The New Year Begins with a Celebration of the Motherhood of Mary

Today is the celebration of the Motherhood of Mary.  On this day, one of our few holy days of obligation, we acknowledge Mary as the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God. 

The feast day is officially called, The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.  The feast occurs on the octave of Christmas.  (Yes, as Catholics, we are still celebrating Christmas!  When so many people have put away the decorations, and stores are featuring Valentine's Day and Easter items, we are blessed to be celebrating the birth of Jesus.)

Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, is also known as the King of Peace.  His Mother is honored as the Queen of Peace.

During this octave of Christmas, we also celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family and the feast of the slain innocents.  These feasts are not placed randomly in the church calendar.  These feasts are there to remind us that we must pray.

We must pray for peace through the intercession of Mary, the Queen of Peace

We must pray for the victims of abortion, both the babies and their parents and anyone who participates in this barbaric practice

We must also pray for families.  satan is attacking families relentlessly.  he knows that with the breakup of the family, the values which lead us to God are broken or destroyed making his attempted conquest of the world much easier.  The family is the core which transmits faith to future generations.  If God is not a part of the family, then the beast can move into the family planting seeds of anger, hatred, unrest.  Instead we must pray that families be given the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Families need prayers.  Children need prayers. 

The Woman Clothed in the Sun will crush the head of satan one day.  God will win this spiritual battle. 

Today we honor our Mother in this celebration of the Solemnity of Mary.  Pray! Pray! Pray!  We begin this new year honoring our Mother.  Let us pray for her help, her love, and her intercessions before the Throne of her Son, Jesus.  Let us pray for her intentions.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death.  Amen

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us.