Religion in ancient Rome involved the worship of many gods, and among them was Janus, god of doors, gates, transitions, and passageways. You may have seen a depiction of him before without realizing who he was. He is portrayed as a head with two faces, each one looking in the opposite direction: one looking to the past and another to the future. Oftentimes Janus also holds a key in his hand, signifying his power over doors and transitions. Janus is a doorkeeper, standing where the past and future meet.
It should be no surprise then that the word in Latin for a door is ianua, taken from the name of the god. The Romans also named the first month of the year Mensis Ianuarius, or the month of Janus, from which we get the name of the month of January. The shadow of Janus still hovers over us whenever we begin a new year when we open a door and transition into a new year.
Every January 1st, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God – this year it falls on a Sunday. This feast at the very beginning of the calendar year reminds us of the central role the Virgin Mary plays in the story of salvation through her “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel. Saint Paul summarizes salvation history by writing in his letter to the Galatians that, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman… so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
From Mary, the divine person of Jesus took human flesh. She has mysteriously given birth to her creator, becoming the mother of He who created her…
The saving flesh of Jesus Christ that was nailed to the cross and rose on the third day was given to him by the willing consent of Mary to participate in the Father’s plan of salvation.
She provided the flesh for the Messiah, the flesh and blood that has brought salvation to the world. The flesh and blood that was nailed to the cross and then rose from the grave… the flesh and blood that Jesus provides for us at the Eucharist to eat every Sunday.
The Blessed Mother is the gate through which the author of salvation entered into his creation so that we could be reconciled to God the Father. She is also the gate where the human and divine meet. Saint John Vianney, Patron of Priests, wrote that “we cannot go into a house without speaking to the doorkeeper. The Holy Virgin is the doorkeeper of Heaven.”
The Franciscan Saint Bonaventure said that Mary is called “the Gate of Heaven because no one can enter that blessed Kingdom without passing through her.” The Virgin Mary is the new gate that opens the doors to eternal life by allowing her Son to enter into the world. The Church has displaced Janus with the Mother of God because the door she opened for God and for us is one that can never be shut again.
We celebrate her because through her “Yes,” God has given every human person a new start. In her there is a marked before and after for all humanity, and she stands at that threshold.
Some Christians grow weary when we speak of the Virgin Mary in this way, but the reason we do so, is in virtue of who Jesus is. Because Jesus is God among us, we proclaim her as Mother of God. She is the vessel made worthy by God so that Jesus would enter the world. Saint Maximilian Kolbe reminds us, “never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
When I visited Jerusalem in 2016, I read on a travel guide that the Israel Museum had an exhibit with the oldest surviving Biblical text in the world. There were many other fascinating things to see in the museum, but I couldn’t wait to find this text I had read about.
I finally made it to the exhibit; it was a very small silver scroll that had been very slowly and carefully unrolled. The scroll had originally been part of a priestly amulet. The scroll read: “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” I stood in front of it in awe, looking at the oldest original surviving record of the Bible: 2,650 years old! It was found in 1979 and it took three years of painstaking work to unroll the scroll without breaking it.
I find it providential that the oldest surviving text of Scripture contains words of blessing. It reflects the starting point of God’s dealings with us – it begins with Him blessing us by reaching out to us in order to grant us salvation.
Why do we hear this reading today, on the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God? I believe that the Church has placed this reading today not only because it’s the start of a new year and we ask God to bless us, but because God has already blessed us not only with his Son, but also with His Mother who is the door through which God has become one of us.
May the Blessed Mother pray for us and protect us this new year, and always lead us through the gate so that we can encounter Christ her Son.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In