Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the 8th week in ordinary time, May 25th, 2026, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Delivered by Kimmy from the Parish of Good Shepherd in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Genesis 3: 9-15.20; Rs psalm 87: 1-2.3.5.6-7; John 19: 25-34. THE GIFT OF A MOTHER The theme for our meditation today is: The Gift of aMother. On one occasion of the Sunday Mass which coincided with "Father's Day", the priest whopresided the Holy Eucharist invited all the fathers present to come near thealtar. They were prayed over and blessed by the priest before the closing ofthe Mass with blessing for all the faithful. At that time there were threefathers crying emotionally and were seen by the priest who was praying overthem. The priest met them outside the church after the Mass.They one by one were asked why they cried with emotion when they were in frontof the priest. They all answered that their wives forced them to go in frontwith different threats. If they did not want to go for the blessing from thepriest, sanctions will be given without mercy. One was threatened not to enterthe house after returning from the Mass. Another was threatened that the wifewould not accompany him if he invited her for a walk together. Another one wasthreatened that his favorite food will not be cooked and served. These threats are really serious. A wife and a motheris the key to the home, the food and the relationship. If these three elementsare removed, how will it be with a husband and a father, even with our reallife! The three fathers who cried should not be understood in the sense thatthey have fierce wives, but in fact they are very sad and distressful to losethe elements of life that their wives carry and live out. It is sure that thesewives or these women indeed represent God's goodness and love to fight allforms of evil that tend to destroy life. We are happy to celebrate this memorial of Our Lady asMother of the Church, which is a celebration to honor and glorify the role ofMotherhood for the whole Church. In principle, the Church is called a motherwith the most obvious reason, namely because Mary is entrusted by her own Son,Jesus Christ who is the head of the Church, as the mother of the Church. Jesusstated that directly and personally when He hung on the cross and would soondie. He said to a disciple whom He loved: "This is your mother"! The church as a mother has the all-importantresponsibility to protect and direct each of her members to the path ofsalvation. Mary certainly cooperates with Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church,to make the Church and all her members live in strong faith, love and hope. Asmother, Mary animates the whole Church along this way. Although the threat ofdemons and enemies never ceases to harm and destroy the Church, the mother ofthe Church has the strength to defend the Church and fight against her opponents.The resistance against the Church never stops as long as this earth is stillspinning, as it is reflected in the today's first reading. Let'spray. In the name of the Father... O most loving God, may Our Lady always bewith us in all our difficulties, especially in times of trouble and the threatfrom the deadly enemies. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father...