New Years Day, the Feast of the Circumcision

The Circumcision of Our Lord
by Dom Prosper Gueranger, 1870

Our new-born King and Saviour is eight days old today; the Star, that guides the Magi, is advancing towards Bethlehem, and, five days hence, will be standing over the Stable where our Jesus is being nursed by his Mother. Today, the Son of Man is to be circumcised; this first sacrifice of his innocent Flesh must honour the eighth day of his mortal life. Today, also, a Name is to be given him--the Name will be Jesus, and it means Saviour. So that, Mysteries abound on this day: let us not pass one of them over, but honour them with all possible devotion and love.

But this Day is not exclusively devoted to the Circumcision of Jesus. The mystery of this Circumcision forms part of that other great mystery, the Incarnation and Infancy of our Saviour--a mystery on which the Church fixes her heart, not only during this Octave, but during the whole forty days of Christmas-Tide. Then, as regards our Lord's receiving the Name of Jesus, a special Feast, which we shall soon be keeping, is set apart in honour of it. There is another object, that shares the love and devotion of the Faithful, on this great Solemnity. This object is Mary, the Mother of God. The Church celebrates, today, the august prerogative of this divine Maternity, which was conferred on a mere creature, and which made her the co-operatrix with Jesus in the great work of man's salvation.

The holy Church of Rome used formerly to say two Masses on the first of January; one was for the Octave of Christmas Day, the other was in honour of Mary. She now unites the two intentions in one Sacrifice, in the same manner as, in the rest of this Day's Office, she unites together the acts of her adoration of the Son, and the expressions of her admiration for, and confidence in, the Mother.

But it is today, that we, the children of the Roman Church, must pour forth all the love of our hearts for the Virgin-Mother, and rejoice with her in the exceeding happiness she feels at having given birth to her and our Lord. During Advent, we contemplated her as pregnant with the world's salvation; we proclaimed the glory of that Ark of the New Covenant, whose chaste womb was the earthly paradise, chosen by the King of Ages for his dwelling-place. Now, she has brought him forth, the Infant-God; she adores him, Him who is her Son. She has the right to call him, her Child; and He, God as He is, calls her in strictest truth, His Mother.

Let us not be surprised, therefore, at the enthusiasm and profound respect, wherewith the Church extols the Blessed Virgin, and her prerogatives. Let us, on the contrary, be convinced, that all the praise the Church can give her, and all the devotion she can ever bear towards her, are far below what is due to her as Mother of the Incarnate God. No mortal will ever be able to describe, or even comprehend, how great a glory accrues to her from this sublime dignity. For, as the glory of Mary comes from her being the Mother of God, one would have first to comprehend God Himself, in order to measure the greatness of her dignity. It is to God, that Mary gave our human nature; it is God, whom she had as her Child; it is God, who gloried in rendering Himself, inasmuch as He is Man, subject to her: hence, the true value of such a dignity, possessed by a mere creature, can only be appreciated, in proportion to our knowledge of the sovereign perfections of the great God, who thus deigns to make Himself dependent upon that favoured creature. Let us, therefore, bow down in deepest adoration before the Majesty of our God; let us, therefore, acknowledge that we cannot respect, as it deserves, the extraordinary dignity of Her, whom He chose for His Mother.

The same sublime Mystery overpowers the mind from another point of view--what were the feelings of such a Mother towards such a Son? The Child she holds in her arms, and presses to her heart, is the Fruit of her virginal womb, and she loves Him as her own; she loves Him because she is His Mother, and a Mother loves her child as herself, nay, more than herself:--but, when she thinks upon the infinite majesty of Him, who has thus given Himself to her to be the object of her love and her fond caresses--she trembles in her humility, and her soul has to turn, in order to bear up against the overwhelming truth, to the other thought of the nine months she held this Babe in her womb, and of the filial smile he gave her when her eyes first met His. These two deep-rooted feelings--of a creature that adores, and of a Mother that loves--are in Mary's heart. The being Mother of God implies all this:--and may we not well say, that no pure creature could be exalted more than she? and that in order to comprehend her dignity, we should first have to comprehend God Himself? and that only God's infinite wisdom could plan such a work, and only His infinite power accomplish it?

