Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 1, 2025
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
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.
I often wonder, “How did Mary do it?” How did she so bravely say yes to God when it didn’t make sense, certainly wasn’t convenient, and was even dangerous? How did she open her heart so completely, knowing that Jesus was always not simply hers, but the Father’s? How did she walk with Jesus to the foot of the cross and gaze at her sweet boy filled with grief?
As a mom myself, these questions also feel very personal. How am I called in my own vocation to be open to Jesus, even when it’s inconvenient, doesn’t always make sense, and perhaps feels a little dangerous? How am I called to love radically, knowing that nothing in this world is permanent and that loving Jesus can sometimes walk us in and through grief?
How can I possibly do this?
Well, I don’t have easy step-by-step directions, but today, I do find hope in Mary’s witness. She couldn’t possibly have known all the twists and turns she would encounter on the road ahead, but again and again, we do know that she would pause and hold these things in her heart. Perhaps this is where her strength is cultivated—these moments when she stops, holds things gently and reflects deeply. Maybe this is where our strength is as well—where Jesus promises to meet us.
As our new year begins, maybe God is inviting us to be a little bit more like Mary, to stop and reflect on what we hold in our hearts. The world is filled with much sorrow and suffering, but it is also where Jesus comes to be with us here and now. Are we looking and reflecting on the ways Jesus is in our midst? Are we listening for the challenge to love with abandon? Are we softening our hearts to the call of Jesus, even if it’s inconvenient and asks a lot of us?
Are we keeping all these precious things and reflecting on them in our hearts?
Prayer
Good and loving God, you give us the gift of Mary as a model of faith, hope, and love. In her motherly protection, we offer to you the needs and prayers of our hearts. Help us to grow in our faith when we doubt, our hope when we despair, and our love when we face difficulty. May we be humble of heart and witness to joy in our world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast, which honors Mary as the Mother of God—the one who bears Christ to the world—has been on the Church calendar since the seventh century. Given the role Mary plays in the narratives of the birth of Christ, it is appropriate that the Church honors her in the days after Christmas, and this feast falls within the octave that extends the feast of Christmas through eight days. As it says in the Catechism:
"Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense, the Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the 'Seat of Wisdom.'"
— CCC 721
The chapel in Malloy Hall, which houses theology and philosophy programs and faculty, is named after Mary, Seat of Wisdom. A bas-relief of Mary with Jesus, pictured above, is placed on the exterior wall of that chapel. Today's featured image of the statue of Mary and Jesus stands in the Log Chapel.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in this new year!
To learn even more about Mary, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.