Parish of Our Lady of Fatima
159 Northway, Durban North, 4051 E-Mail admin@fatima.org.za Website: www.fatima.org.za
Tel 5635554 Fax 5634684
Parish Priest: Rev Fr Desmond Nair
Deacon: Rev Peter Venter
Pastoral Assistants: Irene Helsdon and Anne Chatteris
1 January 2013
Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God
Golden Jubilee Year – Year of Faith
Missal References
Eucharistic Prayer
Memorial Acclamation
Page 61 (W139)
No 2
No 3
Entrance Antiphon
Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King who rules heaven and earth forever.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 67
O God, be gracious and bless us.
… and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your salvation.
Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
with uprightness you rule the peoples;
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
that all the ends of the earth may revere him.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;
but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.
Alleluia!
Communion Antiphon
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important
role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She
consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). Elizabeth
proclaims: “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your
womb. How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to
me?” (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a
unique position in God’s redemptive plan.
Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Paul’s further statement that “God sent the spirit of his
Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’“ helps us realize that Mary is mother
to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of Jesus is an important
element in God’s creative plan. God’s “first” thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the
incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of
all creation. As Jesus was “first” in God’s mind, Mary was “second” insofar as she
was chosen from all eternity to be his mother.
The precise title “Mother of God” goes back at least to the third or fourth century. In
the Greek form Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of the Church’s
teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy
Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular
session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: “Praised be the
Theotokos!” The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in
the Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary “Mother of
God” 12 times.
Comment:
Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas:
Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas
joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It
is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who
are also God’s children.
Quote:
“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation
of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she
served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique
nobility, and the Lord’s humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and
nourished Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).
We wish you a happy and blessed New Year. In this Year of Faith may yours be a
time of growth, renewal and
genuine fervour in Faith.