In the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, she shared about the mysterious bodily pains she had, which no medicines could relieve. Saint Faustina, who was a victim soul, was allowed by Jesus to suffer such violent pains of abortion “in order to offer reparation to God for the souls murdered in the wombs of wicked mothers” (Diary, entry 1276). Though we may not be called to experience physical suffering on behalf of the world’s sins, we are all called to pray for mercy for our sins and the sins of the world.

The overturning of the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion in the U.S. is proof of our prayers. That put a stop to the more than 60 million abortions that have taken place in the U.S. alone.

Let’s continue to defend life and offer prayers and spiritual sacrifices to protect the lives of innocent children. Let’s also say a prayer of thanks today for our own dear mothers who allowed us to live.

Marjorie Duterte (writersretreatph@gmail.com)

reflect

“For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13, 16)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

First Reading | Zechariah 2:14-17 (or Revelation 11:191; 12:1-6, 10) 

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mary’s apparition in Mexico in the 16th century that led to the conversion of the Mexican people. The Catholic Church has had a troubled history in Mexico and its relations with the political powers. Today, let us pray for the Mexican Catholic Church, that it would become a witness to the truth and love of God to its people, the Americans, and the world. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for the Mexican people.

¹⁴ Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. ¹⁵ Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁶ The Lord will possess Judah as his portion of the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling. 

Responsorial Psalm | Judith 13:18-19 

R: You are the highest honor of our race.

¹⁸ 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) ¹⁹ Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God. (R)

Gospel | Luke 1:26-38 (or Luke 1:39-47)

Why are we so contrary at times? It must be frustrating for God to deal with the “yes” and “no” of His people. Let us get off the roller-coaster faith of living by our feelings. May we realize that faith is a deliberate decision to follow Jesus and become His true disciples. Let us emulate Mary in her simple, faith-filled response to God’s call.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.

²⁶ The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, ³³ and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” ³⁵ And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Read the Bible in one year! Read PROVERBS 28 - 31 today.

We Are Heirs of the Kingdom

Athanasius, one of the Fathers of the Church, proclaimed, “Christ became who we are, that we might become who He is!” This is one of the most profound truths of Christianity. Jesus became Man so that man may have the opportunity to share in the life of God. This is the mystery of the Incarnation—God’s Incarnation is the passageway to man’s divinization.

This is the good news that the Lady, who appeared to Juan Diego, revealed.

This is the good news that the image miraculously imbedded in Juan Diego’s cloak proclaimed. It depicted the image of Our Lady, dressed as a native Aztec princess and wearing a black belt—a symbol of a woman pregnant with child. Pilgrims visit the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico to pray in front of the tilma, the cloth bearing Mary’s image. When we contemplate the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we are contemplating the Child that Mary bears in her womb.

There was once a story about a little girl who studied the symbols used in arithmetic: plus sign, minus sign, and many more. One sunny day, she accompanied her father to a nearby church. At the church’s door, the little girl quickly asked her father, “What is that big plus sign doing in front of the altar?”

The father told the little girl, “My daughter, that is not a plus sign. That is the cross where our Lord Jesus Christ died to save us!”

In a way, the little girl was correct in saying that the cross is a plus sign. The cross as a plus sign pictured our redemption because through it, a big plus had been added into our life—something we could not have accomplished by our own power nor have gained apart from Mary’s receptivity to God’s invitation. Had it not been through the cross of Christ, man would have remained alienated from God, from fullness of life. 

Fr. Joel Jason

Reflection question

When you bless yourself with the sign of the cross, do you do it with conscious reverence and gratitude?

Jesus, by Your birth, You made us coheirs in the Kingdom of the Father. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________