May the Lord bless you with peace in the Holy Spirit.
It is 14th October 2023. The readings are from Joel 4:12-21; and the Gospel from Luke 11:27-28.
No one is exempted from God’s judgement.
On a day that is known to God alone, all of us, good and bad, holy, and sinful, the faithful and the ministers and all people must gather before God. God does not exclude anyone in judging is the theme prophet Joel teaches us in the first reading. “I will avenge their blood, and none go unpunished.” (Joel 4:21).
The Gospel hails Mother of Jesus who heard the Word of God and treasured it. Whenever we venerate Mother Mary, we are truly praising her Son Jesus.
In the same way, when a stranger who was fascinated and captivated by the preaching of Jesus spontaneous spelled the words of appreciation and praises for His Mother. By receiving the token of recognition for His Mother, Jesus praised her all the more telling that His mother heard the Word of God, treasured it, and gave life to it.
The message of annunciation, the words of the shepherds, the voice of the angels were deeply treasured in the heart of Mother Mary. She willingly received the Word and gave human figure and life that is Jesus. And that is the very reason for which, “all generation calling her blessed.” Our Christian missionary vocation calls for such deep listening to the Word of God that offers such respect and reverence.
Consuming the Word of God and get it digested is the contemplation and treasuring of it leads us to surrender ourselves to God like Mother Mary.
To experience the Eucharistic banquet meaningfully, one needs to eat the Word of God first. Our eating must take us to living the Word of God. It is our personal relationship and commitment to Christ. Our works must support our sincere and profound listening to the Word of God.
There is an urgent and serious need for integration of listening and action. Mary was duly and respectfully addressed as blessed by Jesus because of her belief and the unwaveringly unconditional fiat to the Lord.