Monday February 11, 2019
Introduction
On February 11, 1858, our Lady appeared at Lourdes to a simple girl, Bernadette Soubirous. Since then millions of pilgrims have flocked to this town and have experienced there a renewal of their faith and for some of their health. Pilgrimages are a sacred tradition for God’s pilgrim people; very many of these pilgrim journeys are to Marian sanctuaries, where many seek the restoration of their health and their faith. The greatest miracle of Lourdes lies perhaps not so much in its spectacular cures but in the atmosphere of the trusting prayer of the pilgrims and in the unity of faith of the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the Mother of Jesus was one with her Son
in the mystery of pain
when he saved people by his suffering,
his death and resurrection
Through her prayers help those
who journey to her sanctuaries
because their bodies are racked with pain
and their hearts are pierced with a sword.
Give them the courage of faith
to keep hoping in you,
our God for ever and ever.
Reading 1: Is 66:10-14c
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
Exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
That you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like
an overflowing torrent.
As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
and your bodies flourish like the grass;
The LORD's power shall be known to his servants.
Responsorial Psalm: Jdt 13:18bcde, 19
R. (15:9) You are the highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on earth;
and blessed be the LORD God,
the creator of heaven and earth.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Alleluia: See Lk 1:45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Jn 2:1-11
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,
"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
"Fill the jars with water."
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
(although they who had drawn the water knew),
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
"Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.
Intercessions:
– For those who restlessly seek to encounter God more deeply, that they may experience God’s nearness in prayer and in good people, we pray:
– For our Christian families, that husbands and wives may take Christ as their companion through life and show their children the way to the Lord, we pray:
– For the sick and all those who suffer, that in their suffering they may be aware that God knows and that Jesus is near to them, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may remain all throughout life pilgrims on the way to God and one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our compassionate God,
with these gifts of bread and wine
we come to the table of your Son
to express our faith and trust in you.
through the prayers of Mary.
May those who flock to her
find faith and health of mind and body,
strength in their weakness
and joy in your love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion (Thanks to Liturgical Team, Heeswijk)
God, our Father
in your kindness you hear the prayers
of all who entrust to you with faith
their cares and their needs.
We unite ourselves in prayer with her
whom you chose to be
the mother of your Son.
Let her prayers lead us nearer to him
who came to bring us home
in the kingdom of your justice
now and for ever and ever.
Blessing
When we go on life’s pilgrimage to our permanent land and home, we are sure to arrive safely if we journey with the faith and spirit of service of Mary, and we may count on the blessing of almighty God: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Commentary
Our modern information cultures tend to worship factual knowledge: we store and process mountains, or rather mountain ranges, of information. But as T.S. Eliot wrote: “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? / Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” The Gospels are primarily wisdom rather than information. Jesus is the “Logos” (a Greek word tat means Word, or Wisdom) of God. The healings he performed are not retold as a physician might write up his journal. When he “made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak” he was not just relieving distressing conditions; he was somehow opening the human spirit to God. Healing and speaking are not only for daily practical exchanges. They go all the way to the depth of a person, and to the depth of God. The ultimate deafness would be deafness to the Word of God whispering in our deepest being; the ultimate dumbness would be the inability to praise God. I could have perfect hearing and clarity of speech and still be deeply deaf and dumb.