Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - 14.5.06 Acts 9,26-31; 1 Jn 3,18-24; Jn 15,1-8 Mother’s thoughts feelings & prayers A Mothers’ Day Wish:
Today, we take time to experience & express gratitude & love towards the
one who formed us in the womb, brought us into this world, nurtured us into
mature life, has truly loved us & -come what may- will always love us. Happy
Mother’s Day! Mum, we pray for you! In a way, each day is Mother’s Day,
because they are always there, caring & loving us right-though our life...
& this includes those who take on the role of mothers also. Our mums have
formed us in the womb - have communicated into us the very life-blood that
sustains us, & constantly pour themselves out so we can have life in
abundance & be truly happy. Their greatest joy is to see us succeed - to do
well in life & find the happiness they wish for us. Today, we pray for
mothers & motherers - We thank God for giving them unconditional
mothering gifts... Thank you Lord, for their ability to share life - love - joy
- pain - & hurts. Thank you Lord, for their amazing capacity to comfort - to
forgive - to have compassion - to have patience. Simply, thank you Lord, for
Mum, who is there for us.... all the time.
Today, we thank all our MUMS, as we say to them: MUM, we love You - may
God bless you - may you be full of joy!... As we are at Mass, it feels good to
discover that God -as a Trinity of Father Son & Holy Spirit- is very
‘mother-like & motherly in his tender love, & creative energy towards
us. The Bible contains many passages that are written in a language that depicts
God in a wonderfully feminine mind-set. And indeed, truly fortunate are we in
the knowledge that God is full of tenderness & affection, and that he loves
us with a mother’s love. Mother’s affection in God.
The fact that God loves each of us with a mother’s affection is affirmed many
times in the Bible. For example,: Psalm 21,10 reads: ‘It was you, Lord, who
took me from my mother’s womb, & entrusted me to my mother’s breast. To
You, I was committed from by birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my
God’... Where-as Psalm 138 prays: ‘Lord, You search me... you know me
through & through - & this is too wonderful for me! Yes, it was you who
created my being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb - I thank you for
the wonder of my being - to understand this, I would have to be eternal like
you. The Book of Isaiah (42-53) contains the famous statement: ‘Do
not be afraid, I am with you, I am Yahweh who made you - who formed you in the
womb - who is your help... I have called you by your name you are mine!...
people were crying that the Lord has abandoned us: Now listen: does a woman
forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the child of her womb? Yet,
even if she forgets, I will never forget you. See: I have branded you on the
palms of my hands’. On Mother’s Day, it feels good to cherish such amazing
thoughts, where we discover God’s affectionate language - his wonderfully
feminine heart - his motherly unconditional love. Even the Gospel of today comes
from a strongly feminine mind-set. Jesus likens himself to a vine, which gives
life to the branches, & enables them to bear fruit. Detachment from the vine
means death (‘for cut off from me you perish!’), whereas union with Christ
results in more abundant life and in many fruits of good works. This passage
also radiates feminine vibes: The ‘vine’ is a feminine term that links with
the gift of life. Beautifully Psalm 127 comments: ‘Blessed are you who fear
the Lord & walk in God’s ways... your wife is like a fruitful vine in the
heart of your house, your children like shoots of the olive around your table...
Today, Mother’s Day, we all feel blessed in God’s motherly love. ______________________________________ |
