Entrusting the New Year to Mary!
From all the Servidoras of our Province, we wish you a Happy New Year!
The Church dedicates the first day of the year to Mary, Mother of God. By doing this, she indicates to us that Mary is the one who will lead us safely through the upcoming year.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in a beautiful exhortation on the Names of Mary, explains that Mary is the Star of the Sea. Just as sailors looked for the North Star to guide them home in the great vastness of the stormy sea, Mary is the Star who will unfailingly guide us through the storms and dangers of life until we safely reach her Son.
We entrust this year of 2025 to Mary, the Mother of God!
Oh, if any of you recognizes that he is caught between storms and tempests, tossed about in the flood of this world, instead of walking on dry land, keep your eyes fixed on the glow of this star, unless you want to perish, overwhelmed by the tempest!
If the winds of temptations surge, if you run aground on the shoals of troubles, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If you are tossed by the winds of pride or ambition or detraction or jealousy, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If anger or greed or the allurements of the flesh dash against the boat of your mind, look to Mary!
And if you are troubled by the enormity of your sins, confused by the foulness of your conscience, terrified by the horror of the Judgment, so that you begin to be swallowed up by the pit of sadness, the abyss of despair, think of Mary!
In dangers, in straits, in perplexity, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be always in your mouth and in your heart, and, if you would ask for and obtain the help of her prayers, do not forget the example of how she lived.
If you follow her, you will not go astray. If you pray to her, you will not despair. If you think of her, you will not be lost. If you cling to her, you will not fall. If she protects you, you will not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is favorable to you, you will reach your goal.
— Bernard of Clairvaux, Super missus est 2, 17; PL 183, 70-71
Happy New Year!
