Today, just a few days before our Christmas celebration, our readings prepare
us for the true meaning of Christmas at a time when many of us are probably
preoccupied with many other things, such as buying last-minute gifts,
decorating our homes, or winding things down at work before we celebrate
Christmas with our families.
Mary’s song of the Magnificat is filled with extraordinary proclamations about
God. Mary expresses a remarkable strength of belief.
Sister Elizabeth Johnson of Fordham University remarks that “Mary’s
Magnificat …shows a woman whose consciousness is deeply rooted in the heritage
and wisdom of the strong women of Israel.
Knowledge about the liberating traditions of her own people, (the Virgin
Mary), this friend of God, stands (out) as a prophet.” We hear from another prophetic woman of Israel in our first reading today –
Hannah. Hannah brings her young son, Samuel, to the Temple in order to dedicate him to
God and to leave him there under the tutelage of Eli. Hannah does this to fulfill her promise to God for answering her prayers and
giving her a son. Hannah is one of many faithful Jewish women in Holy Scripture and in the Sacred
Tradition that Mary was aware of as she joyfully sings the Magnificat.
In this last week before Christmas, we have heard from Mary, Elizabeth, and
Hannah in their own words. What is the
message they are trying to bring to us? Perhaps they are asking us to discover the true meaning of this holy Advent
season in the midst of our busy secular world. As God manifested himself in the humble manger in Bethlehem in the form of the
baby Jesus, he reminds us that in our modern world, God's real presence is
still among us, a presence we encounter in many ways. Our reading in this last week of Advent remind us how much we are loved by God
just as we are. The Magnificat specifically reminds us that God loves us, that he desires us to
express this love to him and to others as we live out our daily lives of faith. God touches us through others. Likewise, God touches others through our
presence to them just as Mary brought God to her cousin Elizabeth through her
presence and through her words. Let us pray that God will open our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to the
stirrings of God in our lives, especially in the ways he comes to us during
Advent and Christmas.
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