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January 1 - New Year's Day
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God-New Year's DayEven as we celebrate the peace and joy of Christmas, it is instructive to look ahead with Jesus. The night before He died, the Lord asked His apostles to keep vigil with Him and pray. Yet they failed Him by falling asleep, oblivious to His agony, succumbing to the weakness of their flesh. But Jesus asked them to watch with Him so that they might share fully in the mystery of the moment: Jesus makes a total gift of Himself to the will of the Father. How much we need this New Year to recommit ourselves to the will of God. How easily we overlook the subtle, unexpected times that Christ comes to unite us to His Father. Like the holy women who kept watch at Jesus' tomb, we wait in hope as the old year dies and a new one comes to live with us. And if, with them, some doubt still lingers in our hearts-"Who will roll away the stone?"---we know that patience and persistence will soon give us the assurance we seek. Christ's new life rolls away every stumbling-block in our souls. He calls us to keep vigil, like the apostles, so that we may avail ourselves of His saving grace. If in our silence and solitude we feel lonely and lost, the Mother of God comes in search of us, as once she found her Son in the temple. We wait in stillness as this new year dawns, enfolded in Mary's maternal love, devoted to being about the Father's business. By Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Magnificat |