Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

 

Book of Numbers 6,22-27.

The Lord said to Moses :
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Psalms 67(66),2-3.5.6.8.

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

Letter to the Galatians 4,4-7.

Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.
As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2,16-21.

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
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.

 

Saint Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1301)
Benedictine nun
Spiritual Exercises I, SC 127 (trans. Gertrud and Jack Lewis; Kalamazoo: Cistercian publications, 1989)

You will pray to the Virgin Mother that she obtain for you a perfect renewal of life and that, by this grace, she herself, the venerable rose, become your mother and godmother in such a way that you may be her true daughter in conduct. And pray that this very gem of decency may envelop your soul in the mantle of her cleanliness, preserving you without any spot, under her most dulcet tutelage, for her Son, the Lord King. And pray that your name may be numbered among Israel, the choicest lot, so that you have share with those who walk in innocence of heart, always seeing the Lord before them in all of their ways. (cf. Ps 15:8)

Greetings, Mary, queen of clemency, olive tree of mercy, through whom life’s remedy has come to us. Queen of clemency, Virgin Mother of the divine offspring, through whom the child of supernal light came to us, the scented offspring of Israel. Ah! Just as you became the true mother of us all through your Son, who himself, your one and only Son, did not scorn to become our brother, now then, for the sake of his love take me, an unworthy woman, into your motherly care. Aid my faith, keep and instruct it, and become so much the godmother of my renewal and faith now that you may be my only mother and closest to my heart for eternity, always caring for me with loving-kindness in this life and taking me into your full motherliness at the hour of death. Amen.

May Mary, Mother of God and our heavenly Mother, bless and intercede for us all in this new year and decade!