Two Solemnities Launch the New Year
This weekend we celebrate two Solemnities and the New Year. Saturday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the first day of the New Year 2022. Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Manifestation of Christ as the King and the Messiah. Both solemnities have something specific to tell us – ‘the Word which became flesh’ in Mary is God and the Savior of all the World.
Let us start with the Feast of Epiphany: Scripture only mentions that the wise men came from the East and does not give any further details about them, i.e., their names, status or how many they were. In his writing, Mathew constantly gives reference from the Old Testament to prove that the child that is born of Mary is the promised messiah. The visit of Magi fulfills a few OLD Testament Prophesies. They were regarded as kings from the East because of the reference we find in Psalms “The Kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts” (72: 10). Mathew’s purpose was not to give us details about the historical event but rather to emphasize that Christ is not a property of any one group but, rather, He is the Lord and Savior of the World.
The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God is one of the most ancient celebrations to come down to us. The council of Ephesus (AD 431) gave it specific direction, meaning and purpose. This feast stresses the incarnation of God in the human form, which he took in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, Mary is the bearer of God – Theotokos. Mary’s humble ‘yes’, filled her with every grace from heaven and elevated her to the majesty of becoming a mother of God. Through her absolute obedience, she gave to the world its Savior, the one who would save her and all of us.
These two solemnities set a tone for our new year 2022. Like Mary, we need to totally trust in God’s redemptive work among us. That means we must let our past go and begin life afresh again.
Fr. William J. Bausch narrates a beautiful story in his book, “Once upon a Gospel”, about a woman named Alice who called professional movers to pack and take her stuff to her new home. Alice told them to ‘pack everything’. In her new home, Alice realized that the packers packed literally everything including trash bins, old newspapers, empty ketchup bottles and grapefruit peels. Her ‘new’ home still had the old garbage.
Let us start the new year accepting Christ as the Savior of our life. Let us start it afresh with His all-renewing graces.
– Fr. Ranjan D’Sa, OCD