MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - MOTHER OF THE CHURCH - Gospel (John 19:25-34)
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
FIRST READING - 3:9-15, 20
A reading from the Book of Genesis
After Adam had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you 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 at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - John 19:25-34
From the 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.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately Blood and water flowed out.
MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - MOTHER OF THE CHURCH - Gospel (John 19:25-34)
Dear People of God,
Standing near the cross of Jesus were His mother and the disciple whom He loved. Before breathing His last breath on the cross, Jesus said to His beloved mother: “Woman, behold, your son.” Then He said to the disciple whom He loved: “Behold, your mother.” From that moment on, Jesus Christ entrusted Blessed Mother Mary to His entire Church.
Blessed Mother Mary, the Immaculate Conception, was predestined by God from all eternity when He established the plan of salvation. She was given the title the Mother of God when she conceived the Son of God, who came to earth to become a human being under the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has revealed to the faithful that Blessed Mother Mary was granted the privilege of being assumed into heaven, body and soul, and the title of Perpetual Virginity. These four privileges, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, reveal to the Church how God predestined her for the plan of salvation.
In this era, the Holy Spirit has further enlightened the Church to recognize another privilege: Blessed Mother Mary is the Mother of the Church. These titles are not recent designations. Blessed Mother Mary was chosen and predestined by God from the beginning of time. Why is she called the Mother of the Church? Because Jesus Christ established the Church as His body, and Blessed Mother Mary was predestined to be the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God. That grace continues until the Second Coming of the Lord, the time when the plan of human salvation will be fulfilled. When Mother Mary was appointed the Mother of the Church, she also became the mother of each of us. She always loves and intercedes with God for all His children. Though she is no longer physically present as she was during her earthly life, in the Kingdom of God she still watches over us at every moment. She accompanies humanity, praying to God for the protection of the Church and all His children against the powers of darkness in the world.
God gave Blessed Mother Mary to accompany humankind, as she appeared in Fatima and Lourdes. There, she performed visible miracles and gave her motherly counsel to humanity: Children, repent, turn away from sin, and return to God. Pray the Rosary diligently—it is the weapon I give you to fight against Satan.
Therefore, I advise all my children to always carry the Rosary with them and to pray constantly. No one should forget the Rosary! Pray it faithfully, because through the prayers of the Rosary, God will reveal His will to humanity, leading you into the mystery of the salvation of Jesus Christ. Through it, you will contemplate the life of Christ and, in part, the life of Mother Mary, through the four mysteries: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious.
Blessed Mother Mary is the Mother of all humanity and she continues to accompany us. When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, Blessed Mother Mary prayed for the Holy Spirit to pour out His grace upon the disciples then—and now—for her heart is always filled with the grace and spirit of the Holy Spirit. Now, dear children of Mother Mary, listen to her teaching: “Do whatever He tells you.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments