29 May 2023 – Monday – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

29 May 2023 – Monday – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

1st Reading: Genesis 3:9-15, 20

Enmity between the serpent and the woman

But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

or

1st Reading: Acts 1:12-14

Our Lady with the apostles and other disciples in prayer, before Pentecost

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Psalm 87

Gospel: John 19:25-27 (-34)

Our Lady and the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross

Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:
‘I am thirsty’.
A jar-full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said,
‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Reflection:

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the only character in the gospels around Jesus who is present at the birth and infancy of Jesus, during his public ministry, at the foot of the cross and with the disciples of Jesus after he rose from the dead. She is associated in the gospels with every moment of the story of Jesus. In the two readings for this feast, we find her at the foot of the cross and with the disciples in the aftermath of Easter Sunday just prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In the gospel reading, Jesus declares that from now on his mother is to be the mother of the beloved disciple, and the beloved disciple is to be her son. This disciple is never given a name in this gospel. He stands in for us all, who are the Lord’s beloved disciples. We can each give him our own name. Jesus is giving his mother as the mother of us all. He is drawing us into his family; we become his brothers and sisters, calling God his Father, our Father, and Mary his mother, our mother. At the cross, Mary is proclaimed mother of disciples, mother of the church.

In the first reading for this feast, we find Mary exercising this motherly role among the disciples. She is praying with them, as they wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom the risen Lord promised to send. She doesn’t stand above them, but she is among them, as any mother would be among her children. She is among them, lending her prayer to theirs, as they all prepare for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Mary as mother is among us today, praying with us, praying for us, supporting us as we wait for the promised Holy Spirit. Mary is the Lord’s gift to us, one of the greatest gifts he could possibly give us. On this feast of Mary, mother of the church, we renew our appreciation of this gift of Mary, and we receive this gift of the Lord more fully into our lives.

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The Scripture Reflection is from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2022-2023: Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications 2022, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/