A Mother of God!--It is the mystery, whose fulfilment the world, without knowing it, was awaiting for four thousand years. It is the work, which, in God's eyes, was incomparably greater than that of the creation of a million new worlds, for such a creation would cost Him nothing; he has but to speak, and all whatsoever he wills is made. But, that a creature should become Mother of God, He has had, not only to suspend the laws of nature by making a Virgin Mother, but also to put Himself in a state of dependence upon the happy creature He chose for His Mother. He had to give her rights over himself, and contract the obligation of certain duties towards her. He had to make Her His Mother, and Himself her Son.

It follows from all this, that the blessings of the Incarnation, for which we are indebted to the love wherewith the Divine Word loved us, may and ought to be referred, though in an inferior degree, to Mary herself. If she be the Mother of God, it is because she consented to it, for God vouchsafed, not only to ask her consent, but, moreover, to make the coming of His Son into this world depend upon her giving it. As this His Son, the Eternal Word, spoke His Fiat over chaos, and the answer to His word was creation; so did Mary use the same word Fiat:--let it be done unto me (St. Luke, i. 38), she said. God heard her word, and, immediately, the Son of God descended into her virginal womb. After God, then, it is to Mary, His ever Blessed Mother, that we are indebted for our Emmanuel.

The divine plan for the world's salvation included there being a Mother of God: and as heresy sought to deny the mystery of the Incarnation, it equally sought to deny the glorious prerogative of Mary. Nestorius asserted, that Jesus was only man; Mary, consequently was not Mother of God, but merely Mother of a Man, called Jesus. This impious doctrine roused the indignation of the Catholic world. The East and West united in proclaiming, that Jesus was God and Man, in unity of Person; and that Mary, being His Mother, was, in strict truth, "Mother of God." This victory over Nestorianism was won at the Council of Ephesus. It was hailed by the Christians of those times with an enthusiasm of faith, which not only proved the tender love they had for the Mother of Jesus, but was sure to result in the setting up of some solemn trophy, that would perpetuate the memory of the victory. It was then that began, in both the Greek and Latin Churches, the pious custom of uniting, during Christmas, the veneration due to the Mother with the supreme worship given to the Son. The day assigned for the united commemoration varied in the several countries, but the sentiment of religion, which suggested the Feast, was one and the same throughout the entire Church.

At that time : After eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel, before He was conceived in the womb.

The Child is circumcised: He is, now, not only a member of the human race; He is made, today, a member of God's chosen People. He subjects Himself to this painful ceremony, to this symbol of one devoted to the Divine service, in order that He may fulfil all justice. He receives, at the same time, His Name:--the Name is Jesus, and it means a Saviour. A Saviour! Then, He is to save us? Yes; and He is to save us by His Blood. Such is the divine appointment, and he has bowed down his will to it. The Incarnate Word is upon the earth in order to offer a Sacrifice, and the Sacrifice is begun today. This first shedding of the Blood of the Man-God was sufficient to the fulness and perfection of a Sacrifice; but He is come to win the heart of the sinner, and that heart is so hard, that all the streams of that Precious Blood, which flow from the Cross on Calvary, will scarcely make it yield. The drops that were shed today would have been enough to satisfy the justice of the Eternal Father, but not to cure man's miseries, and the Babe's Heart would not be satisfied to leave us uncured. He came for man's sake, and His love for man will go to what looks like excess--He will carry out the whole meaning of His dear name--He will be our "Jesus," our Saviour.

On this the Eighth Day since the Birth of our Emmanuel, let us consider the great mystery which the Gospel tells us was accomplished in his divine Flesh--the Circumcision. On this day, the earth sees the first-fruits of that Blood-shedding, which is to be its Redemption, and the first sufferings of that Divine Lamb, who is to atone for our sins. Let us compassionate our sweet Jesus, who meekly submits to the knife which is to put upon Him the sign of a Servant of God.

Mary, who has watched over Him with the most affectionate solicitude, has felt her heart sink within her, as each day brought her nearer to this hour of her Child's first suffering. She knows, that the justice of God does not necessarily require this first sacrifice, or might accept it, on account of its infinite value, for the world's salvation: and yet, the innocent Flesh of her Son must, even so early as this, be torn, and his Blood flow down his infant limbs.

