My little children, your hearts, are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.
--Saint John Vianney
My little children, your hearts, are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.
--Saint John Vianney
MEMORIAL OF SAINTS CORNELIUS, POPE, AND CYPRIAN, BISHOP, MARTYRS
Lectionary: 447
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources.
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GOD WANTS TO EMBRACE YOU IN YOUR SORROWS
But turn it into a prayer and our sorrow becomes very valuable!
It’s healthy to get emotional and pour our sadness into a conversation with God. Our tears are not bullets that shoot our frustrations heavenward in order to force God to hurry up and make things better — even though it can feel that way. In our sorrows, each tear is itself a prayer. When you’re tired of using words, just cry.
If tears were not prayer-diamonds, why would our Blessed Mother cry in heaven? Why would she be Our Lady of Sorrows? Isn’t heaven a place of joy, where there is no more sorrow? Yet, Mary cries because people are being hurt by sin in the world. She cries for you when you turn away from her Son. She cries with you when you cry because of the sins of others.
Tears shed during prayer time are valuable to God because this is a moment of surrender. We’ve quit trying to change what we cannot change. We might still want to, but while we’re crying we have stopped trying. In that humble surrender, we give God clearance to move in and comfort us.
When the Father heard his Son’s prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, he didn’t change what Jesus would have to endure, but he did comfort him. He embraced his Son with tender compassion and sympathy. He sent angels to him for additional support. This gave Jesus the strength to choose obedience and say, “Your will be done, not mine” and to endure his sufferings.
Jesus knew from the Psalms, which he had memorized as a boy, that God would rescue him. Now he also knew it in his heart while he cried. The resurrection would come, the promises would be fulfilled, and by surrendering to the Father’s comforting strength, Jesus would be able to travel the path of pain that would eventually lead to the promised victory.
In the Gospel reading today, we see this comforting embrace repeat itself in the relationship between Mary and the disciple John. This was Mary’s moment of greatest sorrow; she grieved with a heartbreak that only mothers can know. John grieved with Our Lady of Sorrows over the suffering and loss of his dearest friend. And Jesus, despite his own sorrow-filled pain, passed his Father’s inheritance of comfort on to his mother and friend by permanently unifying their mutual embrace into a bond of supportive friendship.
It’s in Christian community that we receive God’s comfort. He is giving you caring friends who will embrace you with his love. If you don’t know who these comfort-companions are, look closer and reach out wider; they are here for you. God wants to embrace you through them to give you his tender compassion and sympathy.
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, I give you each of my tears through the hands of Your Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. May not my will but Yours be done in my life. Amen.
God Bless You.....
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