First reading Genesis 3:9-15,20
The mother of all those who live
After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’
The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.
Responsorial Psalm 86(87): 1-2,3 & 5, 6-7
R: 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.
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.”
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.”
Gospel John 19:25-34
‘Behold your son. Behold your mother.’
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said, ‘I am thirsty.’
A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, ‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.
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Mary, Mother of the believers
It is not a coincidence that right after Pentecost Sunday, the Church celebrates the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. Mary received the Holy Spirit in the Annunciation and remained faithful to His insinuations. She allowed herself to be guided by Him until the end of her life. On the cross, she received us all as her own children and committed to caring for our faith as we follow her Son. Moreover, in the first reading, we can see how Mother Mary gathered the disciples, praying with them and encouraging them to remain faithful to the Lord.
Today, she continues to pray for us and with us. She remains quietly but firmly at our side, accompanying us in our sufferings and hardships in the same way that she stood at the foot of Jesus’ cross and being one with Him. As we stay close to her, she will undoubtedly encourage us “to do what Jesus tells us” as she told the servants at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1-11), because our Mother Mary will always bring us closer to her Son.
Reflective questions:
Who is Mother Mary in my life? Does she have a role?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
