God is always extending His hand to us. God will not force us to come to Him. God loves us so much that He gave us our free will to use as we choose.
And so God invites us to become more than we have been. God asks us to assent to His plan, to let ourselves be humbled so that great things may be done through us.
We are reminded that God works in this way as we celebrate today the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today as we remember how our Blessed Mother Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, we recall that God lifts up the lowly and exalts them. We hear of these wonders in today's Gospel, where we are told that
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most 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?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."
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.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
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."
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.*
When her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, our Blessed Mother Mary set out to the home of Elizabeth. She went to share with Elizabeth the Good News that Jesus was to be born. She went to minister to Elizabeth in her pregnancy. Our Blessed Mother Mary went to serve Elizabeth. We can emulate our Blessed Mother Mary by serving others.
When our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." We find this declaration of the blessedness of our Blessed Mother Mary and her Son Jesus not only in the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Also while reciting the rosary, Christians proclaim the blessedness of our Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary. We too can join Saint Elizabeth and feel the joy of The Visitation by praying the rosary.
Elizabeth wondered, "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth was honored to be visited by our Blessed Mother Mary, yet she could not fathom how she could be accorded the great privilege of being visited by the mother of the Messiah. We too can wonder how we can be so blessed that our Blessed Mother Mary dotes such great kindness upon us, given our abhorrent sinfulness. We receive such marvelous and magnanimous assistance from our Blessed Mother since she is humble, loving and sweet. She answers our cries because she loves us so very much. Thus we are to cry out to her now, as we are mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. She very much wants us to call out to her, to ask her to intercede with her Son on our behalf.
It truly only begins to describe the tremendous effectiveness of our Blessed Mother's intercession to say that she is a formidable intercessor for us. If people only realized how much sway her prayers have in Heaven, far more people would be seeking her intercession. Full of the knowledge of how our Blessed Mother Mary protects us if we but call out to her, we are full of joy. Similarly, right after our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, "The infant in my womb leapt for joy." In the womb of Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist was rejoicing at the arrival of our Blessed Mother Mary. In the loving care of our Blessed Mother Mary, we have nothing to fear, so we rejoice.
Elizabeth said to our Blessed Mother Mary, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Our Blessed Mother Mary has been so blessed because, during her life here on earth, she was filled with faith. If we too wish to be blessed, we do will well to embrace the gift of faith from God.
Our Blessed Mother Mary then replied, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Our Blessed Mother Mary strove to live out the greatest commandment, "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."** First and foremost in the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary was the desire to open her heart to the will of God. God calls us too to open our hearts to His will for us.
Our Blessed Mother Mary told Elizabeth that her spirit rejoiced in God Her Savior. When we know God saves us, we rejoice. When we realize we have nothing to fear, we rejoice.
She knew that God had looked with favor on His lowly servant. Our Blessed Mother Mary was a poor peasant, yet God bestowed immense grace upon her. God gives grace to the humble.***
Well aware of how abundantly God had blessed her, our Blessed Mother Mary confidently announced that all generations would call her blessed. She knew that she would be remembered as a shining, luminous reflection of God's great glory.
All generations call Mary blessed because the Almighty has done great things for her. God has shown His mighty glory through our Blessed Mother Mary.
Having been reminded of what God had done for her, our Blessed Mother Mary proclaimed that Holy is the name of God. She knew that all glory belongs to God, so she proclaimed that His name is holy. We too must keep in mind that all glory is to go to God.
Since she had experienced His great mercy, she explained that He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. When we realize who we are, namely that we are nothing without God, we fear Him, and we beg Him for mercy.
Our Blessed Mother Mary described how God has scattered the proud. She noted that He has cast down the mighty. God opposes the proud.**** To be like our Blessed Mother Mary, we must turn away from the temptation to pride; we must be humble like our Blessed Mother Mary.
Everyone who raises himself up will be humbled. The one who humbles himself will be raised up.*****
Our Blessed Mother Mary experienced Herself how God lifted up the lowly. God exalted her, an impoverished little girl. God gives grace to the humble.
And so our Blessed Mother Mary declared that God had filled the hungry with good things. Some people question why there are poor people in the world. Some ask why there is suffering. The poor are blessed insofar as they are close to God. The more desperate we are, the more we cry out to God with earnest prayer, and thus the more likely God is to grant our prayers. God fills those who are hungry with good things, which provide them the spiritual nourishment they need to survive into true life together with Him.
Often we think that those who are materially rich are blessed. So often those who are materially rich are spiritually impoverished. If we are too comfortable, we do not pray as we should. And thus often the rich are sent away empty, as our Blessed Mother Mary noted. If we are not humble, we are not accorded grace.
And yet if we have humility, if we submit ourselves to the will of God, then God comes to our help. And so our Blessed Mother Mary rejoiced that God had come to the help of His servant Israel. She was grateful that God had remained faithful to His promise of mercy. God is merciful, since He is faithful to His promise. God is faithful, even if we are unfaithful. He cannot be unfaithful, for His Word is truth.******
And so if we but give our consent to be humbled like our Blessed Mother Mary was, God will give us the grace we need to do His will. Opening our hearts to God, God will work wonders through us, just as He worked wonders through our Blessed Mother Mary.