What must be her affliction at seeing the preparations for this painful ceremony! She cannot leave her Jesus--and yet, how shall she bear to see Him writhe under this His first experience of suffering! She must stay, then, and hear His sobs and heartrending cries; she must bear the sight of the tears of her Divine Babe, forced from Him by the violence of the pain. We need St. Bonaventure to describe this wonderful mystery. "And if He weeps, thinkest thou his Mother could keep in her tears? No--she, too, wept, and when the Babe, who was standing on her lap, perceived her tears, He raised His little hand to her mouth and face, as though he would beckon to her not to weep, for it grieved Him to see Her weeping, whom He so tenderly loved. The Mother, on her side, was touched to the quick at the suffering and tears of the Babe, and she consoled Him by caresses and fond words; and as she was quick to see His thoughts, as though He had expressed them in words, she said to Him: If thou wishest me to cease weeping, weep not Thou, my Child! If Thou weepest, I must weep too. Then the Babe, from compassion for the Mother, repressed his sobs, and Mary wiped His eyes and her own, and put His Face to her own, and gave Him her Breast, and consoled him in every way she could (Meditations on the Life of Christ, by St. Bonaventure)."

And now, what shall we give in return to this Saviour of our souls for the Circumcision, which he has deigned to suffer, in order to show us how much He loved us? We must, according to the teaching of the Apostle, circumcise our heart from all its evil affections, its sins, and its wicked inclinations; we must begin, at once, to live that new life, of which the Infant Jesus is the sublime model. Let us thus show Him our compassion for this His earliest suffering for us, and be more attentive, than we have hitherto been, to the example He sets us.

The following beautiful Sequence will assist us to praise this mystery of the Divine Infancy. We have taken it from the ancient Missals of the Church of Paris.

Sequence: Apparuit Hodie

This day, there hath been show to us the wonderful power of grce, in the Circumcision of the Infant-God. A Name of heaven's making, a Name that means Salvation--and it is "Jesus"--is given to Him.

This Name imports Salvation to man: it is the Name which the mouth of the Lord hath uttered from eternity. The Angel revealed it, months ago, to the Mother of God, and to her holy spouse.

Sacred name! thou conquerest Satan's wicked power, and the sins of the world. "Jesus," our ransom! "Jesus," hope of the affliceted! our souls are sick--do Thou heal them. What is wanting in man, supply by Thy Name, which means and gives salvation.

May Thy Circumcision be the cleansing and the healing of our heart's wounds. May the Blood Thou didst shed purify our stains, refresh our parched hearts, and give consolation to the sad.

We are beginning now a New Year, when friends give Gifts to friends; let thine, dear "Jesus" be the preparing us our recompense. Amen.

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Sequence: Salve, Mater Salvatoris

Hail, Mother of the Saviour! Vessel elect, Vessel of honour, Vessel of heavenly grace! Vessel predestined from eternity, Vessel of singular beauty, Vessel formed by the hand of the All-Wise One.

Hail, holy Mother of the Word! the Flower that grew midst thorns, thyself the thornless Flower, that decked the thorny Earth. The thorny earth are we, bleeding from the prickly thorns of sin: and thou, Oh! thou art free from thorns.

Thou art the Gate of the sanctuary closed for the Prince. Thou art the Fountain of the gardens, the Casket of sweet ointments and perfumes. Thy fragrance is sweeter than that of Cinnamon, or Myrrh, or Frankincense, or aromatic Balm.

Hail, Virgin of Virgins! Mediatrix of men! Mother of the Jesus who saved us. Myrtle of temperance, Rose of patience, Spikenard most fragrant! Vale of humility! Soil most fruitful, though untilled!Flower of the field! matchless Lily of the valley, that broughtest forth Christ!

Heavenly Paradise! Cedartree untouched, yet breathing forth such sweetness! Purity and beauty, sweetness and fragrance, are all in thee above measure. Thou art the Throne of Solomon, the throne rich above all others in form and substance.

The whiteness of the Ivory prefigures thy Chastity; the glittering Gold, thy Charity. The palm thou holdest is like no other: thou hast no equal among creatures on earth or in heaven. Thou art the glory of the human race, and art privileged with virtues above Angels and men.

As the sun is brighter than the moon, arid the moon is brighter than the stars: so is Mary exalted above all creatures. The sun's light, which no eclipse quenches, is Mary's virginal purity: the sun's unfailing heat, is her undying charity.

