Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)
First Saturday - let us entrust ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In today’s Gospel, Jesus concludes the discussion about the Sabbath with a decisive declaration: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Christian life begins to find its proper order when Jesus is not simply one important part of our lives but Lord of everything. Our prayer, work, relationships, responsibilities, possessions, plans, successes, sufferings, and even our religious observances must ultimately be placed under His loving lordship. The Pharisees had become so focused on the observance of the law that they risked losing sight of the One to whom the law was meant to lead; Jesus reminds us that no practice can take His place. On this First Saturday, the Immaculate Heart of Mary shows us what it means to let Jesus be above everything: her whole life was centred on her Son, from Nazareth to Calvary and beyond. To entrust ourselves to her Immaculate Heart is to ask her to teach us to belong completely to Jesus as she did. Mother Teresa lived the same Christ-centred simplicity: she recognized Jesus in the poorest of the poor because He had first become the centre and Lord of her own heart. The Gospel therefore invites us to put everything in its proper place. When Jesus is above everything, we do not lose what we love; rather, we learn to love every person and fulfil every responsibility according to His Heart. The Christian life is ultimately this: Jesus above everything, Jesus at the centre of everything, and Jesus Lord of everything. Let’s reflect: Is Jesus truly above everything in my life, shaping my loves, choices, priorities, and responsibilities as the Lord of my whole heart and my whole life?
Don Giorgio