"You belong to us and we are yours."  

 

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, priest

 

＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

Ezra 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20

Let the governor of the Jews together with their leaders build the house of God on its former site.

This is the command I give as to what you should do to help those Jewish leaders rebuild the house of God:

pay the expenses in full and without delay, with the income from taxes of the province at the other side of the River which is allotted to the king.

And may the God who makes his Name dwell there, crush every rebel,

king or people who goes against this and tries to destroy the house of God in Jerusalem.

I, Darius, give this command. Let it be carried out at once."

And the leaders of the Jews continued to make progress in building, encouraged by what Haggai,

the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, had said;

and they finished the work according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius.

The house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Darius.

The children of Israel, the priests and the Levites,

and the rest of those who had returned from exile celebrated the consecration of this house of God with rejoicing,

offering on this solemnity one hundred young bulls, two hundred rams and four hundred lambs;

and twelve he goats as a sin-offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Then they installed the priests according to their ranks, and the Levites according to their classes,

for the service of the house of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

Those who had returned from exile celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month,

for the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, and all of them were clean.

So, they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all who had returned from exile, for their fellow priests and for themselves.

 

＊＊＊Gospel＊＊＊

Luke 8:19-21

Then his mother and his relatives came to him; but they could not get to him because of the crowd.

Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and wish to meet you."

Then Jesus answered, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

 

Reflection

"You belong to us and we are yours."

The town and monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo was dedicated to Our Lady of Grace.

From his childhood, Padre Pio had a great devotion to Our Lady. On one occasion,

at a time of great physical and mental suffering, Padre Pio had a vision while celebrating Mass after receiving Holy Communion.

The Virgin Mary and the Christ child appeared to him, and Our Lady said, "Be at peace. We are with you.

You belong to us, and we are yours." That comforting message of belonging resonates with Christ's words in today's Gospel:

"My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

Our belonging to Christ as brother or sister is affirmed each day by our positive response to God's Word.

We are called to show our belonging by listening to his Word and by putting it into practice.

However, living God's Word is not only expressed by our actions. It's shown by intention and desire.

And so, even in the still moments of silence, or in the limitations of illness, if we desire to do God's will,

Mary and Jesus will declare, "Be at peace. You belong to us and we are yours."