Word of the day

First reading from the Book of Numbers
Nm 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.”

Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians
Gal 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 sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

From the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 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.

Let us begin the new year entrusting it to Mary, the Mother of God. The Gospel of today’s Liturgy speaks of her, taking us back once again to the wonder of the Nativity scene. The shepherds hasten toward the stable and what do they find? The text says they find, “Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger” (Lk 2:16). Let us pause on this scene and imagine Mary who, as a tender and caring mother, has just laid Jesus in the manger. In that act of laying him down we can see a gift given to us: Our Lady does not just keep her Son to herself, but presents him to us. She does not just hold him in her arms, but puts him down to invite us to look at him, to welcome him and to adore him. This is Mary’s motherhood: she offers the Son who is born to all of us. Always by giving her Son, showing her Son, never treating her Son as something of her own, no. And so throughout Jesus’ life.

And in laying him before our eyes, without saying a word, she gives us a wonderful message: God is near, within our reach. He does not come with the power of one who wants to be feared, but with the frailness of someone who asks to be loved. He does not judge from his throne on high, but looks at us from below, like a brother, rather, like a son. He is born little and in need so that no one would ever again be ashamed of themselves. It is precisely when we experience our weakness and our frailness that we can feel God even nearer, because he appeared to us in this way — weak and frail. He is the God-child who is born so as not to exclude anyone, in order to make us all become brothers and sisters. (Angelus, 1 January 2022)