Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church - Memorial

Book of Genesis

3,9-15.20.

The LORD God called to the Adam and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.

Psalms

87(86),1-2.3.5.6-7.

His foundation upon the holy mountains,
the LORD loves:
the gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
and of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
and he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
"This man was born there."
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
"My home is within you."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

19,25-34.

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.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."
There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

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St. Mother Orsola (Giulia) Ledóchowska (1865 - 1939)()

M. Orsola (Giulia) Ledóchowska Religious (1865-1939) "If only I knew how to love, to burn and consume oneself in love," so Giulia Ledóchowska wrote at 24. She then professed vows as a novice in the Ursuline convent of Krakow. She took the name "Maria Ursula of Jesus," and the words stated above became the guidelines of her entire life. In her mothers' family of Swiss nationality, from the dynasty of the Salis, and her father's Polish family, there were many politicians, military men and ecclesiastics who were involved in the history of Europe and the Church. She was raised in a large family where affectionate and disciplined love was dominant. The first three children, including M. Ursula, chose the consecrated life: Maria Teresa (beatified in 1975) founded the Society of S. Peter Claver, and the younger brother, Vladimiro, became the Father General of the Jesuits. M. Ursula lived in the convent at Krakow for twenty-one years. Her love for the Lord, educational talent and sensibility towards the needs of youngsters in the changing social, political and moral conditions of those times, put her at the center of attention. When women won the right to study in universities, she succeeded in organizing the first boarding-house in Poland for female students; where they not only found a safe place to live and study, but also received a solid religious preparation. This passion, together with the blessing of Pope Pio X, gave her the strength to move into the heart of Russia, which was hostile toward the Church. When, in civilian dress, she left with another Sister for Petersburg, where religious life was prohibited, she did not know that she was headed toward an unknown destination and that the Holy Spirit would lead her on unforeseen paths. In Petersburg, the Mother, with the steadily growing community of nuns, soon established an autonomous structure of the Ursulines. They lived discreetly, under constant surveillance by the secret police, and brought forward an intense educational and religious project that also encouraged friendship between Poles and Russians. When war broke out in 1914, M. Ursula had to leave Russia. She headed for Stockholm, and during her travels to Sweden, Denmark and Norway, her activity concentrated on education, the life of the local Church, giving aid to war victims and on ecumenical work. The house where she lived with her nuns became a point of reference for people of different political and religious orientations. Her strong love for country was equalled by her love of diversity and acceptance of others. Once asked to speak of her political orientation, she promptly answered, "My policy is love." In 1920, M. Ursula, her sisters and a vast number of orphan children of immigrants returned to Poland. The Apostolic Headquarters transformed its autonomous convent to the Ursulines of the Sacred Agonising Heart ofJesus. The spirituality of the congregation is concentrated on the contemplation of the salvific love of Christ and participation in His mission by means ofeducational projects and service to others, particularly to the suffering, the lonely and the abandoned. M. Ursula educated her sisters to love God above everything else and to find God in every human being and in all creation. By means of her smile and serenity of soul, she gave a particularly credible testimony to the personal bond with Christ and to being an efficient instrument of both evangelical and educational influence. Her humility and capacity to live the ordinary, everyday routine as a privileged road towards holiness made her a clear example of this lifestyle. The congregation developed quickly in Poland; and on the eastern frontiers of the country, communities of the Ursuline nuns were established. In 1928, the Generalate was established in Rome along with a boarding house for girls who were economically less well-off, in order to give them the possibility to come into contact with the spiritual and religious richness of the heart of the Church and Western Civilization. The Sisters began to work in the poor suburbs of Rome. In 1930, the nuns accompanied girls in search of work and established themselves in France. Wherever possible, M.Ursula founded educational and instructional work centers. She sent nuns to Catechise and to work in the poor parts of town. She wrote books and articles for children and youngsters. She initiated and sustained ecclesiastical organisations for children (Eucharistic Movement), for youngsters and for women. She actively participated in the life of the Church and State, thus receiving great acknowledgement and decorations from both the State and the Church. When she passed away in Rome on May 29, 1939, people said that she died a saint. Pope John Paul II beatified M. Ursula on June 20, 1983, in Poznan; and canonized her on May 18, 2003, in Rome.

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St. Raymond and companions()

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misalcatolico.com

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of may 2023