Hail, Mother of Mercy! Thou art the noble dwelling of the blessed Trinity; But, for the majesty of the Incarnate Word, thou didst prepare a special sanctuary. O Mary, Star of the Sea! Peerless Queen, set above all the heavenly choirs!

Seated on thy lofty throne, commend us to thy Son; nor suffer our enemies to defeat us by strength or craft. In the battle we are fighting, may we be safely shielded by thy protection. Our enemy's obstinacy and skill must needs yield to thy power, and his treachery to thy watchful care.

O Jesu! Word of the Eternal Father! save us the devoted servants of thy Mother. We are guilty, absolve us. Save us by thy grace, and make us like to thee in the brightness of thy glory. Amen.

The Feast of New Years
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876

"We are absent from the Lord."
2 Cor. v, 6.

The swiftly flying hours have come and gone, and another year has forever vanished into the dim and shadowy past, while with faltering steps we enter upon a period of time which will bring for us--we know not what.

Yes, the years come and pass; and not only that, but we pass with them; for we have not been created for this world. "We have not here a lasting city," but our destination is a happy abode in heaven. In other words, we are not at home, but on our way thereto, and our life is a pilgrimage, of which the words of the Apostle, which I have chosen for my text today, can not fail to remind us.

Every thing depends solely on this: whether we are truly on the way to salvation, and perform our parts in every way to insure a happy termination of this pilgrimage to eternity. In order to understand clearly the individual conditions with which we have to comply, to bring about the above so-much-to-be-desired result, we need only think what preparations a traveler makes before venturing upon a long and dangerous journey. In this regard, generally speaking, to insure a prosperous journey there are three essentials, the first of which is stability of purpose. Whoever intends setting out upon a journey must begin with decision, go vigorously forward, and remove all obstacles which stand in the way of his desired aim.

O Mary, unto thy patronage we fly; bless us, thy children, especially today at the beginning of the year, that, with unwavering zeal, we may tread the path of virtue pointed out to us by thy example, O queen of heaven! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the greater honor and glory of God!

In order to arrive safely at the termination of the pilgrimage of life, and reach the goal for which we strive--the joy of heaven--we must imitate the course of the careful traveler who, when about to set out on an earthly pilgrimage, leaves nothing undone that he may arrive securely where he wishes to go. The requisite precautions are in general three: first, he must be thoroughly in earnest. This disposition is the more necessary the more dangerous the journey is found to be, and the greater length of time it is expected to last. How essential, therefore, is it not in our pilgrimage to the eternal shore! How much depends upon its possession!

It implies a firm resolution to follow Christ, and to secure a place on the road by which He went before us. In other words, it is that firm will, which angelic spirits wished to men of good will at the birth of our Redeemer: "Peace on earth to men of good will."

The journey is long, for it lasts until the very latest breath we draw. It is wearisome, and every step is fraught with perils; therefore the urgent necessity for firmness and a determination to resist every temptation to loiter along the broad and pleasant path which will take us far from our eternal destination. But, alas! such dispositions are to be found among the smallest number, even of those who are of "the household of the faith," and all are not generous enough to say, and to act upon the declaration: "Cost what it may, I will save my soul." How many there are, even of those whose silvery locks and faltering steps show that their end is nigh, who could not with truth point to one year in their lives which they have entered upon with a resolution to amend, so firm, that they have never once faltered therein! who have said, and fulfilled the promise: "I will strive to do better during the coming year; to come daily and hourly nearer heaven; to increase my store of merits for that glorious place. I will therefore make constant use of all those means which God has left with His Church; I will lead a life for Him, even though it cost me my dearest earthly joys."

The careful traveler is, above all, mindful to learn every particular in regard to the road which he proposes to take, so that he may more speedily and more safely arrive at his journey's end. Let us thank God that we are children of His holy Church, which, in the most explicit manner, tells us all we wish to know. Yes; she informs us by her holy faith, which brilliantly illuminates the way to heaven, that none can fail to find the path, or to remain in ignorance of what is essential to know, in order to fulfill the holy will of God.

The traveler is always concerned as to the enjoyment and happiness which will be his when his destination has been happily reached, and gives frequent thought to the trouble he would experience should he fail to reach it at all. This shows how essential it is that the pilgrim, who aims at heaven, should, at the recurrence of every year, consider with deep attention how he can live on earth so as to increase his bliss in heaven, and dwell forever amid its celestial joys.

