The feast day of Mary, Mother of God is one the most ancient celebrations in honor of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. While it occurs on the civil calendar as January 1st and it might seem that we
are celebrating Mary as Mother of God on the first day of the year, the actual reason for its placement
is that this feast comes on the last day of the Octave of Christmas – that is, eight days after
Christmas. For many of us, Christmas ends at Midnight on December 25th. But according to ancient
custom, important events were celebrated for more than one day. In fact, Christmas is really celebrated
for eight days. That means every one of those days is to be understood as part of the same
celebration of Christmas. (This is done also at Easter and other important feasts as well). While our
contemporary culture has a great, festive build up which ends on Christmas, our ancestors began
their celebration of Christmas at Midnight Mass and then continued it for eight days, thus the term
“octave” (from the Latin word “octavus” meaning “eighth” – incidentally that’s why October is
called such, because it was the eighth month of the ancient Roman calendar).
It is perfectly fitting that the last day of the octave of Christmas honors the divine
motherhood of Mary. The special bond between Christ and his mother came into existence at the
Annunciation and continues to this very day. The Church celebrates this bond constantly in her liturgical
celebrations, including the way the dates of the feast days themselves are chosen.
So, as we continue to celebrate the feast of Christmas, we should rejoice heartily on this day
when we celebrate Mary as Mother of God for it reveals further to us the immeasurable love that
the infinite and almighty God does have, to allow himself to be contained in the womb of one of his
creatures so that he could come to save us….all out of love, love for us.
A Christmas Thank You!
I want to extend my sincerest thanks to the great group of parishioners who, once again,
made the Church both look and sound so wonderful on Christmas. A lot of people put in a lot of
time and effort to make sure that we celebrated the coming of the Prince of Peace into the world in
such a beautiful way. Without question, during our Christmas worship we gave great glory and honor
to God (as we always try to do) and I am sure that the Lord was well pleased (as He always is with
all our genuine effort). So, once again I say a giant and heartfelt “THANK YOU” to all who made
Christmas so special here at St. Rose of Lima and ask God’s special blessing upon you all.
God Bless you,
Father Joseph Byerley
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