Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 25 May 2026
Mary, Mother of the Church, Memoria
Ac 1:12-14. Jn 19:25-27
Communion and Prayer
Today, on the Monday after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the memory of Mary, Mother of the Church. Pope Francis desired that this memorial be celebrated after Pentecost, because Mary stands at the beginning of the Church’s life, gathered with the apostles in prayer.
The title “Mother of the Church” was given to Mary by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1964. This title belongs to Mary in three ways. First, she is the Mother of Christ, who is the Head of the Church. Second, she is the Mother of all believers, who are born again through water and the Spirit; at the Cross, Jesus gives her to the beloved disciple, and in him to all disciples. Third, she is the model of faith; at the beginning of the Church, she remains with the apostles in one-hearted prayer.
The first reading gives us the beautiful image of the early Church: “They were joined together in continuous prayer, with Mary the mother of Jesus.” The apostles are together. They are of one mind. They pray. Mary is with them. Therefore, the Church begins not with activity, but with communion and prayer.
Mary becomes the link between Jesus and the apostles. She was with Jesus from Nazareth to Calvary. After the Resurrection and Ascension, she is with the apostles in the upper room. She believed the words of Jesus: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Through prayer, Mary helps the disciples experience again the presence of the Risen Lord.
The Gospel takes us to the foot of the Cross. There we see Mary in helplessness. She cannot remove the suffering of Jesus. She cannot change the cruelty of the hour. She can only stand. But her standing is faith. Her silence is prayer. Her helplessness becomes hope. There, Jesus says to the beloved disciple, “Behold your mother.” Mary receives a new motherhood: she becomes the Mother of the redeemed.
We too experience helplessness: loneliness, hostility, rejection, poverty, sickness, loss, and being ignored. Mary teaches us that prayer is the passage from helplessness to hope. Prayer may not remove the Cross, but it gives us strength to stand beneath it.
Pope Francis reminds us that Christian life must be rooted in the mystery of the Cross and in the self-giving of Jesus that we celebrate in the Eucharist. Mary is the Mother of the Redeemer and the Mother of all the redeemed. She does not take us away from Christ. She leads us to Christ.
Thus Mary teaches us three basic elements of the Church: communion, prayer, and mission. The disciples are united. They pray. From the upper room, they are sent in mission. Christian mission begins in the upper room, in communion and prayer.
Mary once said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” She called herself a servant, but God raised her as Mother. Whoever gives oneself to God becomes a blessing for others.
Today, let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to teach us to remain united, to pray with one heart, and to become missionaries of hope. May our families, communities, parishes, and the whole Church grow in communion and prayer.
Fr Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
An initiative of “Yesni Prays”
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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