Saints & Scripture: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

This is the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord within the Christmastide: Wikipedia-link Octave & Wikipedia-link Christmastide. Merry Christmas!

The Popish Plot
Bonus Episode: "Gaudete"

'Tis the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God: Madonna-link ūna, Madonna-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

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.

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 Deacon Bernard Nojadera: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

'Tis also the World Day of Peace: Peace-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Time is a gift from God; it is a question posed by God's love to our free & fateful answer. We must be sparing of time in order to use it well in the intense activity of our life of work, love, & suffering. Idleness or boredom has no place in the life of a Christian."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"All I have written of my thirst for suffering is really true. I have no regret for having surrendered myself to love."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"You are great, O Lord, & greatly to be praised… You have made us for Yourself & our heart is restless until it rests in You."
—St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church (354-430, feast day: 28 August)

Mass Matters
It had been a long-standing goal of your humble narrator to participate actively in three hundred sixty-five Masses in a year. Now that I've met that goal, I am full of foreboding, that there is nowhere to go but down. As ever, we are unidirectional time travelers, so we shall have to wait & see.

2008: 32
2009: 33
2010: 32
2011: 37
2012: 45
2013: 63
2014: 130
2015: 293
2016: 261
2017: 351
2018: 372
2019: 1…

Bonus! Song o' the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Daniel Schmit, "Hail Mary" from Advent: A Season of Hope (The Last Angry Momma's Boy)