Indulgences:
A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly assist either at the recitation or solemn singing of
- the Veni Creator, either on the first day of the year to implore divine assistance for the course of the whole year, or on the solemnity of Pentecost;
- the Te Deum, on the final day of the year, to offer thanks to God for gifts received throughout the course of the entire year.
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, (1999) #26, paragraph 1, numbers 1-2
Almanac:
Today is the Octave Day of Christmas: The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
Liturgy of the Hours: Seasonal proper
Liturgical Notes: With the permission of the diocesan bishop, the Mass for Peace is allowed. Gloria; Creed; Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary I. Today is a holy day of obligation in the United States.
Other Calendars: In the Easter Orthodox tradition, today is the Circumcision of the Lord, which was also the celebration in our calendar before its reform. The East also remembers Saint Basil the Great today. Anglicans and Lutherans begin the new calendar year honoring the Holy Name of Jesus.History: Birth of Pope Alexander VI (1431); Deaths of Saint Basil the Great (379) and Saint Telemachus (404)
Homilies:
Deacon David Deston
Father Lachance, OP
This is a great insight from Deacon David that I received today:
In saying yes, Mary becomes the Mother of God, the God-bearer, the Theotokos. For nine months, she carries within her God-made-man; she is pregnant with the Word. Our Lady, pregnant with the Word, brings Him forth so that we might be saved. She is a model for us in this. My friends, all of us, when we worship the Lord at Mass, when we hear His Word and receive His Body and Blood become pregnant with the Word. All of us, men and women, carry God within us.
If all of us are pregnant with the Word, then, what are we to do with Him? Using Mary as our model, we bring forth the Word and deliver Him to the world. All our good works, all the effort we spend in service to God and man, all our sacrifice, is a very real labor, and it is through this labor, sometimes painful, that we give birth to the Word, to God. We see this all around us, and indeed, in the life of Mary herself. It wasn’t enough for hear to give birth to Jesus. On the contrary, she bore Him to Egypt, fleeing the sociopathy of Herod. For Mary, the labor pains, as it were, were to continue throughout her life. Indeed, the prophet Simeon tells her that her own heart a sword shall pierce. In becoming the Mother of God, she also becomes the Mother of Sorrows.
Just as with the Mother of God, so too with us. We don’t need to flee to foreign parts, but how many of our brothers and sisters must flee governments headed by madmen? In this country, do we not see the most vulnerable of all suffer and die? Do we not see the family harassed by false understandings of marriage? Are we not twisted by the oversexualization of the culture? Indeed, these are labor pains, and we travail against them. We have no other choice. We have not choice, my friends, because in delivering God to the world, we help in its transformation; we raise it up and present it to God so that He might redeem it and bring us at last to the end of our pilgrimage, to eternal life with the Lord.
Miscellaneous:
Today is also the World Day of Prayer for Peace. The theme this year is "The Human Family, a Community of Peace." You can read his message here.
Here are Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for January:
General: That the Church may strengthen her commitment to full visible unity in order to manifest ever more clearly her nature as a community of love in which is reflected the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Missionary: That the Church in Africa, preparing to celebrate the second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, may continue to be a sign and channel of reconciliation and justice in a continent still suffering from war, exploitation and poverty.
Here's a vocation intercession you might consider adding to your intentions at Mass and in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours:
That all who are called to a life of service in the Church, may put their trust in our heavenly Mother who draws all to her Son, providing the model of perfect openness to the call of the Holy Spirit, we pray to the Lord.
If you're looking for more information on the dogma, check out the University of Dayton's website on Mary's Divine Maternity.
