12. The Blessed Virgin Mary at the Foot of the Cross

FIRST READING

A     You have averted our ruin before our God.

Judith 13:17-20
      
All the people were greatly astonished.
  They bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one accord,
     "Blessed are you, our God,
     who today have brought to naught the enemies of your people."
  Then Uzziah said to her:
     "Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
     above all the women on earth;
     and blessed be the LORD God,
     the creator of heaven and earth,
     who guided your blow at the head of the chief of our enemies.
  Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
     by those who tell of the might of God.
  May God make this redound to your everlasting honor,
     rewarding you with blessings,
     because you risked your life
     when your people were being oppressed,
     and you averted our disaster,
     walking uprightly before our God."
  And all the people answered, "Amen! Amen!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Judith 13:17-20

This short hymn of praise from Judith (who at the time of its writing represented the faithful people) is predictive of the blessed role Mary will play in human salvation. In the story immediately preceding these verses Judith offers to sacrifice herself for salvation of the people and is here found praiseworthy for her willingness to do so.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B Or Appendix no. I,1

     You have not withheld your only son.

Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he replied.

Then God said:

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you."

When Abraham and Isaac came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Next he tied up his son Isaac,

and put him on top of the wood on the altar.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,

"Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.

"Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God,

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about,

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram

and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,

that because you acted as you did

in not withholding from me your beloved son,

I will bless you abundantly

and make your descendants as countless

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;

your descendants shall take possession

of the gates of their enemies,

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth

shall find blessing—

all this because you obeyed my command."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Gn 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18

In this passage Abraham is put to the test. He is to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust – an offering completely burnt on the altar. Abraham, though reluctant, is faithful to God and follows his instructions. At the last moment, when God is sure that Abraham has greater love for God than even his beloved son Isaac, he stops Abraham and “blesses him abundantly,” making him the father of nations.

This example demonstrates that God expects those faithful to him to place love and obedience to him above all other worldly interests and loves. In return, those, like Abraham, who demonstrate that God is their first priority, will be blessed as only God can bless.

 

CCC: Gen 22:11 332; Gen 22:17-19 706
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Or Appendix no. II, 16

Hebrews 5:7-9

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,

he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears

to the one who was able to save him from death,

and he was heard because of his reverence.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;

and when he was made perfect,

he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Heb 5:7-9

This is an important passage from the standpoint of understanding the call to ministry, especially the priesthood. In an extended form, it is frequently used at ordinations and provides an understanding of what it means to be called to a vocation. This selection continues with Christ’s own call. The author does an excellent job of capturing Christ’s humanity in this description.

"To emphasize the force of Christ's prayer, the writer adds, 'with loud cries and tears'. According to rabbinical teaching, there were three degrees of prayer, each stronger than the last--supplications, cries and tears. Christian tradition has always been touched by the humanity of the Redeemer as revealed in the way he prays. 'Everything that is being said here may be summed up in one word--humility: that stops the mouths of those who blaspheme against Christ's divinity saying that it is completely inappropriate for a God to act like this. For, on the contrary, the Godhead laid it down that [Christ's] human nature should suffer all this, in order to show us the extreme to which he truly became incarnate and assumed a human nature, and to show us that the mystery of salvation was accomplished in a real and not an apparent or fictitious manner' (Theodoret of Cyrus, 'lnterpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad loc.')." [2]

 

CCC: Heb 5:1-10 1564; Heb 5:7-9 609, 2606; Heb 5:7-8 612, 1009; Heb 5:7 2741; Heb 5:8 2825; Heb 5:9 617

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Psalm 145:1-2, 4-6, 8-9

R. (9b) The Lord is merciful to every creature.

I will extol you, my God and king;
I will bless your name forever.
Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever.
R. The Lord is merciful to every creature.

One generation praises your deeds to the next
and proclaims your mighty works.
They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
tell of your wonderful deeds.
They speak of your fearsome power,  
and attest to your great deeds.    
R. The Lord is merciful to every creature

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in love.
The LORD is good to all,
compassionate to every creature,
R. The Lord is merciful to every creature.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Ps 145:1-2, 4-6, 8-9

Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise. These strophes (because it is in the acrostic form – each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet) although loosely assembled, praise God for his mercy and compassion and give thanks for His creation and redemption. The psalmist sings praise to God for all he has given to his people in this world and in his heavenly kingdom as well.

CCC: Ps 145:9 295, 342

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOSPEL

     There by the cross of Jesus stood his mother.

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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)[1]. 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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. pp. 198
[2] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp 18