Project BLACK MAMBA: Mary, the Holy Mother of God

The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
'Tis the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God: Madonna-link ūna, Madonna-link duae, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom Christians see as the Lord, Son of God.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

The Council of Ephesus in 431 defended Mary's title of Theotokos—God-bearer. Today we celebrate that Mary is the Mother of God. Through her, Christ our salvation was born. In Christ, Mary has also become our Mother.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
The Book of Numbers, chapter six, verses twenty-two thru twenty-seven;
Psalm Sixty-seven, verses two & three, five, six, & eight;
The Letter to the Galatians, chapter four, verses four thru seven;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, verses sixteen thru twenty-one.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, on this feast of Mary the mother of God, I would like to emphasize specially the word today’s Gospel associates with her: treasured. "Mary treasured these things and reflected on them in her heart." She pondered them, turned them over, sought out their causes, saw their implications, allowed them to work their way into the marrow of her bones.

Bl. John Henry Newman said that this treasuring quality of Mary makes her the patroness of theology. He furthermore observed that theology is one of the marks of a healthy Catholicism. Augustine, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Dante, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Newman himself, and John Paul II are all Marian figures in this sense.

So when you know your mission, be astonished by what God has done, and never stop treasuring it.

Video reflection by Msgr. James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bonus! Song o' Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Christine Mason, "The Seven Rejoices of Mary" from Christmas Hope (The Last Jolly Man)

Mass Matters
For most of 2017, I was on-track to attend three hundred sixty-five Masses, one for each day of the year. That ambition was derailed in December, with the necessary disruption of visits from & with far-flung family (weather & sickness also contributed, but those are excuses, not legitimate explanations). I am constantly paranoid that I attend Mass just to make up the numbers, as the devil whispers in my ear, but in my soul I know this not to be true, because life is better & I am better the more often I participate in & partake of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Three sixty-five in 2018? We are all unidirectional time travelers; so, there's but one way to find out.

2008: 32
2009: 33
2010: 32
2011: 37
2012: 45
2013: 63
2014: 130
2015: 293
2016: 261
2017: 351
2018: 1…

Saint Quote o' the Day

"We will be the happiest people in the world if we belong to God."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (A.K.A. Mother Teresa, 1910-1997; feast day: 5 September)