How the generality of Christians can give so little thought to this, is indeed a mystery. They think more of the worldly goods, honors, and pleasures which they may gain in the course of the year than of heaven, one joy of which by far outweighs them all. Thus they are but too often not in earnest in their resolution to begin a life which would lead them nearer to heaven, but are content to live as every-day Christians, advancing no further in the fervent love of God.

The second condition necessary for arriving safely at a desired destination is health; therefore, whoever intends setting out on a journey must take all possible care not to fall ill. This indicates an essential requisite for a happy pilgrimage to eternity; which is, that he who is traveling thither must preserve his soul in the state of sanctifying grace--the principle of the supernatural life of the soul.

Every mortal sin which man is so unfortunate as to commit withdraws this principle of spiritual life from him; therefore, beloved in the Lord Jesus, if this day finds you in the state of mortal sin, cleanse your souls therefrom by a good, a sincere, and contrite confession, that, with the beginning of the year, the grace of God may enable you to do all things. But merely to live is not enough for the happy ending of a long and perilous journey, especially if it be made on foot, which, indeed, is the most fitting way for the pilgrim, and typifies the course of the wanderer whose goal is heaven, and who must proceed step by step alone, depends on health.

Health being essential for a safe and pleasant earthly journey, the application, in a spiritual sense, is this: we must not, and dare not, feel spiritually weak and ill, but strong and resolute, courageous and hopeful, and in these dispositions grasp firmly the staff of the path of salvation, never looking back, but, with unshaken determination, striving to advance daily in the way marked out by Christ.

It is also necessary to provide, in time, for all that will be needed on a journey, to guard, by this means, against any delay on the road. And this also has its application in a spiritual sense. At the beginning of the year, therefore, it is well to make firm resolutions to employ its every moment in promoting the great affair of our salvation, not losing any precious time.

That we may be able to do this: Let us examine ourselves with the utmost diligence as to what may have caused us to fritter away so many golden moments in the past. Was it by undue anxiety as to temporal affairs? by unprofitable or even injurious companionship? by idleness or some other cause equally hurtful to spirituality? Oh, what a bright era in our heavenward way might not this new year become, if, as its days roll on and pass away, we would not, through any fault of ours, lose one single moment of its precious time! To aid us in this, we should, at the beginning of every day, make an intention to do every thing for the love of God, and frequently renew our resolution to fail in nothing which He requires of us, fulfilling in the most perfect manner possible all the duties of our state.

Yet, beloved in Christ, we must not be content with this, for, whoever wishes to reach the loftier heights of virtue will zealously use every opportunity, and even search for such, to practise acts of Christian heroism in working for the salvation of souls. We must be fervent in prayer, in hearing Mass, in the practice of spiritual reading, and the frequent reception of the Sacraments. The more use we make of these means of grace during the present year, the more rapidly we shall proceed on our heavenward way, and the sweeter joy will constantly animate our hearts. Happy he who thus proceeds on his pilgrimage to heaven. He feels no weariness of spirit, but, on the contrary, may cry out with holy David: "I have run in the way of thy commandments when thou didst enlarge my heart."

The third condition necessary for a successful journey is final perseverance, which is the reward of courage and fidelity in the resolution to conquer all difficulties, impediments, and dangers. In regard to the way of salvation, there is but one impediment, and that is sin; for, whatever others may exist, true love of the cross will not only overcome them all, but transform them into means by which the goal is more speedily reached. All sin, even the slightest, is, and will ever be, an impediment, and is so conducive to everlasting destruction that, by listening but once to the tempter's voice, we often entirely deviate from the way to heaven, or at least retrograde sadly thereon. The cautious traveler looks not only before, but all around him, in every direction to avoid falling into any danger which may lurk unseen; and the Christian must, in a spiritual point of view, do the same, that he may guard against all those temptations which lie in wait to wreck his soul.

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, as pilgrims journeying to a heavenly land, make good use of these rules which I have laid before you, during the year of which you have been permitted to see the beginning, and apply them also during each succeeding year that God in his mercy permits you to behold. Do so with everincreasing zeal, with aspirations constantly directed towards heaven; then you shall undoubtedly, through the assistance of the Most High, arrive at the longed for termination of your pilgrimage, the true home of the just--heaven! Amen!

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