VISITATION OF MARY, FEAST
Luke presents Mary as the Ark of the Covenant coming to Jerusalem to show that God is present among his people to bring them joy. This is why the child leaps (that is, dances for joy) in Elizabeth’s womb. With Christ, God comes to live not in a temple of stone but in the hearts of people. Through Christ living in Mary God’s victory over evil has begun. A person in whom Christ lives – a Christ-bearer, a Christopher – brings Christ to others, and with Christ, joy and love.
Reading 1: Zep 3:14-18a
So sing, Daughter Zion!
Raise your voices, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel’s king,
in charge at the center.
There’s nothing to fear from evil
ever again!
16-17 Jerusalem will be told:
“Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.
Gospel: Lk 1:39-56
Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!
46-55 And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.
Prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
Mary went with haste to visit
her cousin Elizabeth in her hour of need.
May we too rejoice in the Lord
when we can hurry to see people
to bring them the Lord
as we to share in their needs and their joys.
With Mary, may we become
a blessing to them.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Reflection:
31 May 2023
Luke 2: 39-56
Help the distressed with appreciation and encouragement
The month of May began with the Feast of St. Joseph, and today ends with the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today the Church celebrates the Visitation of the Mother of God to Saint Elizabeth. The whole Gospel brings us the Good News of a God who is in constant relationship with us humans and wants us to be in mutual support and love.
That is precisely what Mary does when she visits Elizabeth, her cousin. Mary travels to the hill country – to the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth. The most common of the reflections on the visitation talk about Mary’s readiness to help her cousin who became pregnant in her old age. Mary teaches us about our willingness to help.
Mary herself needed a change of environment as she was pregnant before her marriage. No amount of her explanations would have convinced her neighbours, family, or even Joseph about her pregnancy, except for the angel’s intervention.
She would soon be exposed among her neighbours and friends. And that would mean her own life was in danger. Where could she find someone who would understand her? Angel Gabriel had given her the answer. Zachariah and Elizabeth would be the only couple who would understand and accommodate her because they are also going through a similar experience.
Mary promptly left for the house of Zachariah, where she would stay for three months. At the very moment, Mary met Elizabeth, she was given all the confirmation she needed regarding her new mission.
Luke presents Mary as the ‘Tabernacle of the Holy Trinity’ here: She is carrying – God the Son in her womb. When Mary greets Elizabeth, she is filled with the Holy Spirit, says the Gospel. And Elizabeth cried out aloud: “How does this happen to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” For Mary, that was an occasion of echoing the message of the Angel, which she heard in the annunciation. It must have been a moment of strengthening her faith in God’s promises.
Elizabeth gives an ideal example of instilling the distressed with appreciation and encouragement. She does not doubt this unwed, pregnant teenager. When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, one can only appreciate, encourage, love and accept. How often do our words and actions bring sleeplessness and anxiety to the people around us?
Mary and Elizabeth are ordinary people like anyone of us. Nevertheless, these ordinary women show us a path that we too can follow if we ask for it every day and pray for it in faith.
Help the distressed with appreciation and encouragement – Youtube