Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (New Year's Day)

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017

Location: All Parishes

The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God is celebrated on Jan. 1. Normally it would be a separate holy day of obligation to attend Mass, but this year it falls on a Sunday, which is already a holy day of obligation.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the basis for this title for Mary. "Called in the Gospels 'the mother of Jesus,' Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as 'the mother of my Lord.' In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos)." (No. 495)

"Theotokos," comes from the Greek meaning, "God-bearer." This title was approved at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. when the Church fathers formalized the teaching that the one born of Mary was indeed the Son of God. This was done to combat false teachings about Jesus at the time.

In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium," the title, "Mother of God" appears 13 times in Chapter VIII, which explains that, "The Virgin Mary, who at the message of the angel received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave life to the world, is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and Mother of the Redeemer. Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. ... At the same time, however, because she belongs to the offspring of Adam she is one with all those who are to be saved. ... Wherefore she is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity. The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother." (Second Vatican Council, 1964)

In his 2015 homily on the Solemnity of Mary, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor provided background on the feast day and its location on the liturgical calendar. "When I was a child, it was the feast of the circumcision of the Lord because it falls on the eighth day after Christmas, and as we heard in today's Gospel, "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.'"

"But then in 1974 — exactly 40 years ago — the ancient solemnity of Mary, the mother of God was restored to Jan. 1. This was the date on which it had been celebrated for over 600 years — from the 600s to the 1200s A.D. — at which point it was displaced by what was then the new feast of the circumcision. This happened in part because, though different, both feasts are actually quite compatible with each other: 1.) Celebrating the fact that Jesus was already fully God when conceived by Mary, making her in that sense the Mother of God, and 2.) Celebrating the fact that Jesus is also fully human and so was circumcised in fulfillment of Jewish law — "born under the law" in the words of our second reading."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a scriptural reflection on this feast day using the prayer form, lectio divina in English and Spanish. To learn more about the Church's teachings on Mary, see the catechism or the Q&A or Marian glossary from the USCCB.