The Family of Faith

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the understanding of our relationship to Christ as brothers and sisters in faith, hope, and love who continue His Way of relationship with all people.

Family and Faith

The Reading from the Prophet Micah is a prayer that God will care for the people as in ancient days.

* [7:14–17] A prayer that God will care for the people as in ancient days (v. 14) is answered (vv. 15–17) when the Lord promises to do marvelous things. The nations shall be afraid and turn to the Lord.

* [7:18–20] The final lines of the book contain a hymn of praise for the incomparable God, who pardons sin and delights in mercy. Thus the remnant, those left after the exile, is confident in God’s compassion and in the ancient promises sworn to the ancestors. (Micah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 85 presents a national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness.

* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus proclaims The True Family of Jesus.

* [12:46–50] See Mk 3:31–35. Matthew has omitted Mk 3:20–21 which is taken up in Mk 3:31 (see note on Mt 12:22–32), yet the point of the story is the same in both gospels: natural kinship with Jesus counts for nothing; only one who does the will of his heavenly Father belongs to his true family.

* [12:47] This verse is omitted in some important textual witnesses, including Codex Sinaiticus (original reading) and Codex Vaticanus. (Matthew, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “My mother through faith,” by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).

"If someone can become the brother of the Lord by coming to faith, we must ask how one can become also his mother. We must realize that the one who is Christ's brother and sister by believing becomes his mother by preaching. It is as though one brings forth the Lord and infuses him in the hearts of one's listeners. And that person becomes his mother if through one's voice the love of the Lord is generated in the mind of his neighbor. (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 3.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Prophet Micah speaks the Lord as shepherd of Israel with a staff that indicates the original territories will be returned to Israel. Just as the people can see the faithfulness of the promises, God is always faithful. Matthew declares the mother and brothers of Jesus are those who do the will of the Father. We belong as brothers and sisters of Jesus by faith more than blood. Catholics consider the “brothers and sisters” in the Gospel are cousins often as close as siblings in Jesus' time. Orthodox Christians accept they are half brothers and sisters through the remarriage of Joseph. Some Protestant communities hold they are full brothers and sisters. Friar Jude notes that Roman Catholics hold to an ancient tradition of Jesus as the only son of Mary.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 comments that in the centuries after Micah, God did show the people marvelous signs when they cried out to him. But all these signs found their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.

The signs are all around. And like the signs that Micah prayed for, they are all meant to point you to the greatest and most powerful of all signs: the sign of a Savior who gave up his very life to set you free.

God has done wonderful things for us. May we never grow weary of recalling them. And may we never forget his most powerful marvel: the sign of his cross!

“Lord, I am amazed at all that you have done and continue to do in my life!” (Meditation on Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, recounts how he came to know the work of Thomas Merton (1915–1968). Amidst the societal disruptions of the 1960s, it was not enough for him to simply pray. He also devoted himself to action—writing, teaching, and collaborating with others—though he never lost his deep yearning for solitude and contemplation. [1]

The monastic flight from the world [or what Father Richard calls ‘the system’] into the desert is not a mere refusal to know anything about the world, but a total rejection of all standards of judgment which imply attachment to a history of delusion, egoism and sin … a definitive refusal to participate in those activities which have no other fruit than to prolong the reign of untruth, greed, cruelty and arrogance…. 

Therefore it seems to me to be a solemn obligation of conscience at this moment of history to take the positions which are … in vital relation with the obligations I assumed when I took my monastic vows. To have a vow of poverty seems to me illusory if I do not in some way identify myself with the cause of people who are denied their rights and forced, for the most part, to live in abject misery. To have a vow of obedience seems to me to be absurd if it does not imply a deep concern for the most fundamental of all expressions of God’s will: the love of [God’s] truth and of our neighbor. [2]

References:

[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis, (Sounds True, 2010).

[2] Adapted from Thomas Merton, Seeds of Destruction (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1980), xiii, xiv–xv, xv–xvi. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to inform our faith and action with the understanding of family as expressed by Jesus to his society and in our mission to act as members of a community that seeks to do the “will of the Father”.

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/12? 

Meditation on Micah 7:14-15, 18-20. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/21/1627733/ 

Micah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/micah/7? 

Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Thomas Merton: A Monk in Action. Thomas Merton: A Monk in Action. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/thomas-merton-a-monk-in-action/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Who Are My Brothers and Sisters? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

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/