A WORD FOR TODAY 30 APRIL 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

MATERNAL INTERCESSION FROM A HEART THAT CARES

"On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:1-5)

It is not a coincidence that as this month of April comes to an end, the Church in her wisdom celebrates the feast of Our Lady, Mother of Africa. This is to give honour to whom honour is due and to prepare our minds and heart as we move over to the month of May when we devotionally honour her through the praying of our Rosary.

This feast presents to us one of the titles of our lady through which she is honoured. She is a mother that cares for her children and she is always ready to stand in the gap between us and her son and obtain for us blessings and favours from His hand.

Our Mother Mary is the greatest intercessor and this we could see in the readings of today. In the first reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles she was there at the upper room with the rest of the apostles in prayer as they waited for the descent of the Holy Spirit. She was there to give the Church the support she needed in her time of need. The responsorial Psalm presents us with her magnificat which she sang after considering all that the Lord has done for her.

In the gospel reading also we see how her maternal care moved her to intercede for the couple at Cana in Galilee who were not even aware that there wine is finished. It would have been an embarrassing moment for them, but Our Lady stepped in and asked Jesus to do something for them and He sure did.

We in Africa, sure needs the motherly care of Our Lady. She took care of Jesus from infancy to death, she can also take care of us in all the challenges facing us as a continent; sickness, hunger, bad leadership, corruption, unemployment e.t.c. We must fly to her patronage and we must believe that whatever she asks the Son on our behalf must sure get a favourable response.

God chose Mary to be the mother of his Son and in the same way she was chosen to be our Mother. As a Mother she cares for us and will always work for our good. She is always standing before his Son to speak and intercede for us and it is surely an intercession that is efficacious, because it comes from a heart that cares. Indeed, someone who does not care about you will never speak on your behalf, but Our Lady cares so much about us and she is always ready to do something that will bring us joy, happiness and peace as she did at the Marriage feast at Cana.

_lOur role in today's feast is to continue to honour Our Lady as her children by living a holy life and also by doing God's will. We must learn from her wonderful virtues and apply them in our lives. It will give her joy to see us always shine out as the light and to represent Christ here on earth as His ambassadors.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a joyful day. May Our Lady, Mother of Africa obtain for you what you seek on this her special day. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Acts 1:12-14/Luke 1:46-55/John 2:1-11

Watch-Word: He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Come to our Mother Mary and seek her intercession and she will obtain for you what you see from the Lord.

(Thursday of the third week of Easter. Cycle A)

*Fr. Augustine Eleke*