Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      

Numbers 20:1-13

 

Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Matthew 16:13-23

 After that Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi.

He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of man is?”  They said, “For some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?”  Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Bar­jona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

 And now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.  From that day Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem; he would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

 Then Peter took him aside and began to reproach him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to you.”  But he turned and said, to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”

   

Gospel Reflection：

 Today, the Universal Church celebrates the dedication of Saint Mary Major, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, and the first basilica in the history of the church to be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin after the approval of the title of Mary as “theotokos” or God-bearer in the first council of Ephesus in 431 where the dogma of Mary's divine motherhood was proclaimed.

The gospel today is an appropriate reading for the feast that celebrates Mary's divine maternity. For Jesus asks his disciples who do people say that he is. Those who just know him from afar think that the title of prophet is already an honor worthy of his person. But those closest to him know otherwise. Peter proclaims him as the Messiah and the Son of the Living God.

Although Peter's understanding of Jesus' divine nature is still imperfect, it is one of the many tacit acknowledgments of Jesus' divinity. This the later church acknowledges when Mary is proclaimed the Mother of God. Her maternity is at a point in time, when God became flesh, and not in eternity.

Otherwise, this would make Mary like God. And so, the Universal Church acknowledges this singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin. This happens because of her son and not because of her.