When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel. January 1 is a big deal in the Catholic Church not so much because it begins the new year but becasue it is the octave (eighth day) of Christmas. Jesus, obedient to Jewish law, was circumcized, that is welcomed as a member of the Chosen People, and given his name on the eighth day after his birth. Throughout history January 1 has been celebrated in many different guises. At times it was simply called the “octave day of Christmas.” For Christians the eighth day (octave) became a reminder of the new life won for us at the Resurrection. Frequently baptismal fonts are eight-sided to symbolize this. In other periods the feast was called the feast of the Circumcision, or the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus since it was on the eighth day that he received his name. (This feast is now celebrated on January 3.) Paul VI asked that January 1 be a world day of peace. More recently the day has been entitled the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God which seems an appropriate way to highlight the significance of the Word becoming flesh.
The epistle assigned for this day gives us another angle to think about. St. Paul writes: God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as a child of God …and if a child then also an heir, through God . The feast, therefore, is not simply for our historical interest in what happened to Jesus. It reminds us of what happens to us as people of faith. We become part of the divine family! As we begin this new year let us realilze how precious we are in the eyes of God — beloved children — and let us resolve to treat everyone we meet with dignity and respect since they are brothers and sisters to us in the family of God.
