Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 20th May, 2024
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
From he cross, Jesus entrusted Mary to his disciples as their mother and his disciples to her as her children.
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Genesis 3:9-15, 20
She was the mother of all those who live.
I heard the sound of you in the garden, he replied, I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.‘
‘Who told you you were naked? The Lord 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 some fruit from the tree and I eat it.
‘Then the Lord said to the woman, ‘Why did you do that?
The woman replied, ‘The snake tempted me and I ate.’
Then the Lord God said to the snake,
‘Because you have done this, accursed be you of all animals wild and tame!
On your belly you will go and on dust you will feed as long as you live.
I shall put enmity between you and the woman and your offspring and hers: it will bruise your head and you will strike it’s heal.’
The man named the woman ‘Eve‘ because ‘she was the mother of all those who live.’
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
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Alternative First Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14
With one heart they all joined constantly in prayer including Mary.
So from the Mount of Olives, as it was called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a sabbath walk: and when they reached the city thy went to the upper room where they were staying: there with Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew. James, son of Alphaeus and Simon the zealot and Jude son of James.
With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
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Responsorial Psalm: 87: 1-2, 3, 5, 6-7 Rv 3
Response God speaks of your glory, city of God
- With its foundations on the holy mountains, The Lord loves his city,
he prefers the gates of Sion to any dwelling place in Jacob Response - ‘I number Rahab and Babalon among those who acknowledge;
look at Tyre, Philistia Ethiopia, so and so was born there.’ Response - But of Zion it will be said, ‘Everyone was born there,’
her guarantee is the Most High. Response - Then Lord in his register of peoples will note against each, ‘Born there’,
princes no less than native born: all make their home in you. Response
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 19:25-34 Glory to you, O Lord.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his 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.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church John 19:25–34
Pope Francis inserted the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church into the church’s liturgical calendar, to be celebrated on the Monday after the feast of Pentecost. The feast of Pentecost celebrates the birth of the church and to-day’s feast celebrates Mary as Mother of the Church. According to Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, Mary was present at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples. According to John, in today’s gospel reading, Mary was present at the foot of the cross as Jesus gave up his spirit, in the sense of his bodily spirit, but also the Holy Spirit. In our gospel reading, the only male disciple at the foot of the cross is the disciple whom Jesus loved, often referred to as the beloved disciple. He is never given a name in this gospel of John, perhaps to encourage us all to place our own names upon him. The beloved disciple represents us all, because we are all beloved disciples. What Jesus said to his disciples at the last supper in this gospel of John, he says to disciples in every generation, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you’.
The beloved disciple stands in for us all at the foot of the cross, and Jesus’ words to this disciple are addressed to us all, ‘This is your mother’, and Jesus’ words to his mother relate to us all, ‘Woman, this is your son (or daughter)’. Jesus shares his mother with all his disciples, making himself a brother to us all. We are all invited to relate to Mary as our spiritual mother, as one who can lead us to her Son and help to keep us open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus gives us Mary as a wonderful spiritual resource. As she stood by the cross as her Son was dying, so she stands by us as we travel the way of the cross in its various forms. As she joined in prayer with the disciples prior to Pentecost, so she prays with us and for us. It is with confidence that we can turn to her, saying, ‘Pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
