During his first Angelus message of the year yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI made the following reflection:
"Today, the liturgy reminds us that eight days after the birth of the Child, [Mary] and her husband Joseph brought him to be circumcised, according to the Law of Moses, and gave him the name Jesus, which had been given him by the angel" (Luke 2:21).
Readers will recognize these words from the Gospel of the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord. The liturgy of the day for the contemporary rite was that of the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God.
