by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, LifeSite News:
Remaining faithful to the Word of God means remaining faithful to the Gospel, to doctrine, to Tradition, and to the Mass of all time in which the words, spoken in the sacred language of the Church, keep their meaning intact, as light shines in darkness.
The first day of January coincides with the Octave of Christmas, when the Liturgy is centered on the Circumcision of the Lord and the Divine Motherhood of Mary Most Holy, proclaimed by the Council of Ephesus in 431 as Deipara – in Greek Theotokos – or Mother of God. In ancient times, two Masses were celebrated on this day, one of the Octave and one in honor of the Virgin Mother. Later the memory of the Marian celebration remained in the postcommunio and in the station church at Santa Maria in Trastevere.
