Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
It memorates her virtues and perfections, her love for God and her Divine Son and her compassionate love for mankind.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Isaiah 61:9-11

 Their descendants shall be known

Among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race Yahweh has blessed. I rejoice greatly in Yahweh, my soul exults for joy in my God, for he has clothed me in the garments of his salvation, he has covered me with the robe of his righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels.

 For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord Yahweh make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.

 

1 S2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8

My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

 

  ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Luke 2:41-51

 Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary.  And when Jesus was twelve years old, he went up with them according to the custom for this feast.  After the festival was over, they re­turned, but the boy Jesus remained in Je­rusalem and his parents did not know it.

They thought he was in the company and after walking the whole day they looked for him among their relatives and friends.  As they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for him,   and on the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.  And all the people were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

 His parents were very surprised when they saw him and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for you.”   Then he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”   But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and he continued to be subject to them. As for his mother, she kept all these things in her heart.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Heart of a Mother

In February 2019,two events took place simultaneously in Rome. One was a meeting at the Vatican on the “Protection of Minors in the Church.” The other was a conference, “The Revolution of Tenderness: The Heart of Mary”, organized by three religious congregations who were Marian in their charisms.

 

A touching observation was made at the conference that it was no coincidence that these two events were happening together: The only solution to the evil of child abuse is to have the tender heart of a mother, of the Mother.

At the Protection of Minors meeting, journalist Valentina Alazraki observed that a mother’s heart would always bleed for the weakest children and protect them at any cost. The role of the Church, and by extension, of every member of the Church, is to be such a mother to the “weakest children” of the world: the poor, the sick, the needy, the victims. There is no better model to imitate than the Heart of Mother Mary.