(Saturday
Following the Second Sunday After Pentecost)
Note: On this feast, the Gospel from the proper readings is used. The first reading and psalm are taken from the readings of the day.
Information about the
Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Proper readings for the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Readings from the
Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings
and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2
Corinthians 5:14-21
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the
flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 5:14-21
This
passage from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians has a distinctly
initiative flavor. First, he speaks of dying with Christ, becoming one with him
in the spirit. This occurs in the sacrament of baptism. The whole idea of being
reconciled to God in Christ is inherent in the sacrament of confirmation and
concluded in the Eucharist. These of course are the three sacraments of
Christian initiation.
CCC:
2 Cor 5:14 616,
851; 2 Cor 5:15 605,
655, 1269; 2 Cor 5:17 1214,
1265; 2 Cor 5:17-18 1999; 2 Cor
5:18-21 2844; 2 Cor
5:18 981,
1442, 1461; 2 Cor 5:19 433,
620; 2 Cor 5:20 859,
1424, 1442; 2 Cor 5:21 602
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Psalm
103 is a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for his mercy. It recognizes
both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for it. The psalmist rejoices in
God’s saving help following a period of adversity. The link between
forgiveness and healing is brought out driving home the fact that forgiveness
by God heals the soul and that his forgiveness is available always.
CCC: Ps 103 304
------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 2:41-51
Each
year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 2:41-51
This passage begins St. Luke's account of the
presentation of Jesus in the temple by his parents, in accordance with Jewish
law. It is significant from a number of perspectives. First the story breaks
the scriptural silence regarding the “lost years” of Jesus’ growth from infancy
to adulthood. This story says Jesus is twelve. That would be the time when he
would have celebrated his bar miswah, after which he would have
been considered a man.
St. Luke's description is at odds with the
apocryphal gospels (such as the Gospel of St. Thomas) that attributed to Jesus
many miracles during his early years. This account paints his childhood as
fairly normal. The implication, based on Joseph's and Mary’s reaction, is that,
at this point, they do not completely understand their son’s mission.
CCC:
Lk 2:41-52 534; Lk
2:41 583; Lk
2:46-49 583; Lk
2:48-49 503; Lk
2:49 2599; Lk
2:51-52 531; Lk 2:51 517,
2196, 2599
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Yesterday’s
celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is joined
appropriately with today’s Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yesterday
we rejoiced in the love our Savior has for us. Today, Jesus’ mother, our mother
Mary, reminds us that he expects to be loved by us in return. Even as we know
that we can never earn the love of Christ, that we can never receive it on our
own merits, we know that our love of Jesus must be made clear to the world.
Today
we reflect, not just in prayer but in a very pragmatic way, about how we can
accede to Mother Mary’s fervent hope and example. She demonstrated for us how
love of the Lord could be shown. She was the first to believe in him. Her
actions most closely echoed his command to love one another. She clearly loved
the Lord with such intensity and passion that her heart was pierced at his
death, as Simeon had predicted (Luke 2:25-35).
We
cannot hope to rival the love of the Theotokos,
the Mother of God, in her love for her Son. We may have difficulty finding the
intense emotional attachment to the Lord she showed us so naturally. But we can
demonstrate our love for him through our actions. We can hope that at the end
of our lives we can say, as St. Paul says to St. Timothy: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
Think
for a moment about how others know we love our parents, our siblings, or even
our close friends. We do things for them that please them. We spend time with
them, and we behave in ways that make them happy, sharing our joy and our
sorrow.
Using
that simple model is how we show our love for Jesus. That is the beckoning call
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We do things that please the Lord, we praise
the Heavenly Father, and we act in ways that tell others: “Oh, they must be
Christians.” We serve others, because the Lord’s life and his mother’s life
were dedicated to serving others. And we spend time with the Lord, as much time
as possible. We talk with him in prayer, not just to ask for things like a
spoiled child or an ungrateful friend, but talking to him about the things we
have been able to accomplish with his help, and about our joys and sorrows.
Finally we spend time with him physically, receiving his gift of the Eucharist,
and at eucharistic adoration. Is this not the way we act with those we love?
Scripture
tells us that Mary, Most Holy, loved the Lord like no one else could, and in
her Immaculate Heart we see that example, clear for us to follow. Let us today
be revitalized by that plea and embrace the Lord with our actions.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are Unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio 364/573
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
Note: On this feast, the Gospel from the proper readings is used. The first reading and psalm are taken from the readings of the day.
 |
| “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are Unknown |
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 5:14-21
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 2:41-51
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 2:41-51
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
[1] The picture is “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are Unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio 364/573
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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