Tag: pentecost

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

In today’s Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, the Gospel according to John recounts that Mary is present before the cross. When Jesus says to her, “Woman, behold your son” and to John, “Behold, your mother,” Jesus gives to Mary a new mission that extends not only to the disciples but to all humanity. Mary becomes mother to all of us; in taking her into our home, we bring with her God’s gift of divine grace. As Saint John Paul II said of this moment: “The reality brought about by Jesus’ words, that is, Mary’s new motherhood in relation to the disciple, is a further sign of the great love that led Jesus to offer his life for all people. On Calvary this love is shown in the gift of a mother, his mother, who thus becomes our mother too.”

God, help me understand how you break into human history with these words of Jesus from the cross. What your Son speaks is not a mere reflection of reality but forms reality as he speaks. The mother of Jesus is my mother; taking Mary into my home, I profess my discipleship with Christ your Son and the work of his redemption. Give me the grace, God, to be a son to Mary and to welcome her into my home. When the soldiers thrust a lance into the side of Jesus, Blood and water flowed out. Help me remember always to give thanks that through Baptism I died and rose with Christ and that in the Eucharist I receive his Body and Blood.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of mercy from the cross. Thank you for the invitation to take Mary into our home, to allow us to become her children, and for her constant intercession. Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, our Mother, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Pentecost Sunday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

After his resurrection and before his ascension, Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors, where they are hiding in fear. His first word to them is “Peace.” Showing them his hands and his side, the hands that had been nailed to the cross and the side that had been pierced with a lance, the disciples rejoiced in this because they realized that this was not a ghost and that Jesus is who he said he was: the Son of God. Jesus sends out the disciples just as the Father had sent him, and he delivers on his promise: the Advocate comes upon them with the the breath of God. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” Jesus says, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus’ prayer for his disciples and for all who believe in him is answered.

God, help me understand the vital role of the Holy Spirit in my relationship with you. When I think of Jesus’ departure and the coming of the Advocate, I want to set straight in my heart what this means. My first thought is that of sadness, that Jesus is leaving the face of the earth and that his physical absence is a loss. But a greater reality unfolds at this moment. When the Holy Spirit comes, when Jesus breathes on the disciples, he dwells among his people in a new way for all time. It is as the responsorial psalm describes: “If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time: Reflection

“Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

In the last few words of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks directly that others “may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” In the Prayer of Jesus in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you.”

God, help me understand how Jesus models holiness: the gifts you gave me I have so that I can glorify you by my words and actions. What pleases you? What power do I have to let my light shine before others, not for myself but for others; not for my sake but for your glory?

When I try to quiet down and hear you, God, I feel as if I am a bundle of unpotentiated action. My thoughts of what I might accomplish have the opposite, unintended consequence of dragging me down, holding me back. God, I know you want me to sit with you in peace, not squirming, not wishing to get up and get on with things, but to recharge, to bask in your presence and know your love.

“A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden,” Jesus says. Today I have the opportunity to make my city gleam and give glory to my heavenly Father. It’s so easy to mess up; to make a mountain out of a molehill on any given day. But today I want to recognize and show others the gifts that God gave me for the sake of giving him glory.

USCCB Readings

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church: Reflection

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.‘ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes how the Apostles returned to the upper room in Jerusalem after the Ascension with Mary and some women and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” What is described here is a result of what happens in the first Gospel reading, when Jesus says to Mary and John from the cross: “ ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.‘ ”

God, help me be faithful to John’s example by taking Mary into my home. Her gaze, always on her Son, brings Jesus’ spirit into the home of everyone who believes. The Gospel acclamation says: “O blessed mother of the Church, you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.” Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of your mother to all who praise you—one you gave us from the cross before blood and water flowed out from you. “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

Mary, who brought comfort to Jesus in his earthly life, follows the command of her son to behold her Son John and all other sons and daughters, the children of God. There is no mistake in Jesus’ calling Mary “woman.” In an alternative to the first reading, Eve is described as “woman,” whom the serpent tricked into eating from the tree. From the wood of the cross, Jesus makes Mary the New Eve, whose role in restoring humanity is to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate.

Today let me remember that the Virgin who gave birth to the Lord is present in my home and ready to intercede for me to her Son. The Regina Caeli, a prayer said during Eastertime in the Liturgy of the Hours, brings Jesus and Mary together in the joy of the Resurrection.

Queen of Heaven

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. 
For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. 
Has risen, as he said, alleluia. 
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. 
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

USCCB Readings

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Mass in the Morning: Reflection

Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

After the Resurrection, Peter asks Jesus whether John will be the one to betray Jesus. The terseness of Jesus’ reply to the man who will become the first leader of the Church seems unwarranted. Where is the tenderness in Jesus’ spiritual formation and care of Peter? The response seems harsh and abrupt.

Even in yesterday’s readings, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and Peter affirms Jesus’ divinity by saying, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Peter seems to want to know more about what will happen and who will play what role. God, help me understand that you work through your Son in ways that fail human comprehension. Did Jesus see in Peter a lack of trust in the Divine plan? Did he want to redirect Peter to his role in leading the disciples and spreading the Gospel? Whatever the purpose of this response, Jesus calls attention to the spiritual reality that man’s ways are not God’s ways and that some things and the actions of others are out of our hands. “You follow me,” Jesus says.

God, show me today how to trust in the words of your Son: “What concern is it of yours?” Help me recognize my gifts and be less concerned about others’ shortcomings. I know you want me to see you at work in my small sphere of interaction and in the whole world. I know you want me to be at work today on foundations you lay and not on shifting sand. For this, you will need to stay with me, Lord.

Today let me remember that to face the things I can’t control, I can give back to God and say, “What concern is this of mine?” That’s easy to say at this moment, but in the midst of the day, things get complicated. God, give me the ability throughout the day to call on the gifts you gave me and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know my part and yours. Your will, not mine.

USCCB Readings