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Liturgical Feasts
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
01 January
The Octave of Christmas falls on New Year’s Day. Given the fact that the pagans used to celebrate this day through dissolute activities and superstition, the ancient Church helped believers begin the new year with a “new spirit” through the practice of days of fasting and penance. In 431, during the Council of Ephesus that concluded on 22 June, the dogma of faith regarding “Mary’s divine maternity” was declared. Thus, in 1931, on the Council’s 15th centenary, Pope Pius XI established the liturgical feast that we already find celebrated in the 7th century. It is a day laden with meaning and contains many messages: the Octave of Christmas recalls the day Jesus was circumcised and given His name, it is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and it is also the day on which the World Day of Peace is celebrated (established by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1968).
There truly are many messages to be received on this first day of the year. We are invited to learn from the Virgin Mary to “keep” the Word in our hearts, and to ask ourselves what the Lord Jesus wants to say to us as the days go by, knowing that God’s blessing always accompanies us, as the First Reading from Numbers reminds us.
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
05 January
Epiphany in Greek means “manifestation”. In the West, the visit of the Magi is celebrated as the event through which the Lord was “manifested” to the pagans and, therefore, to the world. In the Eastern Church, the accent for this solemnity is on the Trinitarian “manifestation” during the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. While what is central on Christmas is the birth of the Child Jesus, on Epiphany, what is highlighted is that this poor and vulnerable Child is King and Messiah, the Lord of all the earth. With Epiphany, Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled, as can be discerned through the first reading: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come” (Is. 60:1ff). It’s as if the liturgy is saying – don’t cut yourselves off, don’t give up, don’t remain prisoners of your “convictions”, don’t be demoralized, react, “lift up your eyes”! Like the Magi, observe “the star” and you will find “the star, Jesus”.
See All...Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
12 January
Already in 300 AD, the Eastern Church celebrated the Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus on 6 January. In the Western Church, this feast was mentioned in the Liturgy of the Hours. With the reform of the liturgy in 1969, the date for this Feast was set on the Sunday after the Epiphany. When the Feast of the Epiphany is not celebrated on 6 January, it is celebrated on the Sunday between 2 and 8 January, and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the Monday following the Epiphany. The Christmas Season concludes with the celebration of this Feast, even though a “window” is left open until 2 February, the day on which the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple is celebrated. The latter feast is also known as Candlemas since Christ is proclaimed as the “light for the gentiles”.&苍产蝉辫;
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