A Timeless Declaration
A Reflection for New Year's Day by Brent Smith
Director of Adult Faith Formation & Evangelization
New Year's blessings to everyone! We have arrived at the dawn of 365 days of mysterious potential. What do you hope to accomplish by December 31? Put a dent in a long-standing debt? Expand your understanding of a career or hobby. Maybe set aside a weekend for a retreat or vacation? Will you start a new annual tradition, and how about a habit to practice regularly throughout the year? How will you renew your affection for loved ones?
This first Sunday of 2023 is in honor of Mary, acclaimed as the Holy Mother of God. The final line of the Gospel reading points to this mystery, “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21). The Archangel Gabriel visits Mary with a surprise message, the timeless declaration: the Holy Spirit is ready to do the impossible. In offering her whole life – mind, heart, and womb – Mary becomes the courageous virgin mother of Jesus, the Son of the eternal Father.
Please pray with me: Blessed Mother, by offering yourself to the extraordinary prompting of the Holy Spirit, you carried God in the flesh. Intercede for us, holy Mother of God, in moments when we should trust God and do His will. Let us contemplate the mercy of the Heavenly Father and become missionaries of that mercy.