GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Monday - May 29, 2023

   

Monday - May 29, 2023

Most amiable Queen, I, a miserable sinner, also love thee, but I love thee too little. I desire to obtain a greater and more tender love for thee. Obtain this for me; because to love thee is a great sign of predestination and a grace which God does not grant except to those whom He will save ... If thou dost not assist me, I shall be lost. No. No one can be lost who recommends himself to thee. In thy hands, therefore, do I place my eternal salvation and to thee do I consign my soul, which was lost, but which thou wilt save by thy holy intercession.

 

-St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

May 29, 2023

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Lectionary: 572

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Gn 3:9-15, 20

 

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.

 

OR:

 

Acts 1:12-14

 

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven,

            the Apostles returned to Jerusalem

            from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,

            a sabbath day’s journey away.

 

When they entered the city

            they went to the upper room where they were staying,

            Peter and John and James and Andrew,

            Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,

            James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,

            and Judas son of James.

All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,

            together with some women,

            and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7

 

R. (3) Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

 

His foundation upon the holy mountains

            the LORD loves:

The gates of Zion,

            more than any dwelling of Jacob.

R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

 

Glorious things are said of you,

            O city of God!

And of Zion they shall say:

            “One and all were born in her;

And he who has established her

            is the Most High LORD.”

R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

 

They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:

            “This man was born there.”

And all shall sing, in their festive dance:

            “My home is within you.”

R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord;

O blessed Mother of the Church,

who nurture in us the Spirit

of your Son Jesus Christ!

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                       Jn 19:25-34

 

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.

 

**********************************

The final bequest of Jesus

Today we return to the scene of Good Friday, but now with a focus on the deeply grieving woman near the foot of the cross. We hear the words of the pain-stricken, dying Jesus as he proclaims one last message for the world, a final bequest of his mission-driven life, addressed first to his mother: “Woman, behold, your son.” And then to his beloved friend, John: “Behold, your mother.”

 

Jesus knew what lay ahead. After his resurrection, he could choose to remain on earth in the flesh, preaching and healing and bringing more people to salvation. But that was not the divine plan. God’s plan was to pass the mission of Christ on to others who would spread it much farther and much wider. And so, with his dying breath, he gave birth to the Church.

 

John was the loyal son of his missionary activity. Unlike the other disciples, John disregarded fear in order to come close to Jesus at the foot of the cross. When Jesus bequeathed him to Mary and Mary to him, he raised her status from mother of one to mother of all who would continue that same missionary activity.

 

His next words, as recorded by John, “I thirst”, could be considered the mission statement of that bequest. Every soul who still needs salvation is thirsting for the love, the healing, the peace, and the joy that only God can provide in fullness. Jesus carries their thirst within his heart. And he calls you and me to quench that thirst.

 

The mission of Christ is now the mission of the Church. No one in the Church is excused from it. Not even the most disabled person. Any conscious person can offer up his or her sufferings and unite them to Jesus for the sake of lost souls. The home-bound can evangelize others over the internet. The bed-bound can preach much through a smile and a kind word that reveals inexplicable peace to the caregivers who are stressed out and troubled.

 

Mary is a wonderful mother who helps her children discover God’s plans for them. Do you know what God has gifted you to do for the mission of Christ? Have you invested yourself enough in the mission to make a difference? Mary is with you, praying for you, praying with you, calling you on behalf of Christ, supporting your efforts, and (like every good mom) urging you to stay connected to the family where together, as the Church, we can do more good than we could ever do by ourselves.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Blessed Mother! She accompanies me day and night with her prayer so that I can discern Your ways which are the only ones I want to follow! Amen.

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”