Homily given by then-Archbishop Justin Rigali on the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, January 1st 1999 in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

On January 1, in her celebration of Mary Mother of God, the Church proclaims Jesus Christ as both Son of the Eternal Father and Son of the Virgin Mary. The Church recognizes in the Incarnation of the Word a wonderful exchange between divinity and humanity that helps the world understand more fully the identity of the Child born in Bethlehem.