Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 6, 2022
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.
Moments before the Son of God atoned for the sins of humanity, he expressed one of the most basic of human needs: “I thirst.”
Several years ago, my wife and I volunteered with the Missionaries of Charity. We would help them with grocery shopping, cleaning the convent, and day-to-day tasks at a house for homeless women.
Like Mary, who we celebrate today, the sisters were truly an example of people living the gospels. All their belongings fit in a small box, they served the poorest of the poor with Jesus’ love, and they completely surrendered their daily needs to Divine Providence. I loved going to weekday mass with them. Their chapel was sparse and had no pews; everyone sat on the floor. Behind the altar, there was a large crucifix. Next to it were the words, “I thirst.”
For Saint Mother Teresa, “I thirst” reminded her and the Missionaries of Charity of their mission, “… to quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love.”
It is humbling to think of Jesus desiring to establish such an intimate relationship with us in which he “abides in us, as we abide in him.” It has inspired me to pray to the Holy Spirit that his graces may create an unquenchable spiritual thirst in me for Jesus’s love so that my soul may be on fire for him.
Perhaps instead of working so hard to reach Jesus today, we should ask for the graces we need to surrender our will, let go, and satisfy Christ’s thirst for our love.
Prayer
Mother, help our faith! Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature. Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord! Amen.
Saint of the Day
In 2018, Pope Francis helped the Church return to an ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Every year on the Monday after Pentecost, the Church will honor Mary as Mother of the Church.
St. Augustine saw Mary as a mother to the faithful because she played such a decisive role in bringing Jesus to the world. Through her motherhood, we are reborn in faith through Jesus. And Pope St. Leo the Great said something similar in proclaiming that Mary is both mother of God’s Son, Jesus, and of his mystical body in the world, which is the Church.
The Gospel reading for this feast shows us Mary at the foot of the cross, where she became mother of the Church when Jesus gave her to his beloved disciple, John, who stands for all of us.
Catholics honor Mary as a human who was glorified through her willingness to trust God. Mary’s sorrows and joys, her hopes for her child and spouse, and her quiet endurance ring true to the experience of families today. She is easy to identify with, and through her faithfulness, God changed the world. We call her “Our Lady” and “mother” because she is our mother in faith and our model of holiness.
When we say prayers to Mary, we direct our prayer to God, the source of all things, through Mary. We ask for Mary’s intercession with these prayers—we ask her to carry our requests or offerings of thanksgiving to God—and we are confident that Mary will do so in her care for us as our mother in faith.
Mary is most notably depicted on Notre Dame’s campus in the Golden Dome of the Main Building, of course. The women of nearby St. Mary’s College procured the statue after the Great Fire of 1879 and it is modeled after one that was erected in Rome by the pope. It stands 19 feet high and weighs 4,000 pounds.
Mary’s statue is clothed in gold and stands on a crescent moon, images that come from the Book of Revelation. That Scripture describes a vision of Mary as “a woman in the sky, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet.” The school colors for the Fighting Irish athletic teams are blue and gold for this reason: the blue calls to mind the dark sky behind Mary, and gold represents her clothed with the sun.
In the statue atop the dome, Mary also stands with her feet crushing a serpent, another Scriptural reference. In the Book of Genesis, we hear the story of Eve listening to the serpent and disobeying God, which brought sin into the world. Mary is the new Eve who tramples the serpent. Mary listened to God’s invitation to be the mother of Jesus, and her radical obedience brings life to the world through her Son. She enables our victory over sin and death.
The reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame contains many relics of Mary, including pieces of her hair and clothes.
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us as we seek new life through your Son, Jesus!