ourselves to be able to reflect on the presence of God in our lives.\u00a0 Sometimes it seems impossible to find the quiet time.\u00a0 Our lives can be too busy.\u00a0 Sometimes, it is difficult to enter into the quiet.\u00a0 I know myself sometimes I go home at the end of a day I just want to crash.\u00a0 Then, the first thing I do when I walk in the door is turn on the TV.\u00a0 Sometimes, I don’t even watch it.\u00a0 I just turn it on for background noise.\u00a0 I don’t embrace the quiet.<\/p>\n

We all need to seek interior peace.\u00a0 As we think about this peace, in addition to being the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, today is also a World Day of Prayer for Peace.\u00a0 For a number of years now, the Pope has written a message on peace for this day.<\/p>\n

The peace that God offers us is the interior peace of knowing Jesus in our hearts but when we embrace this peace on the inside, peace on the outside can flow from it.<\/p>\n

What keeps us from knowing peace on the inside?<\/p>\n

Things like selfish thoughts of greed, envy, and jealous keep us from knowing peace.\u00a0 If we are always seeking more<\/em>, we are never satisfied.\u00a0 If we are never satisfied, then we will have a hard time finding peace in our hearts.<\/p>\n

Aren’t these some of these, the\u00a0same things that cause wars and violence, people who are not satisfied with what they have.\u00a0 People who start wars often do so seeking more power, wealth, or material goods.\u00a0 Or they seek to make the world the way they want it rather than what God wants.\u00a0 On the other end, when we overconsume, people who do not have enough, have even less and may feel a need to fight just to have enough.\u00a0 If we become satisfied with what we have and stop wanting more, more is available for them.<\/p>\n

So, as we honor Mary today as Mother of God let us follow her example of finding God’s peace in our hearts.<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Fr. Jeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People will sometimes ask me if there is Mass on New Year’s Day.\u00a0 The answer is always, yes there is Mass on New Year’s Day but it is not New Year’s Day we are celebrating.\u00a0 New Year’s Day marks the beginning of a new year on the secular calendar.\u00a0 It is seen by many as …<\/p>\n

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