Spiritual Life of the Last

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to live with holiness and mutual love when it is often the last practice when blinded by the prosperity myth.

As the Last will be First

The Reading from the First Letter of Peter proclaims the call of God’s people to holiness and to mutual love.

* [1:10–12] The Spirit of Christ (1 Pt 1:11) is here shown to have been present in the prophets, moving them to search, investigate, and prophesy about the grace of salvation that was to come (1 Pt 1:10), and in the apostles impelling them to preach the fulfillment of salvation in the message of Christ’s sufferings and glory (1 Pt 1:12).

* [1:13–25] These verses are concerned with the call of God’s people to holiness and to mutual love by reason of their redemption through the blood of Christ (1 Pt 1:18–21).

* [1:13] Gird up the loins of your mind: a figure reminiscent of the rite of Passover when the Israelites were in flight from their oppressors (Ex 12:11), and also suggesting the vigilance of the Christian people in expectation of the parousia of Christ (Lk 12:35).

* [1:14–16] The ignorance here referred to (1 Pt 1:14) was their former lack of knowledge of God, leading inevitably to godless conduct. Holiness (1 Pt 1:15–16), on the contrary, is the result of their call to the knowledge and love of God. (1 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 98 extolls God for Israel’s victory

* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9). (Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus presents the priorities of the “first”.

Mark 10.31 But many that are first will be last, and [the] last will be first.”  (Mark, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. George Meze, SJ, reflects on the words of Jesus: “There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more.”

Does not spiritual freedom come by surrendering our need to control our situations? Perhaps a good example is the act of forgiveness. There are people who suffer not because they have done wrong, but because they have been wronged, and they find it extremely difficult to forgive. In most cases, while it is easy to be forgiven, forgiving others is rather difficult. However, the grace to forgive brings great peace and frees us from bitterness. Peace is a hundredfold better than the false sweetness of revenge.

The reality of following Christ is always filled with abundance, even in seemingly hopeless situations. There is always more to receive in our giving: A hundredfold profit by investing ourselves in Christ. (Meze, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:28-31 notes the reaction to Jesus’ words about how hard it can be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.  Peter told Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you” (Mark 10:28). You can hear him asking himself, “What’s the use? We’re just poor fishermen; will we receive anything in return for following Jesus?”

Jesus’ response is as clear as it is amazing: they will receive “a hundred times more” in this life (Mark 10:30). God will bless them all overabundantly for everything they have given up.

If you make these offerings, big or small, Jesus will take them and use them to build his Church. You can’t multiply them by yourself, but he can. As you unite your acts of generosity and selflessness with the Lord, they will reach much further than they ever could without him. They will change hearts, heal wounds, and restore dignity. You may not always see the results, but you can trust that Jesus is ready to do great things through you!

“Lord, I offer all my actions, words, and thoughts to you today. Help me to do your will!” (Meditation on Mark 10:28-31, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the reading from 1 Peter speaks of the prophets who had foretold Jesus was part of God’s plan. The people now too should live a life of obedience seeking to be “Holy as God is Holy”  We are consecrated to the things of God. The reward concerns Peter, and Friar Jude cautions about adopting a Gospel of Prosperity as this is not what Jesus means. Friar Jude proclaims they will be living proudly as joyful people who celebrate everything like Francis of Assisi. We will live profoundly in our joys and sorrows by living with Jesus.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Feminist theologian Rebecca Button Pritchard who describes how the Spirit accompanies our embodiment. Recognizing how the Spirit lives, moves, and breathes in our bodies allows us to live a wholehearted, courageous faith:

True spirituality, embodied spirituality, may be described as wholeheartedness, as the integration of body and spirit, of nephesh and basar, of heart and soul. It is with this wholeheartedness that we hear and follow God’s voice; it is wholeheartedly that we find the words to cry out to God, to sing praise, to speak a prophetic word, a comforting word, to tell our stories, and to make sense of all our relationships. 

