Fw: LUKE 1:39-47: TUESDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION (December 12, 2000

[Obi OBIEKWE]

Subject: LUKE 1:39-47: TUESDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION (December 12, 2000

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Tuesday, December 12, 2000

Feast: Our Lady of Guadalupe

From: Luke 1:39-47

The Visitation
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[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill
country, to a city of Judah, [40] and she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  [41] And when Elizabeth heard the
greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit [42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And
why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
[44] For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the
babe in my womb leaped for joy.  [45] And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the
Lord."

The Magnificat
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[46] And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, [47] and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior."

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Commentary:

39-56. We contemplate this episode of our Lady's visit to her cousin
St. Elizabeth in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: "Joyfully
keep Joseph and Mary company...and you will hear the traditions of the
House of David....  We walk in haste towards the mountains, to a town
of the tribe of Judah (Luke 1:39).

"We arrive. It is the house where John the Baptist is to be born.
Elizabeth gratefully hails the Mother of her Redeemer: Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  Why should I be
honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? (Luke 1:42-43).

"The unborn Baptist quivers...(Luke 1:41).  Mary's humility pours forth
in the "Magnificat"....  And you and I, who are proud--who were
proud--promise to be humble" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary").

39. On learning from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth is soon to
give birth and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity hastens
to her aid.  She has no regard for the difficulties this involves.
Although we do not know where exactly Elizabeth was living (it is now
thought to be Ain Karim), it certainly meant a journey into the hill
country which at that time would have taken four days.

From Mary's visit to Elizabeth Christians should learn to be caring
people.  "If we have this filial contact with Mary, we won't be able to
think just about ourselves and our problems.  Selfish personal problems
will find no place in our mind" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is
Passing By," 145).

42. St. Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same words
as the archangel "to show that she should be honored by angels and by
men and why she should indeed be revered above all other women" ("In
Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

When we say the "Hail Mary" we repeat these divine greetings,
"rejoicing with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the
Lord, thanking Him for having given us Jesus Christ through Mary" ("St.
Pius X Catechism", 333).
43. Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit to call Mary "the mother of
my Lord", thereby showing that Mary is the Mother of God.

44. Although he was conceived in sin--original sin--like other men, St.
John the Baptist was born sinless because he was sanctified in his
mother's womb by the presence of Jesus Christ (then in Mary's womb) and
of the Blessed Virgin.  On receiving this grace of God St. John
rejoices by leaping with joy in his mother's womb--thereby fulfilling
the archangel's prophecy (cf. Luke 1:15).

St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: "See how new
and how wonderful this mystery is.  He has not yet left the womb but he
speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes
himself heard by his actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but
he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act
as Precursor.  The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or
wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison
of his mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that
the Savior is about to come" ("Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio").

45. Joining the chorus of all future generations, Elizabeth, moved by
the Holy Spirit, declares the Lord's Mother to be blessed and praises
her faith.  No one ever had faith to compare with Mary's; she is the
model of the attitude a creature should have towards its
Creator--complete submission, total attachment.  Through her faith,
Mary is the instrument chosen by God to bring about the Redemption; as
Mediatrix of all graces, she is associated with the redemptive work of
her Son: "This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of
salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal
conception up to His death; first when Mary, arising in haste to go to
visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in
the promise of salvation and the Precursor leaps with joy in the womb
of his mother [...].  The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of
faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the
cross, where she stood (cf. John 19:25), in keeping with the Divine
Plan, enduring with her only-begotten Son the intensity of His
suffering, associating herself with His sacrifice in her mother's
heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which
was born of her" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 57f).

The new Latin text gives a literal rendering of the original Greek when
it says "quae credidit" (RSV "she who has believed") as opposed to the
Vulgate "quae credidisti" ("you who have believed") which gave more of
the sense than a literal rendering.

46-55. Mary's "Magnificat" canticle is a poem of singular beauty.  It
evokes certain passages of the Old Testament with which she would have
been very familiar (especially 1 Sam 2:1-10).

Three stanzas may be distinguished in the canticle: in the first (vv.
46-50) Mary glorifies God for making her the Mother of the Savior,
which is why future generations will call her blessed; she shows that
the Incarnation is a mysterious expression of God's power and holiness
and mercy.  In the second (vv. 51-53) she teaches us that the Lord has
always had a preference for the humble, resisting the proud and
boastful.  In the third (vv. 54-55) she proclaims that God, in keeping
with his promise, has always taken special care of his chosen people--
and now does them the greatest honor of all by becoming a Jew (cf. Rom
1:3).

"Our prayer can accompany and imitate this prayer of Mary.  Like her,
we feel the desire to sing, to acclaim the wonders of God, so that all
mankind and all creation may share our joy" (J. Escriva, "Christ Is
Passing By", 144).

46-47. "The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are peace and joy  And the
Blessed Virgin had received within herself all the grace of the Holy
Spirit" (St Basil, "In Psalmos Homiliae", on Ps 32).  Mary's soul
overflows in the words of the "Magnificat".  God's favors cause every
humble soul to feel joy and gratitude.  In the case of the Blessed
Virgin, God has bestowed more on her than on any other creature. 
"Virgin, Mother of God, he whom the heavens cannot contain, on becoming
man, enclosed himself within your womb" ("Roman Missal", Antiphon of
the common of the Mass for feasts of our Lady).  The humble Virgin of
Nazareth is going to be the Mother of God; the Creator's omnipotence
has never before manifested itself in as complete a way as this.

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