Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15, 20

After Adam had eaten of the tree,
    the LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
    but I was afraid, because I was naked,
    so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
    from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—
    she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
    “Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
    from all the animals
    and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl,
    and dirt shall you eat
    all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
    while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
    because she became the mother of all the living.

Or

Acts 1:12-14
After Jesus had been taken up to heaven,
    the Apostles returned to Jerusalem
    from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
    a sabbath day’s journey away.

When they entered the city
    they went to the upper room where they were staying,
    Peter and John and James and Andrew,
    Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
    James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
    and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
    together with some women,
    and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

 

Responsorial Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7

R. (3) Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.
His foundation upon the holy mountains
    the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
    more than any dwelling of Jacob.
R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.
Glorious things are said of you,
    O city of God!
And of Zion they shall say:
    “One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
    is the Most High LORD.”
R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
    “This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
    “My home is within you.”
R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O happy Virgin, you gave birth to the Lord;
O blessed mother of the Church,
you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 19:25-34

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
    and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
    and Mary of 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.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
    in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
    Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
    and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
    “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
    in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
    for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
    the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
    and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
    and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
    they did not break his legs,
    but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
    and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Peace Amid the Storm

Have you ever passed through times in your life where there was so much going on that your head just seemed to spin? Endless thoughts, headaches, trouble sleeping… Patience with the kiddos flies right out the window and you can see yourself getting more frazzled as the days go by.

I am right in the whirlwind as we speak, my friends. We are in the midst of trying to super-speed our remodeling projects so we can rent out our current residence while simultaneously working from home and trying to finish out the school year. Throw house hunting into the mix and WA-LA complete madness!

It is hard to stop the constant thoughts that bombard me and be still. So often throughout the day I just have to stop and take a deep breath. I have to remember to hug and kiss my little ones instead of letting harsh words fly due to my own state of mind. I have to start a tickle war instead of arguing senselessly with a three-year-old.

The one thing that has helped me through it all is my nightly rosary. After the kids go to bed and my husband jumps in the shower, I sit down in my comfy chair and gaze at one of my favorite images of my mommy, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The rhythm of the beads almost puts me to sleep most nights, but I find my soul is calm once again.

I find it interesting that we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church today, June 1st when we have just spent a whole month dedicated to her. We just can’t get enough of Our Lady! She is the great transformer of hearts, the one who turns us back to her Son over and over again.

And as May turns into June and spring into summer, I hope my heart turns toward the Sacred Heart as well. I hope to emulate the Apostles in today’s alternate First Reading who “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer”.

So let’s start right now. I leave you with the traditional Irish blessing. May is still your souls when whirlwinds come and allow you to rest in Him.

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And rains fall softly upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

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Tami grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling home improvement projects, finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for almost 20 years.