Because Christmas returns to us every year, there is always the danger that its mystery becomes overly familiar, rather than astonishing us. What once shook the world can begin to feel predictable. Yet on this New Year's Day, we celebrate Mary as Mother of God, as the last day of the octave of Christmas. Mary does not rush past what has happened. She pauses. She is amazed at what happened. As Luke writes: "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart". She is shown to us as a woman of contemplation, attentive to the wonders God has worked through her.
Maryâs reflection is stirred by the words of the shepherds, who bring her the first proclamation of the Gospel. They repeat what the angels had announced: that in the city of David a Saviour has been born, Christ the Lord. This good news is what Mary treasures in her heart. As we begin a new year, this feast invites us to choose Maryâs way: to receive the Good News with renewed wonder rather than routine; to dwell with it rather than rush past it. Today is New Yearâs Day, a time when we speak of resolutions. And what better resolution could we make than to adopt Maryâs posture before the Gospels we will listen to over the coming year: read and hear them with renewed enthusiasm.
What better image with which to begin a new year than Gerrit van Honthorstâs luminous Adoration of the Shepherds. Painted in 1622, Mary and her Child are at the very centre of light and hope. That is all we need in this year to come: some light and hope. Van Honthorst, a Dutch artist who spent formative years in Rome and became known as Gherardo delle Notti  (âGerard of the Nightâ), was deeply influenced by Caravaggioâs dramatic use of chiaroscuro, painting scenes where darkness is pierced by sudden light. Here, the Christ Child Himself becomes the source of illumination, casting a warm glow that lights Maryâs tender, contemplative face and draws the shepherds out of the shadows. We are invited to kneel with them, to look closely, and to recognise that God has chosen to enter our world not with force, but with vulnerability.
