Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 5 August 2024
Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Monday
Our Lady of Snows, Optional Memoria
Revelation 21:1-5a. Luke 11:27-38
Making anew
Today we commemorate the dedication of the Basilica of Mary Major and celebrate Mary as Our Lady of Snows. The Council of Ephesus in 431 CE declared Mary the ‘Mother of God.’ Following this declaration, Pope Sixtus III wanted to build a church in honour of this Marian title.
As per a traditional legend, in 352, during the year of the reign of Pope Liberius, a landlord named John made a vow to Our Lady that his wife must conceive and bear a child. The prayer was heard. In order to seek a sign from Our Lady, he pleaded with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who showed him in Rome during peak summer a mountain filled with snow. John built the church there.
In the first reading, John, Apostle and Evangelist, sees in a vision the descent of New Jerusalem. The new city of Jerusalem, which comes down to dwell among human beings, removes tears from every human eye. In the gospel reading, Jesus, answering an anonymous woman who praised his mother, expands her vision by pointing out how Mary became the Mother through obedience to the word of God.
What are the lessons for us?
(a) The church is the symbol of God’s presence. This shows the relationship between God and human beings. In the Old Testament, temple pointed to the place-centred presence of God, whereas in the New Testament, it points to the person-centred presence. That’s why Paul calls us temples of the Holy Spirit. Do we live a life in realisation of this?
(b) The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of God. This privilege was both a gift and a task. Mary qualified herself for the call of God through her total surrender. Do we listen to the word of God and abide by it?
(c) Trust in divine providence, generosity, and devotion. God continues to care for his people. What is necessary is that we surrender to him with total devotion.
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The hope that God’s presence makes things and people new pushes our lives ahead. (Jubilee 2025 AD, bite 165).
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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