Daily Reading
First Reading
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
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.
Psalm
Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in it”;
for the Most High himself will establish it.
The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”
Gospel Reading
John 19:25-34
And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, 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, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.
Reflection
Friends, today we celebrate the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
We recall that, from the cross, Jesus pronounced this word to St. John: “Behold, your mother.” In saying this, he was giving Mary not only to John but through John to the whole Church. Mary would be the mother of all the beloved disciples of Jesus up and down the centuries.
Then we recall that, at the Annunciation, the angel declared to the maiden of Nazareth: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” The two persons required for the Incarnation were the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother.
Now we can make the connection: In becoming the mother of Christ, Mary, by extension, would become the mother of all those members of Christ’s Mystical Body across space and time. Just as the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother were required to bring about the Incarnation in history, so those same two agents are required to bring about the birth of Christ in our souls.