The Marian New Year Arrives Again

31 August 2025

The Marian New Year

Tonight at Vespers begins the devotional preparation for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are reposting this year the “Marian O Antiphons” that we posted in preparation for the feast last year. As we noted a year ago:

One very ancient tradition marks the beginning of the year in September. This tradition goes all the way back to biblical times and traces of it are found in the Sacred Scriptures. Because of its relation to the harvest, it is a sort of natural annual rebirth. In much of the world, September marks the end of summer and the beginning of the academic year. The Jewish New Year too is the seventh month (the first day of Tisrei, the lunar month that corresponds to September).

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, September 1st (called “the beginning of the Indiction”) is the first day of the liturgical calendar. It is believed to be the day of the creation of the world in the East (the West prefers March 25), and also the day that commemorates when Christ entered the synagogue to proclaim: “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me” (Lk 4:16-22; Is. 61:1-2).

Yet there is a more important reason why September might be considered the New Year. It is on September 8th that the Universal Church celebrates the Nativity of Our Lady. Was her birth not the first glimpse of the heavenly light of salvation?

Is not September, then, a Marian New Year?

We at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle wish you a very happy Marian New Year. May you seek the face of the Infant Jesus in the arms of His Blessed Mother during this year.

August 31, O Aurora!

ANT. O Aurora valde rutilans mane absque nubibus! Quando apparebis consurgens pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol? O Virgo formosissima! Veni jam, noli tardare, et ostende lumen tuum sedentibus in tenebris et in umbra mortis.	ANT. O Dawn shimmering greatly in the morning without clouds! When shalt thou appear, arising fair as the moon, elect as the sun? O Virgin most beautiful! Come now! Tarry not, and show thy light to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
℣. Ecce tenebræ operiunt terram. ℟. Et caligo populos.	℣. Behold, darkness covers the earth. ℟. And thick darkness the peoples.
Oremus. Dignare, Domine, corda nostra benedictionibus gratiæ tuæ prævenire ; ut cujus Nativitatem expectamus, Sanctissimæ Genitrici tuæ digne placere possimus. Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.	Let us pray. Deign, O Lord, to precede our hearts with the blessings of Thy grace, that we may be able to please worthily Thy most holy Mother whose nativity we are awaiting. Thou Who livest and reignest unto the ages of ages. Amen.