My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord give you peace on this beautiful Saturday, the day that we traditionally dedicate to the most holy, the most blessed, the most beautiful and spotless of all mothers — our Blessed Mother Mary. She is the Mother of Jesus, given to us to be our Mother as well, and to her the readings of today, in a certain way, pay homage.
Today, once again, as yesterday, our first reading comes from the Book of Joel. As we recalled before, this book was written after the people of God returned from their exile in Babylon to the Holy Land to rebuild their city and their identity as a people devoted to the glory of God. But even after their return, they were struck by a plague of locusts that devastated their agriculture.
Through divine inspiration, the prophet Joel interpreted this event not simply as a natural disaster but as a foreshadowing of divine judgment. In today’s reading, we hear: “Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit in judgment upon all the neighbouring nations.”
The valley of Jehoshaphat literally means “Yahweh judges.” It is not necessarily a geographical location, but a symbolic image of God gathering the nations for judgment. Later Jewish and Christian tradition came to associate this valley with the Kidron Valley, east of Jerusalem. This gathering reflects the image of the final eschatological tribunal — the same reality Jesus speaks of in the Gospel when he says he will return to separate the sheep from the goats.
Joel also uses rich biblical symbolism to speak about divine judgment: the sickle, the harvest, and the winepress. “Apply the sickle,” he says, “for the harvest is ripe. Come and tread, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, for great is their malice.”
The sickle and harvest represent the final separation between the righteous and the wicked — the sheep and the goats. The image of the winepress, crushing grapes, signifies judgment: that decisive moment before the tribunal of Christ, when what is true and holy will be distinguished from what is false and evil.
As Saint Paul reminds us, it is Christ who will judge us. Not the Father or the Holy Spirit, though they are perfectly united with the Son in an unfathomable way. The Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son — Jesus — which is fitting, since he is the one who died for us and shed his blood on the cross. The devil may have had his hour, but God will have his day.
Further in the reading, Joel proclaims that God is a refuge — a protection from Egypt and Edom, which in Scripture are symbolic enemies of God’s people. “Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a desert waste because of violence done to the people of Judah.” Their desolation represents the fate of all who oppose God’s covenant and will.
Turning to the Gospel, a woman in the crowd raises her voice and says to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” Her words reflect a kind of superficial honour, the way the world often honours people based on human standards. But Jesus responds sharply and profoundly, revealing the true source of his Mother’s greatness: “Rather, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it.”
This is a powerful reminder for us. In our world today, how often do we glorify and celebrate people not because they reflect the will of God, but because they are famous, powerful, or influential? But true honour — true blessedness — is found only in those who hear and keep the Word of God.
Even in our families, our honour is not based on worldly titles or achievements, but on how we live the will of God. My own mother, for example, is proud that her son is a priest. But what truly matters is not simply that I am a priest, but that I try to live my priesthood in fidelity to God’s will. If I were to lie, cheat, live in sin, and seek only my own glory without repentance, would that be a life worthy of honour?
And so Jesus says clearly: Mary is blessed not simply because she bore him, but because she heard the Word of God and treasured it in her heart. That is the secret of her holiness.
My dear brothers and sisters, may we do the same. Let us love, seek, and treasure God’s Word in our hearts. Let us live his will faithfully. In the end, this is what will separate the sheep from the goats, and what will lead us to hear those beautiful words at the final judgment: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
May God bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Add comment
Comments