Thursday January 1, 2004 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Reading I (Numbers 6:22-27) Reading II (Galatians 4:4-7) Gospel (St. Luke 2:16-21) As we embark once again on a new year, the Church begins on this octave day of Christmas by celebrating the feast of Our Lady's divine maternity: Mary, the Mother of God. This feast is exceedingly important when we understand the context in which all of these things came to be. Christmas, for instance, was not celebrated in the Church until around the year 300.