In two days, we will be celebrating not only the 4th Sunday of Advent in the morning, but we will also be celebrating Christmas Eve in the evening. Our readings at mass today prepare us for the true meaning of Christmas at a time when many of us are probably preoccupied with 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, a professor of theology at Fordham University in New York 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 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 bring to us? Perhaps they are asking us to discover the true meaning of Advent in the midst of our busy secular world. As God manifested himself in the humble manger in Bethlehem in the form of baby Jesus, he reminds us that in our modern world, God's real presence is still among us, a presence that we encounter in many ways. Our readings in this last week of Advent remind us how much we are loved by God just as we are. The Magnificat 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 may 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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