So many have been looking forward to turning the page to a new year, there were even Christmas ornaments that tried to make light of some of our shared 2020 experiences.
I admit I did learn to make sourdough bread, cleaned out closets, and found new ways to work from home.
So we take a deep breath, head into 2021 with hope and optimism.
New Year’s Day, when I was growing up, was celebrated as the 8th day, the Octave of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ when Joseph and Mary took the baby to the Temple where he was given his name, Jesus. A name that means Redeemer and Savior.
Today, we are celebrating this first day of a New Year as the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God.
Pope Paul VI in the encyclical in 1974 on Marian Devotion wrote
“This celebration, assigned to January 1…, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the ‘holy Mother . . . through whom we were found worthy . . . to receive the Author of life.’ “
Could anything bring more hope?
So as we enter a New Year, may we bring with us, from this first day, this true source of genuine hope and honor the part Mary has played in the “mystery of our salvation”!
Elise Frederick