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.

“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,” reads the Catechism. “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. This bas-relief of Mary with Jesus is placed on the exterior wall of that chapel, and the statue of Mary and Jesus above 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.