Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 376/573
Lectionary: 376/573
The Lord has
consumed without pity
all the dwellings of Jacob;
He has torn down in his anger
the fortresses of daughter Judah;
He has brought to the ground in dishonor
her king and her princes.
On the ground in silence sit
the old men of daughter Zion;
They strew dust on their heads
and gird themselves with sackcloth;
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
Worn out from weeping are my eyes,
within me all is in ferment;
My gall is poured out on the ground
because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,
As child and infant faint away
in the open spaces of the town.
In vain they ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
And breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
To what can I liken or compare you,
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion?
For great as the sea is your downfall;
who can heal you?
Your prophets had for you
false and specious visions;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
to avert your fate;
They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.
Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.
Rise up, shrill in the night,
at the beginning of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your little ones
Who faint from hunger
at the corner of every street.
all the dwellings of Jacob;
He has torn down in his anger
the fortresses of daughter Judah;
He has brought to the ground in dishonor
her king and her princes.
On the ground in silence sit
the old men of daughter Zion;
They strew dust on their heads
and gird themselves with sackcloth;
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
Worn out from weeping are my eyes,
within me all is in ferment;
My gall is poured out on the ground
because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,
As child and infant faint away
in the open spaces of the town.
In vain they ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
And breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
To what can I liken or compare you,
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion?
For great as the sea is your downfall;
who can heal you?
Your prophets had for you
false and specious visions;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
to avert your fate;
They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.
Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.
Rise up, shrill in the night,
at the beginning of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your little ones
Who faint from hunger
at the corner of every street.
Responsorial Psalm PS 74:1B-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Gospel LK 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.
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: “His mother kept all these things in her heart”
Have you ever experienced the pain and grief of losing someone
close to you? Mary and Joseph must have felt anxious and helpless when the boy
Jesus disappeared. Nonetheless they returned to Jerusalem with confident trust
that God would guide them in their hour of trial. Why did Jesus stay back when
his parents left for home? Just as the prophet Samuel heard the call of the
Lord at a very young age, Jesus in his youth recognized that he has been given
a call by his heavenly Father. His answer to his mother's anxious inquiry
reveals his trusting faith and confident determination to pursue his heavenly
Father's will. Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?
Our Heavenly Father calls each one of us. With the call God
gives grace - grace to say "yes" to his will and grace to persevere
through obstacles and trials that stand in the way. Do you recognize God's call
on your life and do you trust in his grace and strength?
"Lord Jesus, in love you have called me to live for your
praise and glory. May I always find joy in your presence and trust in your wise
and loving plan for my life."
 Blessed is She Who Believed 2014-06-28 |
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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.
Introductory Prayer: Dearest Mother Mary, Christ your Son
learned to love from your loving example. Teach me to love in the same way.
Instruct me in the way of your virtues. Help me to make use of every
opportunity to grow in them. Never let me avoid the opportunities life gives
me to love and form myself in virtue. I always want to love the way you love.
Petition: Mary, my Mother, help me be your faithful child. Bring
me to your son.
1. Not Everything is Clear: Mary has a
mother’s heart that wants to love the loves of her Son. For Mary the road was
not always clear. There would be many trials and difficulties. Nevertheless,
Mary is resolved to follow her Son. She wants to follow him, understanding
the mission. She cares for him in every way – even spiritually. There were
many surprises in store for her as Christ matured and prepared for his
mission. She never expected this one, losing her son for three days, at such
an early age. Her son desired to be in his Father’s house and prepare his
work. He loved being there and was preparing for the day when he would go out
and actively do the work he had been sent for. Mary too was preparing for
that day and Christ helped her get ready.
2. She Stored All These Things Up in Her Heart: It was
hard for Mary to understand the full meaning of this moment. Being a woman of
prayer and contemplation she stored all these things up in her heart where
she could recall them, reflect on them and compare them to other moments of
her mission. What did all this mean? What did it point to? God’s plan would
only reveal itself with time and Mary would be ready for it. It was not so
much understanding that she needed but rather acceptance and fidelity to
complete it. Mary had a contemplative heart that sought to unite itself and
identify itself to the mission of her Son. She knew that she had a part to
play in that mission and that she would need to prepare herself for it
through prayer.
