Mary, Mother of God, awaits us at the doorway to a New Year

On the first day of the new year 2024, the Liturgy of the Holy Mass proposes three simple teachings to help us contemplate the Solemnity of the Mother of God. These teachings illuminate the meaning of every Christian's life:

1. God continues to bless His people.
2. In the fullness of time, God became man in Christ and taught us to call God, ‘Our Father’.
3. The Mother of God teaches us how to ponder the events in our lives and elevate our thoughts to God.

In the first reading we discover that God wanted to renew the Alliance with His people through a blessing: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! (Nm 6, 24.26). How wonderful to know that our lives are under the gaze of God. Let us ask him to bless the new year and may He grant that we all become bearers of His peace to the world.

In the second reading, the Apostle Paul, in the letter to the Galatians (4, 4-7) reminds us that the "fullness of time" has now come, because in Christ Jesus, God became man to give divine life to the human race. In Christ, God shares our humanity. He speaks to us of God’s love and tells us to call God ‘Our Father’. In this fullness of time, we are raised to become children of God who, through Christ, will one day inherit our Father’s kingdom.

In the biblical passage, the evangelist Luke reveals Mary’s secret. She is the only creature in which divine Grace has taken root to the extent that God's Son dwells in her womb. Mary’s attitude is described in the following way: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Lk 2:19). Let us place ourselves in Mary's school. From her we will be able to learn the art of prayerful silence to ponder the joys and adversities of life in our hearts. We take everything onboard whilst we wait for divine Providence to arrange every circumstance for our growth in faith and holiness.