MONDAY 1ST JUNE 2020
MONDAY AFTER PENTECOST SUNDAY
MEMORIAL OF MARY MOTHER OF THE
CHURCH; also, MEMORIAL OF ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR
Genesis 3:9-15,20, John 19:25-34
Apart from the celebrations that
concern the persons of the Blessed Trinity, no other celebration is as numerous
as that of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Liturgical calendar of the Church. At
the end of the Second Vatican Council in 1964, Pope Paul VI had declared Mary,
the mother of the Church. In the jubilee year of 1975, The Vatican also
produced a special votive mass under the title, Beata Maria Ecclesiae Matre,
which is Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church. It was finally in 2018, that Pope
Francis declared that a memorial of Mary Mother of the Church should be
celebrated on the day after Pentecost Sunday.
The role of Mary as Mother of the
Church is very evident throughout the scriptures. The first reading of today
from the book of Genesis, presents us
with the story of how Eve had failed us. Mary came and succeeded where Eve
failed and she accepted to be the mother of our saviour and redeemer.
The title of Mary the mother of
the church is very apt in the gospel reading. Shorly before he died on the
cross, Jesus was surrounded with some people especially women who were crying
at the foot of the cross. Jesus therefore called his mother, and handed her to
John who represented the Church since he was the only Apostles present there.
Jesus therefore told John to take care of his mother and told his mother to
take care of his Church.
Mary continued her motherhood of
the Church and showed it by following the Apostles to the Upper Room in Jerusalem
to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was this same Holy Spirit that worked in the life of Justin the Martyr,
a pagan philosopher who converted to christianity at the beginning of the
second century, and he was able to use his philosophical knowledge to teach the
Christian faith until he was killed. Mary also continued to make herself known
in the church as we have seen in many apparitions and devotions to her. She had
intervened in many world devastating plagues, wars and disasters and has
protected the church from many impurities and infirmities. As we enter the
ordinary season of the Liturgical calendar of the Church, we commend the church
and our lives to the protective arm of our Mother, especially at this trying
time of Covid-19 pandemic. We ask for her intercession. May we truly experience
her maternal love and protection in our lives.
Mary, Mother of the Church, Pray for us.
As we enter a new season in the
Church and a new month, I pray that God will make you experience something positively
new in your life. Amen .
Happy new month
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP
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