Behold, your mother

“THE Church is feminine, because it is ‘church’ and ‘bride’ [both grammatically feminine]: It is feminine. And she is mother; she gives life. Bride and Mother. And the Fathers go further and say that even your soul is the bride of Christ and mother. And it is with this attitude that comes from Mary, who is Mother of the Church, with this attitude we can understand this feminine dimension of the Church, which, when it is not there, the Church loses its identity and becomes a charitable organization or a football team, or whatever, but not the Church.

“The important thing is that the Church be a woman, that has this attitude of a bride and of a mother. When we forget this, it is a masculine Church. Without this dimension, it sadly becomes a church of old bachelors, who live in this isolation, incapable of love, incapable of fecundity. Without the woman, the Church does not advance — because she is a woman. And this attitude of woman comes from Mary, because Jesus willed it so.

“A Church that is a mother goes along the path of tenderness. It knows the language of such wisdom of caresses, of silence, of the gaze that knows compassion, that knows silence. It is, too, a soul, a person who

lives out this way of being a member of the Church, knowing that he or she is [like] a mother [and] must go along the same path: A person [who is] gentle, tender, smiling, full of love” (Pope Francis, May 21, 2018).

Gospel • JOHN 19:25-34

Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple there whom He loved, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your Son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into His home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He handed over the spirit…