2021 and the month of January begin under the sign of the solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, which is celebrated eight days after the birth of Jesus. On this solemn day, we confidently entrust the new year to Mary and, although we are tested by such a difficult and challenging time, we ask her to fill our hearts with renewed peace and hope!
This is what the Church invites us to do, as on January 1 it also celebrates the World Day of Peace. In his message for this day, Pope Francis encourages everyone to become “prophets and witnesses of the culture of care, to bridge the many social inequalities.” Because the boat of humanity, where “no one is saved alone,” can “sail with a safe and shared course” only with “the helm of the dignity of the person” and the “compass of the fundamental social principles.” Let us join the Pope’s appeal and pray “that this year may advance humanity along the path of fraternity, justice and peace among individuals, communities, peoples and states.”
On January 1, we are also invited to begin the practice of the Thirteen Fridays, conceived by Saint Francis of Paola to honor the Lord Jesus and ask for the graces we desire, also through the saint’s intercession. The devotion of the Thirteen Fridays focuses particularly on prayers and readings that, one by one, outline a portrait of the spiritual profile of Saint Francis of Paola and his evangelical example.
From a liturgical perspective, until January 10 we remain in the Christmas season: on January 6 we celebrate the Epiphany, which invites us to adopt the Magi’s attitude of adoration and bring the Lord gold, telling him that nothing is more precious than him; offer him incense, telling him that only with him does our life rise upward; and present him with myrrh, promising Jesus that we will help our marginalized and suffering neighbor, because he is there. On the following Sunday, the liturgy presents us with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the liturgical season of Christmas and ushers us into Ordinary Time.
In this first month of the year, the Church also remembers many saints, such as Saint Angela of Foligno (January 4); Saint Anthony the Abbot (January 17); Saint Francis de Sales (January 24); and Saint John Bosco (January 31). They are all people who believed in the Lord’s ability to “make all things new,” and testified to this through their lives.
On January 23 we celebrate the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph: this little-known memorial should be revived, especially in this special year dedicated to the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the apostolic exhortation Redemptoris custos, John Paul II strongly affirms that “for the Church too, while it is important to profess the virginal conception of Jesus, it is no less important to defend Mary’s marriage to Joseph, because legally Joseph’s fatherhood depends on it.”
In Leo XIII’s prayer, “To you, O blessed Joseph,” the marriage of Mary and Joseph is defined as a “sacred bond of charity,” an uncommon but theologically accurate expression for a bond whose nature is constantly described by Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas as “the indivisible union of souls,” “the union of hearts,” and “consent,” elements that were manifested in an exemplary way in that marriage” (RC, no. 7). In his apostolic letter Patris corde, Pope Francis reminds us that: “The greatness of Saint Joseph consists in the fact that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. As such, ‘he placed himself at the service of the entire plan of salvation.’”
Knowing that we are accompanied by the loving gaze of the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph, let us live this first month of the new year with peaceful hearts!