“She received Christ in order to share him with all the world, whose hope he is.” (Const. 10)
May 23, 2022
Hymn:
“God Sends me to preach the Good News to the Poor” or similar.
Introduction:
Mary, impelled by charity, ran through the hills to assist her kinswoman, Elizabeth. She evokes a sense of mission, of responding to urgent needs, even with the surprise of her own situation. She forgets herself and reaches out.
Scripture reading:
From the Gospel of St. Luke 1:39-45
A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honoured, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
Meditation
“As mother of all, [Mary] is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love. Through her many titles, often linked to her shrines, Mary shares the history of each people which has received the Gospel and she becomes a part of their historic identity.” (Evangelii Gaudium, No. 286)
Moment of silence
Spontaneous Prayers and Intentions
Concluding Prayer:
Mary Immaculate, we give thanks for your smile upon St. Eugene. You confirmed his missionary project as an apostolic body in the Church that would generate abundant fruit for the mission of God and become a community of holiness. We come before you today and ask your smile to bless our vocational efforts. Help us to create apostolic communities of joy, with a fraternal spirit that will attract young people to join us. Give us an authentic spirit of prayer that witnesses to the truth that God is all for us. As we persevere in prayer for vocations, help us to have the courage to invite young people to join our way of life. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, the Lord of the harvest. Amen.
