It consists really of instructions on the spirit in which we should live our lives. The alternate First Reading suggested for today is from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans. But the beginnings of the story are already here in today’s celebration. They will have to wait another 30 years until Jesus appears on the scene and brings the Good News of his Father. Yes, their Saviour is already in their midst but they do not know it yet. He will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in his love. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst…The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty saviour. Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, Jerusalem!įor indeed the birth of these two children is a cause of joy for all God’s people. The first is from the prophet Zephaniah and reflects the joy of the Visitation, the joy of the two cousins with their children as they greet each other. New life, a life that no one can take away, was to come. It seemed to end in disaster at the foot of the Cross, but that was not the end. Mary, of course, lived out this prayer all during her life as she supported and stood by her Son to the very end. It is a teaching that will go right through the Gospel. The rich are those who think they have it all when in truth, they have nothing that lasts. The ‘hungry’ are those who are aware that they have nothing of themselves and that all is a gift from God. The hungry he fills with good things while the rich are sent empty away. On the contrary, it is those who think they are powerful and strong, those who are arrogant in mind and heart, who meet their downfall, while those who accept their lowliness before God are lifted up. And she has words for all those who submit themselves in loving obedience to God: His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. Yet, as she rightly foresees, all ages will call her blessed because he has done such great things for her – called her to be the earthly mother of God’s Son, and the instrument by which he would come to share our human nature. She was a simple girl living in a small town, someone of no consequence in the eyes of the world. It is a hymn which has many resemblances to the hymn that Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel sings, after she, although past child-bearing age, gives birth to her son (1 Sam 2:1-10).įirst of all, Mary thanks God for taking notice of Mary in her lowliness. It is then that Mary, in response to Elizabeth’s words, speaks her hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God, a hymn we know as the Magnificat, from its first word in the Latin version. Although not having had intimate relations with any man, her trust in the words of the angel have been vindicated – and she is carrying the Child. It is the faith of Mary in God’s word that she praises. It is part of this kenosis, the self-emptying of Jesus as part of his mission to communicate God’s love to us.Įlizabeth then goes on with words of praise for Mary herself.īlessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled. The Son of Man has come to serve and not to be served. It is an anticipation of something that Jesus will tell his disciples later on: If anyone should be making the visit, it really should be Elizabeth to the Mother of the Son of God. How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.įor there is a surprise here. ![]() It is not Mary who makes the child do this, but rather the Child that Mary is carrying.Įlizabeth, inspired by the Spirit, then cries out:īlessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Immediately, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leapt in joyful welcome. ![]() ![]() She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ![]() We are told that she went “in haste” as if keen to congratulate her cousin, who strictly speaking was well beyond the age to have a child. It is shortly after this that Mary travels south from Galilee to a town in Judah (the province where Jerusalem was). Let it happen to me just as you have said. Nevertheless, after the assurance of the angel, she put herself totally in God’s hands: She had given her unconditional assent to the request, even though at first she found it difficult to understand because, although she was already committed in marriage to Joseph, they had not begun to live together. This story comes in the Infancy Narrative of Luke’s gospel immediately after the account of the Annunciation when Mary was asked by the angel to become the mother of Jesus. Today’s feast commemorates the visit that Mary, already pregnant with Jesus, made to her older cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with the future John the Baptist.
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