Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
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.” GN 3:9-15, 20
Today, the Church chooses the reading of the first “Good News” the Protoevangelium to celebrate Mary, as the Mother of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “410 After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (“first gospel”): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers.”
The Catechism goes on to say, “411 The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who, because he “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”, makes amends super abundantly for the disobedience, of Adam.305 Furthermore many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the “new Eve”. Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.306
We often say the Jesus is the “New Adam” and Mary is the “New Eve” or Second Eve. The “Good News” is that after Adam and Eve doubted God after knowing He willed their good perfectly all of the time. They allowed the Devil to trick them, God did not give up on humanity, but created a plan of salvation to show how much He loves us.
He went right to work to chase after us by creating a covenant with one nation, the Israelites, in which He would bring forth His only Son, Jesus, to die for us and bring forth a Church, Ecclesia, a calling out of the mud and muck of the world and into heaven where we can put God inside of us in the Holy Eucharist.
A Church with a community of baptized believers who are called to set the world on fire by dying to self (kill our ego), pick up our crosses (pain and suffering), and joyfully sacrifice. Through this example that Christ gave us in the flesh, when we fill ourselves up with His life (grace), He transforms us and others see Him in us.
Today’s first reading teaches us about a Father that is madly in love with His children and that He simply wants us to call Him Daddy and come running back to His open arms of love, mercy, forgiveness, justice, and His glory for all of eternity. Mary is the chosen instrument, conceived without Original Sin (Immaculate Conception), to bring God’s only Son into the world to redeem us, show us how to get back to the Father, and to share with us how much the Father loves us.
“Woman, behold, your son.” JN 19:25-34
The Gospel today then stems from the First reading with a focus on some of the Last Words Jesus spoke on earth. “Woman, behold your Son”. Notice He does not say Mary but Woman signifying the “New Eve” in Genesis. This Woman is further revealed in the book of Revelation with multiple references to Mary and the Church.
Jesus asks Mary to be the Spiritual Mother of the Church that He has brought forth with the Apostles, the sacraments, and the Ultimate Sacrifice. Mary had a very difficult life. She just witnessed many of her 7 Sorrows in her Son’s Passion for humanity. Now, God asks her to stay a little longer to do His Work. Mary does not immediately assume into heaven to be with Her Son in all of His Glory with the Father, but she stays and guides the early Church.
She fulfills her mission of being the Spiritual Mother of the Church with the Apostles until in that upper room Jesus breathes His Holy Spirit on them. Mary today stands firm at the right hand of Jesus and intercedes for us as our Spiritual Mother leading and guiding the catholic church with the Holy Spirit until Christ returns.
The practical implementation of all of this in our daily spiritual lives is we get to partake in this New Creation and Mary is the Spiritual Mother God chose through His plan, His Will to intercede for us. We have a Holy human being to intercede for us to the Almighty God. Our Original Sin is washed away at Baptism and we partake in the New Creation, even better than what Adam and Eve started with.
God brings even greater life and glory out of evil things. We partake in this New Creation each time we receive the Eucharist and go to confession filling ourselves with God Himself. This is the Good News that we are commissioned to go forth and tell the world as we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and Mary to intercede for us!!!!
Today’s challenge: Devote yourself to Mary by including her in part of your prayer time. Marian Devotions: Holy Rosary, The “Little Office” of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The LItany of Loreto, the Angelus, the Scapular, Consecration to Jesus through Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, 5 First Saturdays Devotion, Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Miraculous Metal, and Devotion to the 7 Sorrows
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YOLO
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