Wholehearted spirituality in the freedom of the Spirit gives us courage, courage to bear witness to God’s grace against all odds, courage to speak despite efforts to silence us, courage to act authentically and in ways that encourage and empower the weak and the vulnerable. The Spirit gives us the wisdom to discern truthful moments, to bring both suspicion and trust to the interpretation of both past and present. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the insight of the Spirit as we apply Jesus' proclamation of reversal of fortune in our action to support the lives of the “last” in our societal priorities.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/10?28 

Meditation on Mark 10:28-31. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/26/1578480/ 

Meze, G. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-26-2026 

1 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/1?10 

Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 26, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-spirit-given-voice/ 

Mother for His Mission

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, share the tradition and connection of Mary to care for the Church.

St Mary's Bascilica 

The reading from the Book of Genesis presents the enmity between the snake and the woman.

* [3:14] Each of the three punishments (the snake, the woman, the man) has a double aspect, one affecting the individual and the other affecting a basic relationship. The snake previously stood upright, enjoyed a reputation for being shrewder than other creatures, and could converse with human beings as in vv. 1–5. It must now move on its belly, is more cursed than any creature, and inspires revulsion in human beings (v. 15).

* [3:15] They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent.

* [3:20] The man gives his wife a more specific name than “woman” (2:23). The Hebrew name hawwa (“Eve”) is related to the Hebrew word hay (“living”); “mother of all the living” points forward to the next episode involving her sons Cain and Abel. (Genesis, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Alternate Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents The First Community in Jerusalem.

* [1:1–26] This introductory material (Acts 1:1–2) connects Acts with the Gospel of Luke, shows that the apostles were instructed by the risen Jesus (Acts 1:3–5), points out that the parousia or second coming in glory of Jesus will occur as certainly as his ascension occurred (Acts 1:6–11), and lists the members of the Twelve, stressing their role as a body of divinely mandated witnesses to his life, teaching, and resurrection (Acts 1:12–26). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 87 is A song of Zion, like Ps 46; 48; 76; 132.

* [87:2] The gates: the city itself, a common Hebrew idiom.

* [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities. (Psalms, CHAPTER 87 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents the symbolism of the Blood and Water.

* [19:25] It is not clear whether four women are meant, or three (i.e., Mary the wife of Cl[e]opas [cf. Lk 24:18] is in apposition with his mother’s sister) or two (his mother and his mother’s sister, i.e., Mary of Cl[e]opas and Mary of Magdala). Only John mentions the mother of Jesus here. The synoptics have a group of women looking on from a distance at the cross (Mk 15:40).

* [19:26–27] This scene has been interpreted literally, of Jesus’ concern for his mother; and symbolically, e.g., in the light of the Cana story in Jn 2 (the presence of the mother of Jesus, the address woman, and the mention of the hour) and of the upper room in Jn 13 (the presence of the beloved disciple; the hour). Now that the hour has come (Jn 19:28), Mary (a symbol of the church?) is given a role as the mother of Christians (personified by the beloved disciple); or, as a representative of those seeking salvation, she is supported by the disciple who interprets Jesus’ revelation; or Jewish and Gentile Christianity (or Israel and the Christian community) are reconciled.

* [19:28] The scripture…fulfilled: either in the scene of Jn 19:25–27, or in the I thirst of Jn 19:28. If the latter, Ps 22:16; 69:22 deserve consideration.

* [19:29] Wine: John does not mention the drugged wine, a narcotic that Jesus refused as the crucifixion began (Mk 15:23), but only this final gesture of kindness at the end (Mk 15:36). Hyssop, a small plant, is scarcely suitable for carrying a sponge (Mark mentions a reed) and may be a symbolic reference to the hyssop used to daub the blood of the paschal lamb on the doorpost of the Hebrews (Ex 12:22).

* [19:30] Handed over the spirit: there is a double nuance of dying (giving up the last breath or spirit) and that of passing on the holy Spirit; see Jn 7:39 which connects the giving of the Spirit with Jesus’ glorious return to the Father, and Jn 20:22 where the author portrays the conferral of the Spirit.

