MOTHER BEHOLD YOUR SON
Introduction
“Two other events bring together Mary and the Church: the Incarnation and Mary’s Assumption into glory. At the Incarnation of the Word of God, Mary nurtured the Church at its beginnings, in her womb; the Mother of the Church she was when the Word of God took her flesh. From her Assumption, she accompanies the Church with maternal love; the Mother of the Church in glory, the destiny of the Church’s members.
She is the Mother of us who are the Church. Through the Church she leads us to Him and encourages us to live as His disciples. In our Church, as Blessed Mother, she holds pride of place. The month of May is a time of year in which she is especially honored. “May is Mary’s month.” So begins the poem MAY MAGNIFICAT by the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.” (cf. catholicstarherald.org)
Entrance Antiphon
The disciples devoted themselves with one accord to prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Opening Prayer
O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also; grant, we pray, that with her loving help, your Church may be more fruitful day by day, and exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading Genesis 3:9-15,20
After Adam had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to him and said. “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
(Alternative First reading Acts 1:12-14)
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7
R. Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!
Founded by him on the holy mountain, the LORD loves the gates of Sion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob. R.
Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!’ But of Sion it shall be said, ‘Each one was born in her.’” He, the Most High, established it. R.
In his register of peoples the LORD writes, “Here was this one born.” The singers cry out in chorus, “In you, all find their home.” R.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise, for from you arose the sun of justice, Christ our God. Alleluia!
Gospel John 19:25-34
At that time: 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 whom he loved standing near, 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 to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
Commentary
—On this special day, let us listen to the WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Mary accompanied Jesus’ entire life in prayer, right up to his death and resurrection; and in the end, she continued and she accompanied the first steps of the nascent Church. […] She is Jesus’ Mother who prayed with them, in the community, as a member of the community. She prayed with them and prayed for them. And, once again, her prayer preceded the future that was about to be fulfilled: by the work of the Holy Spirit she became the Mother of God, and by the work of the Holy Spirit she became the Mother of the Church. Praying with the nascent Church, she became the Mother of the Church, accompanying the disciples in the first steps of the Church in prayer, awaiting the Holy Spirit. (General Audience, 18 November 2020).
Intercessions
– For those in the Church who proclaim to us the wisdom of the Word of God, that they themselves may first live it and share their experience with us, we pray:
– For parents and educators, that they may challenge the young to live for things that matter; and for the young, that idealism and generosity may keep guiding their lives, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may be deeply aware that by the grace of God we have the strength to answer the invitation of the Lord, we pray:
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive our offerings, O Lord, and transform them into the mystery of salvation, so that by its power we may be set aflame with the charity of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and with her may be united more closely to the work of redemption. Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Communion Antiphon Cf. John 2:1,11
A wedding was held in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; then Jesus performed the first of his signs and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.
Prayer after Communion
Having received the pledge of redemption and of life we humbly pray, O Lord, that with the Blessed Virgin’s motherly help your Church may teach all nations by proclaiming the Gospel and, thanks to the outpouring of the Spirit, may fill the whole earth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
“Mother behold your son.” Those were among the last words of Jesus on earth. Mary is the Mother of the Church, of all of us, brother and sisters of Jesus. We are asked to behold her. Through her intercession, may we be counted among the true disciples of Jesus, with the blessing of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!