We are now at the last Sunday of our Advent journey, as all four candles are lit on our Advent wreath. For the first three weeks of Advent, in our Gospel readings, we have heard from John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and his ministry, as well as from Jesus himself telling us how he will come again in glory in the end times. Today’s Gospel takes us to the time before Jesus’ birth, as Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth.
We have the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels we have in the Bible. We have the apostles who were sent out as evangelizers and missionaries to the ends of the ancient world. But, in many ways, Mary was the first evangelizer, bringing Christ to Elizabeth and to Elizabeth’s unborn son, John. Elizabeth realizes that her son’s leap in her womb was in response to Mary’s words.
In his commentary on today’s Gospel, Doctor of the Church from the 4th century St. Ambrose of Milan sheds light on this remarkable event, asking us to take notice of the contrast and choice of the words used in the Gospel. Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary’s voice, but her son, John the Baptist, who is still in her womb, is the first to be aware of God’s grace in this encounter. Elizabeth hears the words of the greeting, but John leaps for joy at the meaning of the mystery. Elizabeth is aware of Mary’s presence, but John is aware of the Lord’s presence. Elizabeth is aware of the presence of her cousin Mary, but John, who is the forerunner, is aware of the pledge of salvation. The women speak of the grace they’ve received in this encounter, while their children are already at work in the mystery of God’s plan of salvation.
This encounter between Mary and Elizabeth gives us the opportunity to reflect upon God’s presence, God’s word, and the response of faith on the part of these two women. Mary received God’s word in her heart, but also in the flesh of her womb. God’s Word becomes flesh in response to her acceptance of God’s will. Mary hastens to take God’s word to her cousin Elizabeth, making Mary a messenger of God’s salvation. In our Gospel today, John the Baptist is the first to respond to Mary’s word. Then, Elizabeth exclaims with great joy that the Mother of her Lord has come to visit her. Moved by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth, out of her faith, acknowledges the great mystery God has accomplished in Mary.
When Deacon John and I were talking about today’s Gospel earlier in the week, he explained to me how he saw this Gospel as a Eucharistic Gospel story. That is a wonderful insight. Think about how the prayer after communion in the Mass invites us to recognize the presence of Christ among us in the Eucharist. We are also called to see how the presence of Christ is discovered in the way the Eucharist lives within us. We meet Christ in our brothers and sister; we also serve Jesus when are are in service to our brothers and sisters. Mary’s service to Elizabeth in the visitation remains a model for the Christian who wishes to meet Christ in daily life. As we are in the midst of our celebration of the Year of the Eucharist in our Diocese, we are called to recognize the way the Eucharist is alive in the Gospel we hear this morning, of how Mary brought Christ to others. We are to recognize today’s Gospel calling each one of us to service and to action as members of the Body of Christ here on earth.
St Pope John Paul II had a deep devotion to our Blessed Mother. Every Advent during his papacy, he prayed in a special way to our Mother Mary, that she would help prepare our hearts for Christmas day and for the birth of our Savior. Let us pray together this prayer to the Blessed Mother, using words from addresses that John Paul II gave in 1999 and 2004:
May the Virgin Mary help us to open the doors of our hearts to Christ, redeemer of man and of history; may she teach us to be humble, because God looks upon the lowly; may she enable us to grow in understanding the value of prayer, of inner silence, of listening to God’s Word; may she spur us to seek God’s will deeply and sincerely, even when this upsets our plans; may she encourage us while we wait for the Lord, sharing our time and energies with those in need.
Mother of God, Virgin of expectation, grant that the God-who-comes will find us ready to receive the abundance of his mercy. May Mary Most Holy, “Woman of the Eucharist” and Virgin of Advent, prepare us all to joyfully welcome Christ’s coming and to celebrate worthily his sacramental presence in the mystery of the Eucharist. AMEN.
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