* Luke 1:39-56
** Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
***** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
****** John 14:6
And so God invites us to become more than we have been. God asks us to assent to His plan, to let ourselves be humbled so that great things may be done through us.
We are reminded that God works in this way as we celebrate today the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today as we remember how our Blessed Mother Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, we recall that God lifts up the lowly and exalts them. We hear of these wonders in today's Gospel, where we are told that
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most 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?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."
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.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
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."
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.*
When her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, our Blessed Mother Mary set out to the home of Elizabeth. She went to share with Elizabeth the Good News that Jesus was to be born. She went to minister to Elizabeth in her pregnancy. Our Blessed Mother Mary went to serve Elizabeth. We can emulate our Blessed Mother Mary by serving others.
When our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." We find this declaration of the blessedness of our Blessed Mother Mary and her Son Jesus not only in the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Also while reciting the rosary, Christians proclaim the blessedness of our Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary. We too can join Saint Elizabeth and feel the joy of The Visitation by praying the rosary.
Elizabeth wondered, "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth was honored to be visited by our Blessed Mother Mary, yet she could not fathom how she could be accorded the great privilege of being visited by the mother of the Messiah. We too can wonder how we can be so blessed that our Blessed Mother Mary dotes such great kindness upon us, given our abhorrent sinfulness. We receive such marvelous and magnanimous assistance from our Blessed Mother since she is humble, loving and sweet. She answers our cries because she loves us so very much. Thus we are to cry out to her now, as we are mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. She very much wants us to call out to her, to ask her to intercede with her Son on our behalf.
It truly only begins to describe the tremendous effectiveness of our Blessed Mother's intercession to say that she is a formidable intercessor for us. If people only realized how much sway her prayers have in Heaven, far more people would be seeking her intercession. Full of the knowledge of how our Blessed Mother Mary protects us if we but call out to her, we are full of joy. Similarly, right after our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, "The infant in my womb leapt for joy." In the womb of Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist was rejoicing at the arrival of our Blessed Mother Mary. In the loving care of our Blessed Mother Mary, we have nothing to fear, so we rejoice.
Elizabeth said to our Blessed Mother Mary, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Our Blessed Mother Mary has been so blessed because, during her life here on earth, she was filled with faith. If we too wish to be blessed, we do will well to embrace the gift of faith from God.
Our Blessed Mother Mary then replied, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Our Blessed Mother Mary strove to live out the greatest commandment, "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."** First and foremost in the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary was the desire to open her heart to the will of God. God calls us too to open our hearts to His will for us.
Our Blessed Mother Mary told Elizabeth that her spirit rejoiced in God Her Savior. When we know God saves us, we rejoice. When we realize we have nothing to fear, we rejoice.
She knew that God had looked with favor on His lowly servant. Our Blessed Mother Mary was a poor peasant, yet God bestowed immense grace upon her. God gives grace to the humble.***
Well aware of how abundantly God had blessed her, our Blessed Mother Mary confidently announced that all generations would call her blessed. She knew that she would be remembered as a shining, luminous reflection of God's great glory.
All generations call Mary blessed because the Almighty has done great things for her. God has shown His mighty glory through our Blessed Mother Mary.
Having been reminded of what God had done for her, our Blessed Mother Mary proclaimed that Holy is the name of God. She knew that all glory belongs to God, so she proclaimed that His name is holy. We too must keep in mind that all glory is to go to God.
Since she had experienced His great mercy, she explained that He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. When we realize who we are, namely that we are nothing without God, we fear Him, and we beg Him for mercy.
Our Blessed Mother Mary described how God has scattered the proud. She noted that He has cast down the mighty. God opposes the proud.**** To be like our Blessed Mother Mary, we must turn away from the temptation to pride; we must be humble like our Blessed Mother Mary.
Everyone who raises himself up will be humbled. The one who humbles himself will be raised up.*****
Our Blessed Mother Mary experienced Herself how God lifted up the lowly. God exalted her, an impoverished little girl. God gives grace to the humble.
And so our Blessed Mother Mary declared that God had filled the hungry with good things. Some people question why there are poor people in the world. Some ask why there is suffering. The poor are blessed insofar as they are close to God. The more desperate we are, the more we cry out to God with earnest prayer, and thus the more likely God is to grant our prayers. God fills those who are hungry with good things, which provide them the spiritual nourishment they need to survive into true life together with Him.
Often we think that those who are materially rich are blessed. So often those who are materially rich are spiritually impoverished. If we are too comfortable, we do not pray as we should. And thus often the rich are sent away empty, as our Blessed Mother Mary noted. If we are not humble, we are not accorded grace.
And yet if we have humility, if we submit ourselves to the will of God, then God comes to our help. And so our Blessed Mother Mary rejoiced that God had come to the help of His servant Israel. She was grateful that God had remained faithful to His promise of mercy. God is merciful, since He is faithful to His promise. God is faithful, even if we are unfaithful. He cannot be unfaithful, for His Word is truth.******
And so if we but give our consent to be humbled like our Blessed Mother Mary was, God will give us the grace we need to do His will. Opening our hearts to God, God will work wonders through us, just as He worked wonders through our Blessed Mother Mary.
* Luke 1:39-56
** Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
***** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
****** John 14:6
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