3. Take Mary’s Hand: We will never understand what our life is
for unless we pray and contemplate like Mary did. It takes time, patience and
a great deal of simplicity and trust. “Blessed is she that believed that the
promises made to her would be fulfilled!” exclaims her cousin Elizabeth after
the annunciation by the angel Gabriel. We are blessed when we can believe. It
may take a long time to see the fulfillment of God’s designs in our lives
too. We need to be like Mary and follow through by faithfully following the
path that is marked out for us. It can be a path that is not clear. We don’t
need to know all of what lies ahead – just where we need to walk. Mary
wholeheartedly identified with her Son’s mission. She invites us to identify
with it too. She will not fail to take you by the hand and lead you along
that unclear, difficult and unknown path.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, when you had
already given us everything – your life, your love, your Eucharist – from the
cross you gave us the gift of your Mother. I thank you for this great gift. I
want to be her faithful child. I want to imitate all her virtues, especially
her faithfulness to you up to and beyond the moment of the cross. Grant me
the grace to accompany both you and your mother at the foot of the cross. I
want to follow you closely and perfectly as Mary did. I want to belong only
to you and do only your will.
Resolution: I will ask Mary to shape all Christian
virtues in me by my daily prayer to her in the Rosary. I will also make a
special visit to her at one of her statues or images this week.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28, LUKE 2:41-51
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19; Psalm 74)  KEY VERSE: "His mother meanwhile kept all these things in her heart" (v 51). READING: The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to conceive and bear the Son of God. Mary's "blessedness" as the Mother of God came from her willingness to submit to God's will. Throughout her life she was continually challenged by her son who was "a sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34). When Jesus' gifts of teaching and healing were revealed, many opposed him and finally killed him. As Mary stood at the foot of the cross, did she remember the angel's promise that her son's "kingdom would last forever"? Did she recall the words of Simeon that "a sword" would pierce her heart? Though Mary's life was full of perplexities, she never lost faith in God or her son. Full of grace and full of sorrow, Mary's answer to God was the same as her son ̶ always "Yes." REFLECTING: Am I able to say "Yes" to God as Mary did? PRAYING: Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for the healing of our broken hearts.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
The Ultimate Pleasure
To speak of the infinite is to speak of God; and God reveals
Himself to be love. Since we are made for love, in pursuing pleasures we are
actually going after God, the highest, supreme good.
Lord, forget not the life of your
poor ones
Jesus responds to the faith of a Gentile.Today we find pictures of the Jewish people in the wake of failure to remain faithful to their God. God has wreaked havoc and destruction upon them as retribution for turning away from him. In Lamentations, we have a word picture of the destruction. For their children’s sake, they are exhorted to cry out for God’s help. In the Psalm, the initial call to God is to remind him of the anger he has shown them. Later their call is, ‘Lord, forget not the plight of your poor ones.’ The message from Matthew is that Jesus will reward faith. A Roman centurion, a Gentile, is rewarded. Jesus refers to the past lack of faith of the Jewish people. He responds to the faith of a Roman Gentile. In curing Peter’s mother-in-law, a Jew, he does not hold the lack of faith of her race against her. Jesus is for all people without exception.
June
28
St. Irenaeus (130?-220) 
The Church is fortunate that Irenaeus was involved in many of
its controversies in the second century. He was a student, well trained, no
doubt, with great patience in investigating, tremendously protective of
apostolic teaching, but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents
than to prove them in error.
As
bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostics, who took their
name from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Claiming access to secret knowledge
imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples, their teaching was attracting and
confusing many Christians. After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic
sects and their “secret,” Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their
tenets led. These he contrasted with the teaching of the apostles and the
text of Holy Scripture, giving us, in five books, a system of theology of
great importance to subsequent times. Moreover, his work, widely used and
translated into Latin and Armenian, gradually ended the influence of the
Gnostics.
The
circumstances and details about his death, like those of his birth and early
life in Asia Minor, are not at all clear.
