Bible Diary

Daily Reading

The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

LECTIONARY
573

FIRST READING

Is 61:9-11

Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

PSALM

103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

Response: The Lord is kind and merciful.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.

GOSPEL

Lk 2:41-51

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Daily Reflection

Today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is our way of honouring Mary as the person who was chosen to be the Mother of God, recognizing her extraordinary holiness and the immense love she bestowed on Jesus as his mother, the person who was called to co-operate in His redemptive suffering. The aim of this devotion is to unite humankind to God through Mary.

Luke’s Gospel, today, invites us to reflect on Mary’s pondering heart: she faced a number of situations that she did not understand. We are told explicitly this much at the Annunciation and in the episode narrated in today’s Gospel. Implicitly, we are told this when she hears Simeon’s prediction at the presentation in the temple, at Cana when Jesus says ‘this is none of our business’ and when, while waiting to meet Him, she hears Jesus say, ‘Who is my mother? Most of all, she must have known utter bewilderment at the foot of the Cross.

Mary’s steadfastness and single-heartedness were not based on external evidence, but on trust. The trust evidenced by her immaculate and undivided heart.