Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas right around the corner, we are presented in the Gospel with the account of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s visit to her relative Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea, outside of Jerusalem.
When she arrives, Elizabeth responds to Mary’s greeting with Spirit-inspired words that we now repeat as part of our “Hail Mary” prayer, “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Then Elizabeth says, “blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation, i.e. the Divine Word of God who became flesh in Mary’s womb and was born in a Bethlehem manger, we are encouraged to follow the example of Mary’s faithfulness to God’s will in her life. Oh, that others would be able to say of you or me, “blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” That you and I would live in such a way that others would recognize the strong faith and trust we have in God.
Mary, I suspect, had no idea of what lay ahead for her as the mother of God’s “Son.” Little did she know that heartache she would have to endure as she fled from Herod’s murderous pursuit, as her son grew in relative obscurity, as Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders when he began his ministry and how he would be persecuted and murdered by the religious and secular powers of the day.
Yet, because of her trust in God’s loving care, Mary said “yes” to whatever God had in store for her. As we prepare to celebrate what God has done for us in Jesus, the promised Messiah, may we be given the grace to imitate Mary’s trust in God’s Love and His help for whatever lie ahead.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
