Cycle C - Year I
23 December 2012: 4th Sunday of Advent (The 8th day of Simbang Gabi)
(Liturgical color: Violet, White
for Simbang
Gabi Mass)
Luke 1:39-45
Two women of great faith!
In all churches and chapels we light the fourth candle in the Advent wreath, the candle of love. For today is the last
Sunday of our Advent
pilgrimage. In
two more days we will witness
the birth of
our Savior, the Light of the world.
As we wind up our spiritual preparation for his coming, we reflect today on the second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary: the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth.
On learning from the angel Gabriel in the Annunciation that her cousin Elizabeth is soon to give birth and is in need of help our Lady in her charity hastens to Elizabeth's aid.
We may ask, what is the significance of Mary's visit to Elizabeth before the birth of Jesus? Well, let us learn something from the life of these two women of faith in our salvation history.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth recognizes the Messiah in Mary's womb and 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)
And what a marvelous wonder for God to fill with the Holy Spirit not only Elizabeth's heart but also the child in her womb. Thus, even before the birth of the Messiah, John the Baptist pointed to his coming and leapt for joy in the womb of Elizabeth as the Holy Spirit revealed to him the presence of the King to be born.
The same Holy Spirit is God's gift to us, this Christmas season if you will, to enable us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God in us.
The encounter of the two babies while still in their mothers' womb should make us reflect on the blessedness and sanctity of human life, so that we have more love and charity for the unborn and defend the right to life of all human beings who are created in God's image.
Mary, oblivious of her own delicate pregnancy, hastened to go and help Elizabeth as the latter prepared for child birth. From Mary's visit to Elizabeth we Christians should learn to be caring people as well.
No one ever had so great a faith compared with Mary's. She is our model of Christian discipleship in her complete submission and total trust in God. Because Mary is a woman who got the job done by focusing on God's will 24/7 we say (meaning every moment of our life), doing what God wants of her. She trusted God to take care of everything else. So that her "Yes" to God about becoming the mother of his Son, notwithstanding that she is a virgin, also included a "Yes" to trusting God in the great adventure of her life in keeping with the Divine Plan. That included enduring with her Son Jesus the intensity of his suffering, and bearing in her mother's heart his passion and death on the cross.
In other words, Mary's faith in God inspires us to submit ourselves completely to God's will at all times in our journey through this life.
So once again this year Christmas reminds us that we must open our door, our hearts, to the Lord's coming this Christmas day. Let us observe faithfully the completion of our Advent walk on this 4th Sunday of Advent by following the examples of Mary and Elizabeth as we now move very close the the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, on Christmas Day.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.
As we wind up our spiritual preparation for his coming, we reflect today on the second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary: the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth.
On learning from the angel Gabriel in the Annunciation that her cousin Elizabeth is soon to give birth and is in need of help our Lady in her charity hastens to Elizabeth's aid.
We may ask, what is the significance of Mary's visit to Elizabeth before the birth of Jesus? Well, let us learn something from the life of these two women of faith in our salvation history.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth recognizes the Messiah in Mary's womb and 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)
And what a marvelous wonder for God to fill with the Holy Spirit not only Elizabeth's heart but also the child in her womb. Thus, even before the birth of the Messiah, John the Baptist pointed to his coming and leapt for joy in the womb of Elizabeth as the Holy Spirit revealed to him the presence of the King to be born.
The same Holy Spirit is God's gift to us, this Christmas season if you will, to enable us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God in us.
The encounter of the two babies while still in their mothers' womb should make us reflect on the blessedness and sanctity of human life, so that we have more love and charity for the unborn and defend the right to life of all human beings who are created in God's image.
Mary, oblivious of her own delicate pregnancy, hastened to go and help Elizabeth as the latter prepared for child birth. From Mary's visit to Elizabeth we Christians should learn to be caring people as well.
No one ever had so great a faith compared with Mary's. She is our model of Christian discipleship in her complete submission and total trust in God. Because Mary is a woman who got the job done by focusing on God's will 24/7 we say (meaning every moment of our life), doing what God wants of her. She trusted God to take care of everything else. So that her "Yes" to God about becoming the mother of his Son, notwithstanding that she is a virgin, also included a "Yes" to trusting God in the great adventure of her life in keeping with the Divine Plan. That included enduring with her Son Jesus the intensity of his suffering, and bearing in her mother's heart his passion and death on the cross.
In other words, Mary's faith in God inspires us to submit ourselves completely to God's will at all times in our journey through this life.
So once again this year Christmas reminds us that we must open our door, our hearts, to the Lord's coming this Christmas day. Let us observe faithfully the completion of our Advent walk on this 4th Sunday of Advent by following the examples of Mary and Elizabeth as we now move very close the the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, on Christmas Day.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.
Deo Optimo Maximo!
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