Word to the Wise
Monday, June 1, 2020 -
[Genesis 3:9-15, 20 or Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 and John 19:25-34]The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. [Genesis] 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. [John]
MONDAY AFTER PENTECOST: THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
Pope Francis put this feast on the liturgical calendar for the Monday after Pentecost in March 2018, so it is very recent. It is a reminder of the special relationship that we Catholics (and many other non-Catholic Christians as well) have to the mother of Jesus. The two optional first scriptures from Genesis and the Acts of the Apostles and the gospel scripture from the Gospel According to John all offer different aspects of that relationship.
Genesis reminds us that motherhood is part of God's creation and is a gift from God. Eve is presented as the first mother and therefore the mother of all who come after her - the "mother of all the living." Mary participated in that gift as a woman and mother of Jesus.
The Acts of the Apostles, authored by St. Luke, places Mary at the scene of the Pentecost event, which is regarded as the birth of the church. It is by the power of that same Holy Spirit that Jesus was conceived in her and made her in a very real way the first disciple. She is united physically with the body of Jesus as mother, but she is also united spiritually with the Body of Christ, the Church.
The Gospel According to John has Jesus providing for his mother's immediate future by entrusting her to the disciple, John, at the foot of the cross. It should be noted that he did not entrust her to any of the extended family of his relatives! She was entrusted to a disciple and entrusted through him to all of us as mother.
Thus, the universal, collective and personal aspects of the rich Marian tradition of the Church appears in this celebration. It's another "Mother's Day!" AMEN
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