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For very important information about circumcision,
see this page.
The 1st day of January is the Octave Day of Christmas (i.e., from December
25 to January 1, inclusive, are 8 days).
This is the Feast of the Circumcision, a day known in the Novus Ordo as "Mary,
Mother of God"; either way, January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation on which
we must attend Mass. On this day, we recall Our Lord's submitting to the
Mosaic Law by getting circumcised on the 8th day of His human life in obedience
to the Law:
Genesis 17:10-12:
This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed
after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised. And you shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that it may be for a sign of the covenant
between me and you. An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among
you, every manchild in your generations: he that is born in the house, as
well as the bought servant, shall be circumcised
Our Lord later
fulfilled this part of Torah through the Sacrament of Baptism, an event which
will be brought into focus on the Feast of the Epiphany in 5 days and again
on the 13th of January at the Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord. His
Circumcision, though, has another, deeper meaning in that it symbolizes and
foreshadows the Blood He will shed for us on Calvary...
Today, too, we honor the Holy Name of Jesus which was given to Him on this
day. We celebrate His Holy Name more fully next Sunday (or tomorrow if the
first Sunday of the year falls today, or on the 6th or the 7th).
On this day, a plenary indulgence can be acquired, under the usual conditions,
by reciting the Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come,
Holy Spirit).
Note: Today is New Year's Day of the secular year, and it's considered good
luck to eat black-eyed peas and corned beef and cabbage. |
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