Col 1:21-23 / Luke 6:1-5
Traditionally speaking, Saturdays are dedicated our Lady and the Eucharist is also offered in her honour. It is an ancient custom of the Church and there are many reasons for it.
Among the more recent ones is the message of Fatima, especially in the apparitions of June 13 and July 13,1917, when Mary drew attention to the custom of devoting Saturdays to her and praying the rosary in reparation.
For this year, the Pope has a special message and purpose for today, the 7th September. Also since tomorrow, the 8th September, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not celebrated as the Sunday liturgy takes precedence, the Pope has called for a day of prayer and fasting today.
He has called upon all the faithful worldwide to join in a day of prayer and fasting of September 7 for peace in the Middle East, and especially in Syria.
He even issued an invitation to “each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.”
The Pope said, “Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace!”
Troubled by conflicts around the world and especially the dramatic developments in Syria, the Pope said, “How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed!”
In calling for a day of prayer and fasting, the Pope has taken recourse to the intercession of Mother Mary for this crisis in Syria.
As St. Paul told the Colossians in the 1st reading, they were once enemies of God in the way they used to think and the evil things they did but now there are reconciled with God through the death of Christ.
May the prayer and fasting that we are offering today, together with the intercession of our Lady, bring about peace and reconciliation in Syria and in the world.