Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 31st May, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
05-31-The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast
C/f A short history of this feast can be found below todays’ Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah 3:14-18
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst.
Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.
When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Is 12
Response Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
1. Truly, God is my salvation, I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song, he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Response
2. Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name. Response
3. Sing a psalm to the Lord! For he has done glorious deeds.
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Response
Gospel Acclamation Lk 1:45
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Blessed is the Virgin Mary who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 1:39-56 Glory to you, O Lord
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
She gave a loud cry and said,
‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.‘
And Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
–according to the promise he made to our ancestors
-of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection 31st May, The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Luke 1:39-56
The gospel reading for today’s feast highlights the value of a certain way of being present to others. It invites us to ask ourselves, ‘What is the quality of our presence to others?’ Mary went on a journey from Nazareth in Galilee to the hill country in Judea to be present to her cousin Elizabeth. The quality of Mary’s presence to Elizabeth is evident in the impact her presence had. The gospel reading says that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth’s being filled with the Holy Spirit immediately resulted in Elizabeth pronouncing a beatitude upon Mary, ‘Blessed is she who believed…’ Mary’s way of being present to Elizabeth brought out what was best and deepest in Elizabeth.
The quality of Elizabeth’s presence to Mary also had a profound impact on Mary, drawing forth from Mary her great prayer of praise to God that has come to be known as the Magnificat, after the Latin translation of its opening word. The meeting between these two women, their way of being present to each other, is a commentary on the call of Saint Paul to the church in Rome in today’s second reading, ‘Have a profound respect for each other’. More important than what we do for each other is the way that we are present to one another. Even if we don’t have the energy or the health to do something for others, our way of being present to them can bring to the surface all that is good, all that is of God, in them.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2024: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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Feast of the Day: 31 May; Feast of the Visitation
Summary: This feast celebrates the Virgin Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, as told in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:39-56), and her example of faith in God’s word and sensitivity to the Spirit. It was introduced into the Franciscan calendar by Saint Bonaventure in the thirteenth century and was extended in 1389 to the entire Latin Church to heal the divisions in the Western Church of the time.
Unlike a simple visit, a visitation is a visit with a purpose. It is an encounter with a purpose to achieve something important. It carries a meaning that is exceptional because of the exceptional presence of the Son Mary carries in her womb.
The following poem was written by American poet Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918), author of the well known poem ‘Trees.‘ It has a dedication to fellow American poet, Louise Imogen Guiney. A sergeant in the 165th US Infantry Regiment, Kilmer was killed at the Second Battle of Marne in 1918 at the age of 31.
THE VISITATION
There is a wall of flesh before the eyes
Of John, who yet perceives and hails his King.
It is Our Lady’s painful bliss to bring
Before mankind the Glory of the skies.
Her cousin feels her womb’s sweet burden rise
And leap with joy, and she comes forth to sing,
With trembling mouth, her words of welcoming.
She knows her hidden God, and prophesies.Saint John, pray for us, weary souls that tarry
Where life is withered by sin’s deadly breath.
Pray for us, whom the dogs of Satan harry,
Saint John, Saint Anne, and Saint Elizabeth.
And, Mother Mary, give us Christ to carry
Within our hearts, that we may conquer death.____________________________________
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Memorable Sayings for Today
“Motherhood is a choice you make everyday,
to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own,
to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing
-even when you’re not sure what the right thing is !~ anonymous ~
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