Daily Gospel Reflection

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May 29, 2023

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mother of the Church
Jn 19:25-34
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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.

Reflection

Bridget (Barry) Francis ’96
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Saying goodbye can be painful. Jesus leaves his disciples, not once but twice. At the crucifixion, Jesus “handed over the spirit” on the cross. Then, in the first reading for today, Jesus ascended into heaven. The disciples’ hearts were broken twice, albeit in different ways—their friend was no longer physically embodied among them.
The disciples’ response to this second loss might have been influenced by Jesus’ words during the first. “Behold, your son… Behold, your mother.” With his dying breath, Jesus emphasized our need for communal identity. After the Ascension, the disciples traveled a “Sabbath day’s journey” to the upper room to pray. Together.

St. Mother Teresa observed, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” The church is losing countless members who self-report as “spiritual but not religious.” Our culture is also on the brink of a mental health crisis. I suspect those facts are interwoven. We need community as much as our communities need each of us.

What can we do to build and maintain healthy, vibrant faith communities that nurture individuals and shine Christ’s light into a world that thirsts as Jesus did on the cross? What do we need to let go of in order to hand over our spirits to God? Who needs our invitation into a community?

“A Sabbath day’s journey” refers to the limited distance people could walk on the Sabbath without it being considered work. It reminds me of my spiritual director who once described our spiritual paths as being an inch long but a mile deep. We do not have to go far to go deeper.

May we make space in our routines and hearts to be united with love in prayer. May we surrender the patterns of thought and behavior that separate us from God. And may we remember and act on the truth that we belong to each other.

Prayer

Fr. Brad Metz, C.S.C.

All-knowing God, today we remember and pray for our loved ones who died in the service of our country, defending your gifts of liberty and justice for all. Grant us all your eternal gifts of peace and the true freedom of being your children in faith. Give us the guidance and life of your Spirit, who lives and reigns with you and your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Saint of the Day

Mary, Mother of the Church

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. Learn more about the reliquary chapel here.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us as we seek new life through your Son, Jesus!