NEW YEAR & Mary Mother of God.

FEAST OF B.V. MARY MOTHER OF GOD ,January 01

Numbers 6:22-27,: Galatians. 4:4-7,Gosple: Luke 2: 16-21

We just stepped into a new year. A new year is like a new baby: it has to be given a name, and today’s readings are about naming. The first reading says, “They shall put my name on the people” (v 27), and in the Gospel the child is named Jesus (v 21). We begin the year in God’s name, and in the name of God’s Son. We are the people who have been given the right to call God “Abba, Father” because of Jesus.
Mary’s presence marks the beginning of the year. It is appropriate to have a mother to accompany our first steps. January 1st is her feast- Mary Mother of God. Her title, ‘Mother of God, affirms equally the humanity and the divinity of Christ. The Nestorians –said that Christ was two persons: the man Jesus and the divine Son of God. This view was rejected at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), which insisted that Jesus was one person with two natures, divine and human. The most emphatic way they could say this was to affirm that Mary was not just the mother of the man Jesus, but that she was the mother of God. This was their way of saying that Christ was one person, not two. At the dawn of this year 2010 the church teaches us that we should approach Jesus through Mary.
New year is the time we make new resolutions. But What we need, of course, is not another resolution, but a revolution. We need a turning point in our lives. Without a revolution our resolutions might remain just resolutions without transferring into effect.
A boy asked a puzzle to his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hangs over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad replied, "Two." "No," the son replied. “Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?" The dad said, "Oh, I get the point! If one decided to jump, the others would too. So there are none left." The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump." Does that sound like our last year’s resolutions? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but often times we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of do-nothing.
Some years back a photo of Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, appeared on the front page of USA Today. An interviewer asked her if she had any advice for people. She said, "Yes! Each day, do a little more than you think you can." That's a good advice to consider at the beginning of the New year.:
Each day, love a little bit more than you think you can. Each day forgive a little more than you think you can. Each day be a little more patient than you think you can. Each day be a little bit kinder than you think you can. This would make everyday of the new year a better year in every respect.

We, Christians have good reason to be the happiest people in the world. Because Christmas announces us peace, joy and happiness. Our happiness is not based upon the condition of the world but upon the condition of the heart. We are happy because of God and not because of man.

If anybody should be happy, it is a Christian. But, many think the life of a Christian in terms of solemnity, seriousness, and severity. Some of us are like the country boy whose grandmother forbade him to engage in "worldly amusements" on Sunday.
Dejected and lonely, he walked down to the barn fence and while he was there a mule came up and put its head into the boy's hands. Patting the sad face of the mule, the boy commiserated, "Poor fellow, you must be a Christian, too."

Often we are like this country boy, thinking that living by Christian principles fully takes away the vigor and enjoyment from our life. We forget the fact that our happiness primarily lies in our attitude to life. If our attitude towards life is optimistic and hopeful our life would be happy. I remember a story I heard long ago when I was in elementary school. It is about the story of two boys- named Chaitran and Maitran. Their teacher wanted to test them and so gave both of them 10 bucks each and showed them two rooms and asked them to fill the rooms with anything they like. The rooms should be full any way. Chaitran thought of it how can I fill the room with things worth just $10 ? He approached the Muncipality scavangers / or garbage collector and paid him $10 and told him to fill the room with garbage, which doesn’t cost much. But Maitran thought in a different way. He bought two incense sticks and a couple of candles and a few fresh flowers and he lighted the incense sticks and the candles and kept the flowers in the room. When the teacher came to inspect the room he was pleased with Maitran’s view of filling the room with fragrance and light while Chaitran’s room could not even be approached by the teacher because of the filthy smell. Both had different perspectives and state of mind and they evinced that by their actions. Both were given same opportunities, circumstances, but both reacted to them differently. I think this story imparts some lessons how we should approach the new year.
Three ways to make the New Year meaningful: a) Something to dream, b) Something to do, and c) Someone to love. “I have a dream’” said Martin Luther King. We should all have a noble plan of action (dream a noble dream) for every day in the New Year. We need to remember the proverb:” Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your today." It has been truly said that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. We must not be barren fig trees in God’s vineyard. We must be always engaged, doing good to others and loving our fellow men and women, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This becomes easy when we make God the center of our life and realize His presence in all the people around us. Let us light a candle instead of blaming the darkness around us. Just as the moon borrows the sun’s light to illuminate the earth, we must radiate the light of God shining within us.
Let me conclude by the priestly blessing prayer God instructed Aaron and his sons to use , from the first reading.The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you and give you peace; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace though out the New year.