The Child with Mary his mother

Mathew 2:11

A blessed, peaceful, prosperous and Happy New Year to all our faithful readers!

As we prepare to welcome the New Year, let us remember that on the first day of January, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. January 1 is a major feast day in the Catholic Church that honors Mary’s divine motherhood. It is a holy day of obligation, meaning we are required to attend Mass.

January 1 was declared the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God by Pope Paul VI in 1969, as part of the liturgical reforms after the Second Vatican Council. By placing it on January 1, the Octave (eighth day) of Christmas, Mary’s motherhood is linked directly to the Nativity and the Incarnation. It reaffirms the title of Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer) declared at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D., a foundational doctrine for Christ’s dual nature as fully God and fully human. In 1974, Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Letter Marialis Cultus, further elaborated on this decision, stating that the celebration honors Mary’s crucial role in salvation.

A plenary indulgence may be gained by reciting or singing the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus on the first day
of the year. This hymn is traditionally sung for beginnings of things, calling on the Holy Spirit before
commencing a new endeavor. The first stanza reads:

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

You may play the hymn here:

Human definitions of a “year”

We all know that the astronomical basis for a “year” is the time it takes for the Earth to complete one full orbit around the Sun. Identified as a tropical year governing the cycle of seasons, it has a duration of about 365.2422 days. To track this natural cycle, calendars were developed by ancient peoples to manage agricultural practices and anticipate seasonal changes.

The specific date of January 1 has no innate seasonal significance. Its origin is primarily rooted in Roman history. In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar, with the help of astronomers and mathematicians, established the

Julian calendar, which specified January 1 as the start of the year to align the calendar more accurately with the sun. The date was chosen partly to honor the Roman god Janus, the deity of beginnings, transitions, and time, who was depicted with two faces looking to the past and future. This was a political decision and not an astronomical requirement. Subsequently, in 1582, the Gregorian calendar, a refinement of the Julian calendar, re-established January 1 as New Year’s Day. Over time, this was adopted globally for uniformity in administration, trade, and communication, thus making it the international standard.

In essence, the cycle of the year is a scientific reality based on the Earth’s orbit, but the designated starting point of January 1 is a shared human agreement for measuring time regularly. Thus, we determine our age by counting the number of years of our earthly existence.

The gift of another year lived

In October 2025, I reached an important milestone — 80 years of earthly existence. Since realistically extremely few people reach the age of ninety, a new year for me is now centered less on anticipation of a distant future, and more on a profound appreciation for the present and the accumulation of a lifetime of memories. Thus, for me, this New Year is a time for quiet reflection and a recognition that each new day is a precious gift from God.

In my daily personal prayer, I always express deep gratitude to God for the present. This New Year is not merely a calendar change, but an acknowledgement of God’s precious gift of life for another year lived, grateful for continued good health and strength in the presence of loved ones, most especially Jean.

I cherish memories of career achievements, family gatherings, the growth of children and grandchildren, hours of deep reflections writing the Letters of Aquila and Priscilla and the many happy and profound spiritual experiences of God’s presence in the community of Couples for Christ. These memories provide a precious source of consolation and a testament to a life fully lived while aspiring, with God’s grace, to be welcomed in the Lord’s heavenly banquet.

At 80, my focus has naturally shifted from personal ambition to legacy and a deep aspiration for heaven. The usual New Year’s resolutions — shifting to a healthier diet, exercising more frequently, changing career, intense self-improvement — have faded. For me, the significance of the new year lies in the simple things: the warmth of a home, a moment of peace, a new reflection written, another book published, and the ability to find joy in everyday moments.

My New Year

As an 80-year-old, I will greet this New Year with a profound sense of acceptance of life’s natural cycles. I will view the passage of time with wisdom rather than anxiety, recognizing that each stage of life has its own inherent beauty and meaning. This New Year, Jean and I have agreed to commence divestment of our material properties — houses, stocks, farms.

Ultimately, for us, this New Year and the coming years are a quiet acknowledgment of the contraction of our time on earth and the advent of a timeless life in heaven. As we stand at the junction of the past and the present, we thank God for the past, pray for God’s blessing in the present, and hope to be with God in the future.

Let us all welcome the New Year, the Octave of Christmas, with fervent hope and ardent faith in Jesus, the child with Mary his mother.

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