It is significant that the first thing the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary about the son she will conceive is his name. Even before Our Lady learns of her son’s divinity, she is told to name him Jesus. Clearly, the name of Jesus is of great importance, which may be the reason so many people say it, whether with reverence or in vain.

On this Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus it’s good to consider the power of names, and especially the name Our Lord was given when he assumed our human nature. It is a name that can heal and protect us.

O God of Sarah and Abraham,
our tears are mixed with yours,
weeping for the cities in the world.

We weep for the holy cities and especially for Jerusalem:
where brothers and sisters kill each other,
where hatred feeds and nourishes anger,
where animosity blinds mercy,
where religions divide,
as children learn to hate and the elderly nurse old grudges.

We see, and we grieve;
and yet we have not loved the things that make for peace.

So we pray:

At the end-of-year Te Deum, the Pope is “Grateful to the Romans who love the city not with words but with deeds, despite tight economic circumstances, many people do not pity themselves”.

Mary, Mother of God

January 1, 2018

On this day the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, our Lady's greatest title. This feast is the octave of Christmas. In the modern Roman Calendar only Christmas and Easter enjoy the privilege of an octave. According to the 1962 Missal of Saint John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, it is the Solemnity of Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fides Agency annual dossier confirms: for eight consecutive years, the Latin American nations hold the record for the largest number of Catholic pastoral care workers murdered. The data and documentation are marked by valuable - and rare - considerations on the martyr feature marking the Church’s entire journey through history.

In the year 2017, 23 Catholic pastoral care workers were killed worldwide: 13 priests, 1 religious brother, 1 religious sister, 8 lay persons. For the eighth consecutive year, the place most affected, with an extremely elevated number of pastoral care workers killed is AMERICA, where 11 pastoral care workers were killed (8 priests, 1 religious brother, 2 lay people); in Africa 10 pastoral care workers were killed (4 priests, 1 religious sister, 5 lay people); in Asia 2 pastoral care workers were killed (1 priest, 1 lay person).

The homily of the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, “Church of the Holy Land, don't be frightened by poverty and insecurity. The road of God is not that of strength”.

For when peaceful stillness encompassed everything
and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful Word O Lord,
leapt down from Your royal throne. Alleluia.

— Wisdom 18:14-15

O God, who marvelously created and yet more marvelously restored the dignity of human nature, grant that we may share the divinity of Him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son, Jesus Christ; who...reigns with you.

— From the Divine Liturgy of the Nativity of the Lord

The first chapter in the Gospel of John begins: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn 1:1-5). And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14).

Christmas is an invitation to look differently at the world, to stop and appreciate the small things, Pope Francis reminds us.

The time for end of year celebrations has arrived. For many people, it will be a period of relaxation, family gatherings and spending time with friends.

Flower-embroidered tablecloths will be spread. The food will be special and the wines delicious.

Everyone will perhaps eat a little more than they should but hopefully not to excess. It’s great to have the opportunity to celebrate.