Friday 20 September

STS ANDREW TAEGON, PAUL CHONG HASANG AND COMPANIONS (M)

1 Timothy 6:2-12; Psalm 49; Luke 8:1-3

The women who followed Jesus

What a beautiful passage! Not only Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susana but many other women followed Jesus with his apostles! We might recall that, apart from the beloved disciple, it was only the women who had the courage to stay with him until he died, watching him in agony but not turning away. And it was to a group of women that Jesus first appeared after his resurrection. They were sent to be witnesses to the men he had chosen. Jesus, God-with-us, who consistently supported and loved those on the margins, gave a new dignity to the women of his day who were considered inferior to men. We pray for the billions of women all over the world who suffer humiliation and injustice.