Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday, the Octave Day of Christmas, January 1st, 2026, Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Delivered by Clifford Ericson Kuandang from the Parish of Saint Vincentius a Paulo in the Diocese of Malang, Indonesia. Numbers 6: 22-27; Rs psalm 67: 2-3.5.6.8; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 16-21.THE MOTHERHOOD OFMOTHER The title for ourmeditation today is: The Motherhood of Mother. Our universal Church celebratestoday the solemnity of Our Lady Mary, the Mother of God. It's a greatcelebration for our Lady which we all observe on the 8th day after the birth ofJesus Christ. On the 8th day of His birth also, Jesus for the first timesacrifieced His blood through the rite of circumcision according to localcustoms. His Mother Mary, certainly was the person most responsible for caringfor the wounds of her Son, for as an infant, this circumcision would be verypainful. His mother must repeatedly wipe the blood flowing out as the wound wasstill not dry. Blood is a verystrong element to relate a mother with her child. The mother's womb which isinhabited by the child during pregnancy shows an inseparable blood relationshipbetween the two, and it becomes so evident when the baby is already born, as heis bathed in the mother's blood before enjoying the new world outside themother's body. Virgin Mary and our mothers in the world continue to show howthe blood relationship keeps interacting until the child grows up to becomemature. Virgin Mary enjoyed a life filled with blood of Her Son Jesus,especially when she was at the foot of the cross in Golgotha ​​and embracingthe dead body of Jesus Christ, la pieta. Our mothers in theworld, of course with their husbands or our fathers, feel how painful they arewhen their children suffer. Their blood do not flow in normal circulation  because they are not able to endure that suffering.How they are joyful when their children are happy, when the blood in theirbodies circulate well so they look cheerful and happy. The children's actualhappiness or sadness in this world cause the blood situation of their parentsgoes calm, low, and rise. The blood really unites the mother and child, therefore,this relationship becomes so solid and can only be terminated by death. Theseall illustrate that the motherhood of a mother is so important. The woman whogave birth to us is a mother with motherhood because her love and concern forus can be seen of the same patern as God for us, His beloved people. On this very specialday of Mary, the Mother of God, may all our hearts be filled with joy andgratitude. Christmas that brings us together with Jesus and the Family ofNazareth, makes our joy full and we want to carry it out for the next year. Wemust start this year with joy and optimism, and that is the content of theGospel that we are about to proclaim. The motherhood of mother figure,basically  is in women, is very centralin our lives. So we must be very grateful because God is so good to pour giftsto our mothers, ladies and women. Our life cannot be a real one if we don'thave mothers. Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O most glorious Father, thank you abundantly for the gift of the Mother ofGod and our respective mothers; make us children who are always loyal to ourmothers and always pray for them. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name ofthe Father ...