June 28
Optional Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 573
From the Common of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, p. 000,
OR:
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
The descendants of my people shall be renowned among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them
as a race the LORD has blessed.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
Responsorial Psalm 1
R. (see 1) My heart exults in the
Lord, my Savior.
“My heart exults in the LORD,
my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory.”
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.”
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“The LORD puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, and also exalts.”
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“He raises the needy from the dust;
from the dung heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.”
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God
and pondered it in her heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0620-memorial-immaculate-heart.cfm
Saturday,
June 28, 2025
The
Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Opening Prayer
O God, who has prepared a worthy dwelling
place of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, through her
intercession grant that we, your faithful, may be a living temple of Your
glory. We ask this, through Christ our Lord
Gospel Reading – 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.
Meditation
•
"Every year the feast of Passover."
These words help us to define the spiritual context in
which the passage takes place and thus become, for us, the gateway to enter the
mystery of His encounter with the Lord and His work of grace and mercy upon us.
Together with Mary and Joseph, with Jesus, we too can live
the gift of a new Passover, a "crossing," an excess, a spiritual movement
that takes us "beyond.” The passage is clear and strong. What the Virgin
Mary intuits in this experience with her son Jesus is the step from the street
to the heart of the dispersion to interiority, from anguish to peace.
All that remains is to journey down the street and join the
feast, the feast of pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem for the celebration
of Passover.
•
"Their way"
This is only the first of a series of verbs of motion, which
follow one another along the verses of this passage: "they went", "return to the
path", "group" (from the Latin cum-ire, "walking
together"); "journey"; "back"; "went down with
them, " " arrive.”
In parallel with this great physical movement, there is also a
deep spiritual movement characterized by the verb "look", expressed
over and over again: "they began to look for," "returned in
search of Him," "looking for You anxiously,” " why you sought
Me?”
This tells us that the journey, the true path to which the
Lord's word calls us, is not a physical journey, but a journey in search of
Jesus, of His presence in our lives. And this is the direction in which we
move, together with Mary and Joseph.
•
"They began to look for Him"
Here we can identify the core of the text, its fundamental
message. It is important that we open ourselves to a deeper understanding of
this reality. Also, because Luke uses two different verbs to express the
"search,” the first indicating accurate, repeated, careful, as some of
those who browse, from bottom to top, and second which indicates the search for
something that is lost and you want to find. Jesus is the object of all this
movement and deep inner being, is the object of desire, the longing of the
heart.
•
"Distressed"
It is great to see how Mary opens her heart to Jesus, telling Him
what she felt within herself. She is not afraid to tell the truth to her Son,
to tell Him the feelings and experiences that they felt deeply. But what is
this anguish, this pain that you saw in Mary and Joseph in search of Jesus, who
went missing?
These 3 days of looking, the journey to
Jerusalem, and not understanding His words afterward, may also be considered a
prefiguring the narrative of His death and Resurrection.
•
"Kept all these sayings in her
heart"
Mary does not understand the words of Jesus, the mystery of His
life and His mission and for this remains silent, accepts, makes space, keeps
them in her heart. This is the true path of growth in faith and relationship
with the Lord.
Once again, Luke gives us a very beautiful and meaningful word
which means literally "keeping through.” That is the spiritual operation
that Mary carries within herself and that give us as a precious gift, a legacy
for our good relationship with the Lord, so that it can take us into a journey
deep, deep, that does not stop at the surface, or half, which is not coming
back, but it goes deep down. Mary takes us by the hand and guides us through
all her heart, all her feelings, her experiences. And there, in the secrecy of
ourselves, in our hearts, we can learn to find the Lord Jesus, whom perhaps we
had lost.
There is also a loss for Mary and Joseph. Up until now, Joseph
was identified with “my father.” Now it is changed. He is not just her son, or
their son, but son of our Heavenly Father. In all this is another sorrow, one
of parents, that they do not understand their child: “But they did not
understand what He said to them.”
Some Questions
•
* There are many foreshadows of
the Passion in this passage. Can I identify the depth of things symbolized
here?
•
* Do I feel like I am seeking the Lord? Or does
it not seem important? Is it an active part of my life every day?
•
Has anxiety, spoken by Mary, ever been my
companion on the journey of my life? Maybe, thanks to this passage, I discover
that the anxiety is caused by the absence of the Lord, the loss of God. Does this passage help me, give me a light
and a key for my life?
•
As a parent (past, future, or present), do I see
a relationship and partnership with God the Father in raising my children, and
do I give room for God to be an active participant in this? Am I a wall between
God and them, or am I translator, or do I allow them to build their
relationship at the same time?
Closing Prayer
And as she worshiped the LORD, she said:
"My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice
in my victory. There is no Holy One like the LORD; there in no Rock like our
God. "Speak boastfully no longer, nor let arrogance issue from your
mouths. For an all-knowing God is the LORD, a God who judges deeds. The bows of
the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. The well-fed hire
themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife
bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes. The LORD puts to death
and gives life; He casts down to the nether world; He raises up again. The LORD
makes poor and makes rich, He humbles, He also exalts.
He raises the needy from the dust; from
the ash heap He lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious
throne their heritage. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and He has
set the world upon them. (1 Samuel 2: 1-8)
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