Beginning the New Year with Mother Mary

Dec 31, 2025: The Church, in her maternal wisdom, begins the civil New Year not with resolutions or celebrations, but with contemplation. On the first day of January, the liturgy places before our eyes Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos), inviting us to enter the unfolding year under her gaze and guidance. This choice is not sentimental, nor merely devotional; it is profoundly theological, liturgical, and pastoral. At the threshold of time, as one year gives way to another, the Church hands us a Mother.

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, celebrated on 1 January, is rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation. The title Mother of God, solemnly affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431, safeguards the truth that the child born of Mary is truly God and truly man. By honouring Mary at the beginning of the year, the Church proclaims once again that God has entered human history, that time itself has been sanctified, and that our days and years are no longer empty or directionless.

Mary stands at the meeting point of eternity and time. Through her “yes,” the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Jn 1:14). As we step into a new year—often uncertain, fragile, and burdened with unanswered questions—the Church invites us to stand with Mary, who trusted God even when the future was unknown. Her faith was not based on clarity, but on surrender.

The Gospel proclaimed on this solemnity (Lk 2:16–21) presents Mary as the woman who treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. This interior attitude is deeply significant for the New Year. While the world urges us to plan, control, and predict, Mary teaches us to receive, reflect, and trust. She does not rush ahead of God’s plan; she allows it to unfold within her.

Liturgically, the New Year begins in silence and contemplation rather than noise. Mary becomes the icon of the Church at prayer—listening, remembering, and discerning. In her, we learn that the future is not something to be conquered but to be entrusted to God.

The Church also celebrates on this day the World Day of Peace, further deepening the Marian dimension of the New Year. Mary, who gave birth to the Prince of Peace, stands as a silent but powerful witness against violence, division, and despair. She does not offer political solutions or loud proclamations; she offers Christ. True peace, the Church reminds us, flows from reconciliation with God and with one another.

In a world wounded by conflict, anxiety, and fear, Mary teaches us the path of peace: humility, obedience to God’s will, and openness to grace. Her motherhood is not possessive but generous; she points us always to her Son: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). As Mother of God, she becomes Mother of the Church and Mother of humanity, accompanying us as we journey through time.

Beginning the year with Mary is also a reminder that hope has a face. It is not abstract optimism, but incarnate hope—Christ himself, whom Mary carried in her womb. As the Jubilee Year has reminded the Church, hope does not disappoint because it is rooted in God’s faithfulness. Mary is the first to believe in this hope and the first to live it fully.

This feast reassures us that we do not walk into the New Year alone. Like the beloved disciple at the foot of the Cross, we are invited to take Mary into our own lives (cf. Jn 19:27). She walks with us in our uncertainties, intercedes for us in our struggles, and gently leads us back to Christ when our faith grows weak.

As the New Year unfolds—with its joys and its crosses—the Church invites us to entrust our days to Mary, Mother of God. Under her mantle, time becomes grace, the future becomes promise, and every new beginning becomes an opportunity to say, with her, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

Beginning the year with Mary is not merely a liturgical custom; it is a declaration of faith: God is with us, time is redeemed, and hope is born anew.

Br. Malvino Alfonso OCD