Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
June 12, 2021
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Lectionary: 364/573
Reading I
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) 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.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
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.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
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.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God
and pondered it in her heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
Reflection: A HEART THAT TREASURED EVERYTHING
It is most fitting that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated right after the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today's reading ends with a clear mention of "her heart", the heart that treasured everything of Jesus, particularly those things that only her heart could grasp. We must remember that at that time, only Mary and Joseph had the direct knowledge that Jesus was in “his Father's house"! No one else. In front of a 12-year old, who just insulted his parents in public, the mother could say nothing, except treasure his words as eminently true! His words were something like a slap on their face in case they had forgotten his true identity! It is also good to read this passage from point of view of the most ideal family that lived on earth. Here we have parents, who gave freedom to their son, come of age. He had his own independence and did not hang around always holding the apron strings of the mother. He stayed back in Jerusalem when they were walking back home. They had confidence in him. Here we have caring parents who, in pain and anxiety searched three days for him! When they find him, the man gives precedence to his wife in dealing with their errant son. And she mentions her husband first: "your father and I, were searching". We have a son, who loved his parents, but gave priority to God over his earthly family. His real family was that of the one residing in that temple. The parents did not accuse or punish the boy. Once the priorities were set right, he remains an obedient son, subject to their authority. For the parents these memories were not troublesome but become treasures of the heart! What an Immaculate Heart of Mary! And I would also add, what an Immaculate, Brave and Humble Heart of Joseph!