Tag: Visitation

“And how does this happen to me?” | Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today’s antiphon: O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust! (Isaiah 9:5; 2:4)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:39-45)

“Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

At the Visitation, Elizabeth responds to Mary’s greeting with these words and with a question. She tells Mary that at the sound of her greeting, the infant John leaped in her womb. And then she asks a question, which is direct and at the same time full of meditation and wonder. Elizabeth is undoubtedly one of the first to ponder how it is that the Blessed Virgin, the mother of the Lord, would come to her. In pondering, she recognizes that Mary’s visit is a grace she receives, that it happens to her. Mary brings the grace and blessing of Christ to Elizabeth, to the infant John, and to the house of Zechariah. She does the same for us as we ask for her to intercede for us as the Mother of God, whose soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and brings us always to her son and our savior.

God, help me prepare for the birth of Jesus in the example of Mary and Elizabeth. Mary brought the grace of the infant Christ to Elizabeth and John. Elizabeth responded in wonder that the mother of her Lord should come to her, rejoicing with youthful exuberance at the visit of Jesus and Mary. The Advents and Christmases of past years have led me to certain expectations and old habits, ways of doing things. Let that change. As I take in the Visitation, grant me a good measure of the overwhelming jubilation that Mary and Elizabeth experienced in the nearness of Jesus, present within Mary and brought to the whole world through the Immaculate Conception and in the nativity of Jesus.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”

In today’s Gospel, Mary visits Elizabeth, traveling in haste to Judah. Taking place immediately after the annunciation, the exchange between Mary and her cousin upon greeting each other reflects the action and presence of the Holy Spirit within them. Prompted by the Holy Spirit to cry out loudly, Elizabeth declares Mary’s blessedness. “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Mary’s response, her Magnificat, rejoices in God and gives glory to his holiness: “the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.” Mary continues praising God for fulfilling his promises of justice and mercy and goodness: “He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”

God, help me comprehend what the Visitation means, in my life and in the life of the Church, for bringing all of your promises to fulfillment. Help me understand that through Jesus your Son, mercy itself dwelt among us. Through his birth, death, and resurrection, he continuously brings to all who believe in him the hope of the resurrection. Mary, the first disciple of Christ, held that hope within her from the moment Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. “Blessed are you who believed,” Elizabeth said to Mary, “that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Lord, help me recall throughout the day that the same Holy Spirit whose work Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced in continues to work this very day in my life and in the lives of those I encounter. Give me the grace to see your will for me as I call to mind the great things you have done for me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

**Announcement: Please join me in praying a novena to Saint Anthony from June 5 to June 13. I’ll return to daily Gospel reflections on June 14.**