mystery having great meaning for her God?s plan. So she kept all
things in her heart and reflected upon them. And that way she kept
growing in holiness, both as a person and as the Mother of God.
The divine Motherhood of Mary is an invitation to all of us to seek
God?s will, to seek God?s plan in our lives. So that we will be people
giving birth to divine purposes through our thoughts, words and ac-
tions, through our entire life. Mary being the Mother of God is also the
mother of us all. So let us accept Mary as our mother who is able to
give us hope, peace and joy in our life, leading us to Christ who is the
source of grace and life.
Let us strive to be pure and holy like our heavenly Mother. All moth-
ers want their children to inherit or acquire their good qualities. Our
heavenly Mother is no exception. She succeeded in training the Child
Jesus, so that He grew in holiness and in '
favor before God and
man.¯
Hence our best way of celebrating this feast and honoring our
heavenly Mother would be to promise her that we will practice
her virtues of faith, obedience, purity and humble service. In this way,
we will be trying to become the saintly sons and daughters of our
heavenly Mother, the holy Mother of God.
And, as we are on the first day of the New Year 2014, it is a chance to
begin again, a new life, with new hope and new spirit. And the New
Year is a gift to us, and how best we make use of this year will be our
gift to God. I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
Prayer
O God our Father, we thank you for allowing us to see this new year.
We ask your blessings on this first day of the year, as we celebrate
Mary one among us whom you chose to be the mother of your incar-
nated Son, the Word made Flesh. Give us the courage and wisdom to
live our lives seeking and saying YES always to your holy will. Amen
______
Fr. Jose Parathanal
