Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As the liturgical new year begins, the Church honors the Holy Mother of God. Among the special privileges attributed to Mary, the greatest is her Divine Motherhood.  The Mother of the Lord has the highest place after Christ and is closest to us as her children because of her Divine Motherhood. The truth about the Divine Motherhood of Mary was proclaimed as dogma at the Council of Ephesus in 431. It defined, that it is not only permitted, but also necessary to call Mary the Mother of God. Mary did not give the Lord Jesus the Divine nature, He already possessed it eternally from the Father. She gave Christ our Lord His human nature – the human body. But she gave the body to the Divine Person, the Lord Jesus. She is therefore the Mother of the Son of God in the flesh and in time, as the nature of God and eternity the Lord Jesus is the Son of God.
Pope Francis teaches that “no one knew as well as Mary the depth of the mystery of God who became man. Everything in her life has been shaped by the presence of mercy, which became flesh “(MV 24). By her consent: “Let it be”, Mary realized God’s mystery,  and through the Holy Spirit became the Mother of the Son of God, as well as our mother spiritually. Her Son, assuming a human body, became our brother in humanity. Giving birth to Jesus was the source of the grace of salvation; Mary contributed her maternal ministry to transmit this grace to all people. She truly is our mother because she constantly shows us the supernatural life through her holy motherhood. And through her intercession, the Mother of the Son of God, constantly obtains for us from Him the gifts of salvation.
The mystery of Mary is revealed to us, as we approach the Savior. The more united we are with Christ, the closer we are to Mary. Christ Himself gives us Mary as our mother. This truth is confirmed by St. John Paul II, who confessed in an interview with André Frossard: “As the center of my inner life has increasingly become the reality of the Redemption, devotion to Mary in the spirit of St. de Montfort became for me like a special guarantee, that in this way I can fruitfully participate in this reality, drawing from the work of Redemption, sharing with others unspeakable riches of this mystery […] “.

The New Year brings with it the expectation of a better life than the previous ones. Therefore, let us pray to the heavenly Father, through the intercession of Mary, for harmony and peace for all, to realize the desire to live happily and prosperously. Let this prayer from the eleventh century help us realize our hopes:
“Holy Mary, most merciful and powerful of all the creatures of mercy (…) intercede for us. Through your intercession may God accept our prayers, you one gave birth to Him, and who now reigns in heaven. May His merciful love destroy our sins. ”

God bless!