Dear Faithful,

On this 8th day of the Christmas Octave, the Church solemnly acclaims Mary as “Mother of God“ (Theotokos in Greek), the most exalted title ever held by a human person. This designation was given to her at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD after long, strenuous debates concerning the identity of Jesus. At this moment in history, there were those who, erroneously, believed that Jesus Christ did not share in the eternal divinity of the Godhead, but rather was adopted as God at some particular moment in time. They argued, therefore, that Mary could not rightfully be called the “Mother of God” but only the “Mother of Christ” since she did not give birth to the eternal God.

The fathers of the Church however, asserted that in Jesus the Christ the divine and human natures were so completely wedded that they could not be separated. Therefore, in giving birth to Jesus, Mary could rightfully be said to have given birth to God. This dogma eventually came to be celebrated on the 1st day of January which also commemorated the circumcision of Jesus, the Jewish ritual performed on infant boys eight days after they were born.

This solemnity of the Motherhood of Mary, as it falls on the first day of the New Year, gives us an insight into how we might welcome the next twelve months, -- with the courage of Mary. It was Mary’s courage that enabled her to say “yes” to God’s preposterous request that she give birth to a son as a virgin. This had never happened before in the history of the world. There was no previous experience like this that she could look to, trust, or put her faith in. She acted out of sheer courage. Essentially, Mary was brave enough to get out of God’s way so that he could take over her body and her life which he did. Because of this we have been saved. And so Mary is a herald of great courage who boldly and beautifully reveals what can happen if we are brave enough to let God take charge of us. This is a New Year’s resolution worth making.

The following sonnet by Malcolm Guite is a fitting reflection given the recent refurbishing of our parish bells which are bold and beautiful heralds in their own right. These sacramental instruments that live on from one community to another, call people to trust in God. May we have the courage of Mary to say, as she did, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to God’s word.

New Year’s Day: Church Bells

Not the bleak speak of mobile messengers,
The soft chime of synthesized reminders,
Not texts, not pagers, not data packages,
Not satnav or locators ever find us
As surely, soundly, deeply as these bells
That sound and find and call us all at once.
‘Ears of my ears’ can hear, my body feels
This call to prayer that is itself a dance.
So ring them out in joy and jubilation
Sound them in sorrow tolling for the lost,
O let them wake the Church and rouse the nation,
A sleeping lion stirred to life at last,
Begin again they sing, again begin,
A ring and rhythm answered from within.
Happy New Year,

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