* [19:34–35] John probably emphasizes these verses to show the reality of Jesus’ death, against the docetic heretics. In the blood and water there may also be a symbolic reference to the Eucharist and baptism. (John, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)

Suzanne Braddock grew up in a church that did not give Mary this role of “Behold your mother.”

It has taken me a lifetime to grow close to her, to allow her to mother me as I am sure she desires.

I have learned that she is a patient and persistent mother who never gives up. She is a rather silent mother who speaks when she really wants to be heard. Do I listen? Do I struggle to understand when I am hurt? Do I forgive? Do I stay until the end? Am I with others to witness the glory of Jesus’ resurrection? Do I share the Good News with others?

Mother Mary, pray for us. (Braddock, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 19:25-34 notes that as Pope Francis wrote, Jesus gave Mary to us “because he did not want us to journey without a mother” (Evangelii Gaudium, 285).

Jesus understands how much we need a mother’s love to help us share the gospel. Only a mother who embraces all of her children equally can teach us to love all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And only a mother of infinite patience will stay close to us as we experience the ups and downs of building a Church that is open to all.

So today, as you honor Mary, the Mother of the Church, take her as your own mother. Ask her to walk with you. And behold your mother!

“Holy Mary, give me your heart of love!” (Meditation on John 19:25-34, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the events in the reading from Genesis where we hear sin creates division between us and God. Adam blames Eve and she blames the snake that will lose its legs and be the sign of enmity between it and the woman. In the Greek, the snake will strike at “her” heel as represented in the statues of Mary but in the original text the enmity may have been focused on David or the future Messiah. The texts from Chapter 1 of Acts describe that, after the ascension, the Apostles and Mary gather in the Upper Room for prayer. Mary is present as mother and model of the Church. In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares “Mother behold your son” and the tradition is that The Beloved, John in Ephesus, cares for Mary. Symbolically, Jesus on the cross is marrying the Church and presents an allusion to the creation of the first woman. From His side Blood represents Eucharist and water Baptism. In a connection to Levirate Marriage tradition, we need to know who is to marry the widow? Jesus adopts the Beloved disciple as a brother. Who is the One who becomes mother of the Beloved? Mary Mother of the Church. Friar Jude notes that Mary appears twice in John’s Gospel: Cana and under the cross. Ultimately we are the Beloved Disciple and Mary is Our Mother who guides her children.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Theologian Willie Jennings who recounts how the Holy Spirit created a new community through common language.Through the Spirit, an intimacy with God and with one another is born.

God has come to them, on them, with them. This moment echoes Mary’s intimate moment. The Holy Spirit again overshadows. However, this similar holy action creates something different, something startling. The Spirit creates joining. The followers of Jesus are now being connected in a way that joins them to people in the most intimate space—of voice, memory, sound, body, land, and place. It is language that runs through all these matters. It is the sinew of existence of a people. My people, our language: to speak a language is to speak a people. Speaking announces familiarity, connection, and relationality.…

This is not generic speech, formal pronouncements, but the language of intimate spaces where peoples inside talk to one another. The hearers query a past that does not exist for these followers of Jesus. “How do they know my language and know my people? When did they gain that knowledge?” But their miraculous tongues are not about the past but about the future, a future shaped by divine desire. This is why we must see more than a miracle of hearing. Such limited seeing … exposes our modern failure to grasp the revolutionary intimacy that will give birth to a belonging that we will call church. This is a revolution of the Spirit always poised to unleash itself at the slightest moment of faithful waiting and yielding. (Rohr, n.d.)

We celebrate the role of Mary as Mother of the Church and our model of trust, faith, and hope as we journey as Christians in the world.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/1?12 

Braddock, S. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. On Line Ministries. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-25-2026 

Genesis, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3?9 

John, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19? 

Meditation on John 19:25-34. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/25/1577966/ 

Psalms, CHAPTER 87 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Speaking the Church into Existence. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/speaking-the-church-into-existence/