Today the Church celebrates the oldest feast dedicated to Our Lady

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Rob2

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Our Lady - Theotokos, Mother of God

Celebrated on January 1st

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Today the Church celebrates the oldest feast dedicated to Our Lady - Theotokos, Mother of God. This title was given to Mary at the Council of Ephesus in 431AD

The Second Vatican Council stated: “Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Mother of God.” At an early stage, the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of the Mother of God.

When this was overshadowed by the feasts of the Annunciation and the Assumption, adopted from Constantinople at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the ‘eighth day’ on which, according to Luke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.

In the 13th or 14th century, 1 January began to be celebrated in Rome, as already in Spain and Gaul, as the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity, while still oriented towards Mary and Christmas, with many prayers, antiphons and responsories glorifying the maternity of Mary. Pope John XXIII’s 1960 rubrical and calendrical revision removed the mention of the circumcision of Jesus and called 1 January simply the Octave of the Nativity.

The feast of the ‘Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ was established in Portugal in 1914 for celebration on 11 October and was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1931.

The 1969 revision of the liturgical year and the calendar states: “1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.” It removed the 11 October feast, even for Portugal, stating: “The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on 1 January in the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.”

In his Apostolic Letter, Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI explained: “This celebration, placed on January 1 …is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the “holy Mother…through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life.” It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace.”

(from ICN)
 
This feast is for Canadians, I would say, THE Marian feast, much as the IC is for Americans, or Guadalupe is for Mexicans, or Altagracia is for Dominicans, as this is one of only two (with Christmas) holy days of obligation we have.
 
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Rob2 said:
Our Lady - Theotokos, Mother of God

Celebrated on January 1st
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An interesting difference betweeen the Roman calendar and Byzantine Catholic calendar is that December 26 is The Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos and January 1 is The Circumcision of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
 
Dear Rob,

Thanks for posting this thread on Our Lady’s Feast. It is sad to me that few replied to your thread here – to honor our Mother – or my thread either written on her Feast yesterday, – but I’m still happy at least there seemed to be more threads on Mary on CAF on the first day of this new year than last year – so perhaps we may see a resurgence of Marian Devotion in the Catholic Church.

Recently a friend purchased and let me borrow a book on the Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort, commissioned by the three religious orders founded by St. Louis: the Montfort Fathers, the Daughters of Wisdom and the Brothers of St. Gabriel. What was particularly noteworthy to me was that this volume was to be a companion Volume to the Collected Works of DeMontfort translated into English. The purpose of the newer volume was that it did a great deal more research into the sources from which de Montfort wrote.

I think there may also be a resurgence in De Montfort’s writing and not surprisingly the three orders commissioned this work in order to bring more material into the hands of the Laity - not familiar with his writing or understanding him as clearly as they might. It made perfect sense to me since De Montfort spent his priestly life preaching missions to the laity. If these orders were founded to continue his work they need to keep reaching out to the laity as God led de Montfort to do.

It was another hopeful sign to me. 🙂
 
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twf said:
This feast is for Canadians, I would say, THE Marian feast, much as the IC is for Americans, or Guadalupe is for Mexicans, or Altagracia is for Dominicans, as this is one of only two (with Christmas) holy days of obligation we have.
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Considering the Latin Church calendar and those of the eastern Catholic churches, the common obligatory Marian feast is:
August 15 - The Feast of the Dormition (Assumption) of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary)
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Of course the other two obligatory Marian feasts mentioned in Latin canon law are are Holy Mary the Mother of God (January 1), her Immaculate Conception (December 8).
 
You can’t possibly be implying that people care less or lack faith in Mary because no one posted on a thread?

It was January 1. I went to mass in the morning. I spent time with my husband. Please do not assume people do not care. MariaChristi, you did not post on Rob’s thread yesterday either.
 
Our Lady-- Theotokos, Mother of God, pray for us and hear our prayers!
 
Yes - - I did. : ) Did you?
at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the ‘eighth day’ on which, according to Luke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.... Pope John XXIII’s 1960 rubrical and calendrical revision removed the mention of the circumcision of Jesus and called 1 January simply the Octave of the Nativity...The 1969 revision of the liturgical year and the calendar states: “1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.” It removed the 11 October feast...
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Loud-living-dogma said:
Yes - - I did. : ) Did you
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Did you read this part?

The Second Vatican Council stated: “Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Mother of God.” At an early stage, the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of the Mother of God.
 
Well, then the passage states:
The Second Vatican Council stated: “Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Mother of God.” At an early stage, the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of the Mother of God.
When this was overshadowed by the feasts of the Annunciation and the Assumption, adopted from Constantinople at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the ‘eighth day’ on which, according to Luke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.
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The point is that celebrating 1 January as a feast to the Mother of God has very ancient roots. It’s not something that dates only as far back as 1969.
 
Ancient roots - - agreed!

But not observed on January 1st for many centuries.
 
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GospelOfMatthew said:
I love Icons, they are beautiful!
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Yes , me too .

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Dear Irishmom2,

Sorry, to have given that impression – I wasn’t implying people care less because no one posted a thread. What I was saying was that since I’ve been on CAF for a long time now, I have seen a lessening of threads on Our Lady.

So, when I posted my thread on her Feast I was hoping someone would reply. I noticed Rob’s post and replied until but in general it seems to me, as Pope Saint John observed in an address as far back as 1982, there has been a decline in devotion to the Blessed Mother. My hope is that there will be more Catholics wanting to share their love for our Mother and to help others grow in devotion to her.

Sorry if you or others were offended. That was not my intention at all. Hope I clarified what seems to be a misunderstanding.
 
Rob2 said:
Our Lady - Theotokos, Mother of God
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And as a side note . . . “Theotokos” isn’t quite “mother”-- it doesn’t quite translate to English (or even slavonic, which is why some slavonic churches use “:theotokos”)

It’s more about bearing or carrying Him, but it has all the other notions mixed in, too . . .
 
dochawk said:
And as a side note . . . “Theotokos” isn’t quite “mother”-- it doesn’t quite translate to English (or even slavonic, which is why some slavonic churches use “:theotokos”)
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Right, but I think its fair to say that the Latin Church has long settled upon Mater Dei as the equivalent Latin title - and that does translate literally into Mother of God.
 
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