Daily Gospel Reflection for October 9, 2021

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Cynthia Brewer

Today's Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Mothers know the blessing of being pregnant and then nursing their child, but imagine raising the Son of God!
However, Jesus puts no weight on the woman’s praise, for He teaches that there is something greater than earthly things, even greater than being physically related to Jesus.

This is not a negative statement about Mary, for by her “Yes” to God to bring about His salvation through Christ’s birth, Mary “heard the word and observed it!” For that reason, Mary is truly blessed and merits praise!

God chose this humble maidservant to be the giver of all of God’s graces, beginning with the gift of His Son.

She is the Morning Star that appeared before the true sun—the Son of God; she interceded for the newlyweds even when Jesus believed it was not yet His time (John 2:1-12); and she became Our Mother at the Cross (John 19:26-27).
Because of her position, the Church states that all spiritual goods are dispensed to the Mystical Body of Christ through His Mother.

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) stated in a sermon on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “The Head of the Catholic Church is Jesus Christ, and Mary is the neck which joins the Head to its Body…all the gifts and all the graces which proceed from Christ as the Head should pass through Mary to the Body of the Church…” (Sermon 42).

The Church knows and teaches that "all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on mankind originate...from the divine pleasure. They flow forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rest on his mediation, depend entirely on it, and draw all their power from it. In no way do they impede the immediate union of the faithful with Christ. Rather, they foster this union" (Dei Verbum, 5).

Ponder:

In what ways have I imitated Mary by hearing the word of God and observing it?

Pray:

Jesus, I'll never love Mary as you do, but please help me to love her more and realize that the teaching “To Jesus through Mary” is orthodox and biblically sound.

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Copyright 2021 Cynthia Brewer

Through a miscarriage, Cynthia Brewer and her husband have one child waiting for them in heaven. Cynthia was the editor of The Catholic Lighthouse, the newspaper of the Diocese of Victoria in Texas, for 13 years and has written two prayer journal manuscripts, one on the Eucharist and the other on mercy. Please follower her at CynthiaLoveBrewer.com