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)
Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!
On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!
‘Zion shall be called “Mother”
for all shall be her children.’
It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
‘These are her children,’
and while they dance they will sing:
‘In you all find their home.’
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.
__________________________________________
Mary, Mother of the Church
As we celebrate the Feast of Mary, the Mother of the Church, we join her at the foot of the cross. Mary stands there, faithful and fully present. Jesus entrusts her to the beloved disciple, saying, “Woman, this is your son,” and to the disciple, “This is your mother.” In that moment, through the beloved disciple, Mary becomes the mother of the early faith community and a mother to each of us today. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find the disciples gathering in prayer with Mary, united in hope as they wait for the Spirit. Her presence among the disciples shapes the early community by modelling perseverance in prayer, sustains them by her quiet strength that holds the group together and guides them to remain faithful to Christ, even in uncertainty.
Today, we rejoice because she is our spiritual mother. She is here with us to teach us how to stand with Jesus in both sorrow and joy. Let us welcome Mother Mary into our lives as our mother.
Reflective question:
How does Mary’s presence in my life help the way I live my life of faith?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
