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| “Our Lady of Fatima” artist and date are unknown |
Readings
and Commentary:[2]
Below
are the readings suggested for today's Memorial. However, readings for the
Memorial may also be taken from the Common
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, #707-712.
Reading
1:
Isaiah 61:9-11
Thus
says the LORD:
Their
descendants shall be renowned among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
All
who see them shall acknowledge them
as a race the LORD has blessed.
I
rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he
has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a
bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the
earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So
will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
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Commentary on Is 61:9-11
This selection provides the last
verses of “Glad Tidings to the Lowly,” one of the songs of those
returning from exile. Jesus quoted from the first part of this song (not
included) when he announced the messianic kingdom had come (Luke 4:18-19). In these
verses, the prophet sees the New Jerusalem coming forth as a light upon the
world, bring salvation to the people and glory to God.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
R.
(11) Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or:
R. The
bridegroom is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
Hear,
O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father's house.
So
shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, and you must worship
him.
R.
Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or:
R. The
bridegroom is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
All
glorious is the king's daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered
apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are
brought to you.
R.
Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or:
R. The
bridegroom is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
They
are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The
place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the
land.
R.
Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
or:
R. The
bridegroom is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
Alleluia
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Commentary on Ps 45:11-12, 14-15,
16-17
Psalm 45 is a royal psalm
originally sung in honor of the king’s marriage to a queen (of foreign
extraction). It is likely that it influenced St. Paul’s instructions on virgins
and marriage. It emphasizes the beauty of the sacramental relationship
(see 1
Corinthians 7:25-35).
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Gospel: Luke 11:27-28
While
Jesus was speaking,
a
woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
"Blessed
is the womb that carried you
and
the breasts at which you nursed."
He
replied, "Rather, blessed are those
who
hear the word of God and observe it."
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Commentary on Lk 11:27-28
This short saying of Jesus is not a
contradiction of the woman who blesses Mother Mary; rather it is an assertion
by the Lord that the message is more important, in his eyes, than that
biological relationship. Mary is more blessed because she heard “the word of
God” (see also Luke
1:28-29 and Luke 1:42-45). This
passage is consistent in meaning with Luke 8:19-21.
"In the course of her Son's
preaching she [Mary] received the words whereby, in extolling a Kingdom beyond
the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, he declared blessed those who heard
and kept the word of God (cf. Mark 3:35; Luke 11:27-28) as she
was faithfully doing (cf. Luke 2:19, 51)"
(Lumen gentium, 58)". [3]
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Reflection:
The
three children to whom our Blessed Mother appeared were simple peasant children
who did not understand what they were seeing initially. Why they were chosen is a mystery. It seems the Lord always picks humble people
to do spectacular things. It would have
been so much easier for St. Mary to pick an influential person who would have
instant credibility to whom she would present herself. But then, the same can be said of Juan Diego in
Mexico. Even the Lord’s disciples were
simple fishermen or tax collectors, not people of high rank and authority.
There is
a lesson here that echoes the passage from St. Luke. When the Lord’s earthly mother is praised, he
points out that those who hear and observe God’s law are blessed. He does not hold up his mother, knowing she
is “full of grace.” Rather he points to
the average person who has faith, like Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta.
The real
miracle of Fatima was not so much the “miracle of the sun” as the fact that the
simple faith of three children should touch millions and bring countless miracles
of faith to pass. It is this example that
should give us courage and hope.
On
this feast day, we pray for the intercession of Mother Mary, may she give us
the strength and courage of the children of Fatima, that we too might be examples
of faith to inspire others and bring peace to a troubled world.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Our Lady of Fatima”
artist and date are unknown.
[2] The readings are taken from the New
American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[3] The Navarre Bible, Gospels
and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 431.
