Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
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She set out
1. Being supportive. