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| “Pietà” by Daniele Crespi, c. 1626 |
Readings for Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time [1]
(Note: The Gospel for this memorial is from the proper readings.)
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Reading 1: 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
to Timothy, my true child in faith:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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Commentary on 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14
St. Paul begins his First Letter to Timothy introducing himself as an apostle of Jesus. Present gratitude for the Christian apostleship leads Paul to recall an earlier time when he had been a fierce persecutor of the Christian communities (cf. Acts 26:9-11) until his conversion by intervention of divine mercy through the appearance of Jesus. This and his subsequent apostolic experience testify to the saving purpose of Jesus' incarnation.
“Through the graces he has received, the virtues of faith and love have been manifested in Paul. Faith and love are fundamental virtues characterizing the Christian. At times (as here and in Ephesians 3:17; Ephesians 6:23; Philemon 5), faith and love are mentioned alone; at other times, the virtue of hope is added (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 13:13)” [4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
R. (see 5) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
Psalm 16 is an individual hymn of praise. The psalmist prays that God will shield the faithful from harm and expresses confidence in the Lord’s salvation. The passage closes with praise for God’s loving mercy. This selection is structured to support the Pauline ideal of placing God first in the life of the faithful. Their greatest possession is being loved by God and loving God in return.
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The sequence Stabat Mater may follow.
SEQUENCE (OPTIONAL)
At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had passed.
Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.
Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that mother's pain untold?
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.
For the sins of his own nation
Saw him hang in desolation
Till his spirit forth he sent.
O sweet Mother! font of love,
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with yours accord.
Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.
Let me share with you his pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with you,
Mourning him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.
By the cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.
Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share your grief divine.
Let me to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of yours.
Wounded with his every wound,
Steep my soul till it has swooned
In his very Blood away.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In his awful judgment day.
Christ, when you shall call me hence,
Be your Mother my defense,
Be your cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally.
Amen. (Alleluia)
GOSPEL
First Option
John 19:25-27
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
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.
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Commentary on Jn 19:25-27
Here is Jesus’ last address to his mother. Although the address sounds unnecessarily formal ("Woman, behold, your son.") this would have been considered a polite address in biblical times. The reference, “Woman,” is possibly to Genesis 3:15 which describes the mother of the Messiah as the “woman” whose offspring conquers the devil (CCC 726, 2618) [5]. The Lord, nearing the end of his life, commends the care of his mother to the disciple whom he loved. It is presumed this is done because Jesus has no brothers or sisters, and his adoptive father, Joseph, has already died.
In this instance, while it can be assumed that the disciple referred to is St. John, the author of the Gospel, the tender consignment of the care of the Lord’s mother is seen as iconic. That is, she is given into the care of all of the disciples, whom Jesus loves. Seeing her son dying upon the cross is one of the seven sorrows the Blessed Mother endured in faith.
CCC: Jn 19:25-27 726, 2618; Jn 19:25 495; Jn 19:26-27 501, 964, 2605; Jn 19:27 2677, 2679
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OR
Second Option
Luke 2:33-35
Jesus' father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
"Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
and you yourself a sword will pierce
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
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Commentary on Lk 2:33-35
In this passage we hear the prediction of Simeon, a man, we are told earlier, who “was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel.” Simeon was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not pass away until he had seen the Messiah. He has declared that this promise has been fulfilled, and then turns to Mary and makes the prediction about the nature of Christ’s ministry, and the nature of the sorrow she will endure: “and you yourself a sword will pierce.” The sword indicates that Mary will have a share in her son’s sufferings. Hers will be an unspeakable pain which pierces her soul. Our Lord suffered on the cross for our sins, and it is those sins which forge the sword of Mary’s pain. [6]
CCC: Lk 2:32 713; Lk 2:34 575, 587; Lk 2:35 149, 618
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Reflection:
The strains of Stabat Mater capture a shadow of the pain and sorrow of the passing of the Jesus, the Son of Mary, true man and true God. With all our joy at the resurrection and the hope that flows from that salvific event, we sometimes forget the real human drama that overtook the young mother of Jesus, who was first in faith and first in love of him who came to save us.
The Blessed Mother has long been the icon of what it means to love unconditionally, without any reservation. She demonstrated that ability from our first scriptural encounter with her as she accepted, without hesitation, the honor that would belong to the vessel of God, and the sorrow promised by Simeon at the great passion of her son.
While tradition holds up for us the seven sorrows of Mary, any mother who has loved a child knows the constant anxiety that goes with watching a child grow to adulthood and beyond. St. Mary was no different. In fact, she is the exemplar for all mothers, the icon of love itself. So great was her love, that it continues to transform the world. From the very earliest of her apparitions to the children of God to the present, her love for Christ and her love for all of God’s creation bleed into our consciousness in her miraculous appearances. She is a constant reminder of God’s great love, a love that sacrifices a son, the Son of God and Son of Mary, for our salvation.
Today we carry on that long tradition, recalling the great sorrow borne by the Mother of Jesus the Christ. We lift up our own sufferings, and when we offer them for her intercession, our pain feels that much lifted. Thank you, Jesus, for choosing so great a mother for us.
Pax
[1] The picture today is “Pietà” by Daniele Crespi, c. 1626.
[2] S.S Commemoratio 441 / 639
[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.
[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 57-14 (Expanded notation and hyperlinks added.)
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 198.
[6] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.363.
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