January 1 is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This important Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church can easily slip past us among the New Year festivities and their aftermath.
On the Feast of the Holy Innocents, I most certainly grieve for the children who Herod so heartlessly ordered to be murdered. But on this day, my heart also goes out to the Magi.
Not all of us have grown up in a storybook family, with a storybook home, and storybook Christmas. For some, the past reads more like a horror novel, the scenes of which taunt us and throw a shadow over our joy.
Realizing I had to adjust my plans and even then struggled for success made me honestly feel my weakness, which made me realize even more how desperately I need a Savior, which made me yearn even more for the coming of that Magnificent Child on Christmas night!
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception – that Mary was conceived without sin and remained without sin throughout her life – is one of the hardest of the Church teachings for skeptics to believe.
On this Feast of St. Nicholas, join me for praying for the protection and well-being of children everywhere.