June 9. . Mrs Davies shared in her prayer group,  “What has happened to the strong devotion to Mary that was so much part of Church life and also in families.  We used to pray the Rosary together when I was a child but that now seems to be done mainly by women, or people on their own.  Occasionally some families do pray the Rosary.  I’m happy that Pope Francis has added a new feastday of Mary, as Mother of the Church.” Others agreed that it was a very good thing to promote devotion to Our Lady in their families, in a way that suited their own family, as a little church of the home and taking the children and youth into consideration.  They decided to make this into a group project, sharing their suggestions with families and others outside the prayer group.               

Reflect, share and act.   Scripture.    After Jesus had been taken up into heaven, they returned to Jerusalem and went to the upper room where they were staying. All the apostles devoted themselves to prayer with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus.  Acts 1:12-14.    Pope Francis:  JUBILEE: Hope finds its supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naive optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life. Like every mother, whenever Mary looked at her Son, she thought of his future. Surely she kept pondering in her heart the words spoken to her in the Temple by the elderly Simeon: “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2:34-35). At the foot of the cross, she witnessed the passion and death of Jesus, her innocent son. Overwhelmed with grief, she nonetheless renewed her “fiat”, never abandoning her hope and trust in God. In this way, Mary cooperated for our sake in the fulfilment of all that her Son had foretold in announcing that he would have to “undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mk 8:31). In the travail of that sorrow, offered in love, Mary became our Mother, the Mother of Hope.  SNC18.

The decree on the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church reads, “the joyous veneration given to the Mother of God by the contemporary church, in the light of reflection on the mystery of Christ and on his nature, cannot ignore the Virgin Mary, who is both the Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church.”  St Augustine said, “Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church” while St. Leo said “the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ and mother of the members of his Mystical Body, which is the Church.”   Act and pray. For the needs of our own and all families and children as appropriate.