Word to the Wise
Monday, May 20, 2024 - Monday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 3:13-18 and Mark 9:14-29]Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary 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. [John]
MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH [Monday in the 7th week in Ordinary Time]
[Genesis 3:9-15, 20 OR Acts 1:12-14 and John 19:25-34]
Two different traditions from the early Church Fathers speak to the "birth of the Church." The first one speaks to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, including Mary, at Pentecost. The second speaks to Mary as mother of Jesus, and as such, she became the mother of the body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. She is included in the scene in the Upper Room and at the foot of the cross where the soldier pierced the side of Jesus, causing water and blood to flow, which this tradition sees as the birth of the church. St Ambrose, in the 4th century, first spoke of the title "Mother of the Church." Pope Paul VI gave the title a formal approval at the end of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis put this observance on the general liturgical calendar for the Monday following Pentecost Sunday.
From the cross Jesus gave his mother into the care of the Beloved Disciple. [She would otherwise have been an impoverished widow.] But by traditional extension, Mary became the mother of all disciples, the Body of Christ. We celebrate her in this role on this day. AMEN