Stories:
A group of Christians in Asia Minor had been
excommunicated by Pope Victor I because of their refusal to accept the
Western church’s date for celebrating Easter. Irenaeus, the “lover of peace”
as his name indicates, interceded with the pope to lift the ban, indicating
that this was not an essential matter and that these people were merely
following an old tradition, one that men such as Saint Polycarp (February 23)
and Pope Anicetus had not seen as divisive. The pope responded favorably and
the rift was healed. Some one hundred years later, the Western practice was
voluntarily adopted.
Comment:
A deep and genuine concern for other people will remind us that the discovery of truth is not to be a victory for some and a defeat for others. Unless all can claim a share in that victory, truth itself will continue to be rejected by the losers, because it will be regarded as inseparable from the yoke of defeat. And so, confrontation, controversy and the like might yield to a genuine united search for God's truth and how it can best be served.
Quote:
A group of Christians in Asia Minor had been excommunicated by Pope Victor I because of their refusal to accept the Western church's date for celebrating Easter. Irenaeus, the "lover of peace" as his name indicates, interceded with the pope to lift the ban. Irenaeus indicated that this was not an essential matter and that these people were merely following an old tradition, one that men such as Saint Polycarp (February 23) and Pope Anicetus had not seen as divisive. The pope responded favorably and the rift was healed. Some 100 years later, the Western practice was voluntarily adopted.
DIVINA
LECTIO: SACRED HEART OF MARY
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Lectio:
Saturday, June 28, 2014
1.
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, to be a living temple of your glory. We ask this,
through Christ our Lord ...
2.
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.
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.
3.
MEDITATION
* "Every year the feast of Passover." These words help us to better 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 on 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, according to
intuit what the Virgin Mary in this experience with his 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 make our journey that we go 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. Maybe it can help record
an 'attention, "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
also over, "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 that the Lord's
word calls us, not a physical journey, but spiritual search is a journey 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 to anazitéo vv.
44 and 45, indicating an accurate, repeated, careful, as some of those who
browse, from bottom to top and second to zite vv. 48 and 49,
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 'great to see how Mary opens her heart to Jesus,
telling him everything she saw, what she felt within herself. She is not afraid
to tell the truth to his Son, to tell him the feelings and experiences that
they felt in deep. But what is this anguish, this pain that you saw in Mary and
Joseph in search of Jesus, who went missing?
* "Kept all these sayings in her heart" Maria does not understand the words of
Jesus, the mystery of his life and his mission and for this silent, accepts,
makes space, keep in the 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,
a compound of the verb "keep" - dia - Tiree, which means literally
"keeping through". That is the spiritual operation that Mary carry
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 our
heart, all her feelings, her experiences. And there, in the secrecy of
ourselves, in our hearts, we can learn to find the Lord Jesus, that perhaps we
had lost.
4.
SOME QUESTIONS
* The Word of the Lord, in its simplicity, is also very clear,
very direct. An invitation to leave, to take part in the feast of Passover, is
also directed to me. Do I decide to get up and get moving, to face the stretch
of the road that Lord puts in front of me? And again, do I agree to join the
feast of those who have decided in their hearts on pilgrimage?
* do I feel like my experience of seeking the Lord? Or it does
not seem important? Do I miss it? do I think I can do myself? In my life, do I
ever realize that in my life be lost to the Lord? Have left him or forgotten.
* Anxiety, spoken of Mary, has ever been my journey of
companion, sad presence of the day, or longer in 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 helps me, gives me a light, a key for my life?
* The path of the heart, which Mary traces so clearly before me
now, do I seem to be viable? Do I want to engage in this challenge, with
myself, with my surroundings, perhaps even with those who live closest to me? I
am willing to choose to get a little 'deeper, to learn how to "keep
through", to go deep, with all my being? For me, the Lord and the
relationship with him are so important, so involved? And He is the precious
friend, the dearest Presence to which I want to open wide my heart? ...
5.
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.
He gives to the vower his vow,
and blesses the sleep of the just.
"For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
and he has set the world upon them.
1 Samule 2, 1-8
"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.
He gives to the vower his vow,
and blesses the sleep of the just.
"For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
and he has set the world upon them.
1 Samule 2, 1-8
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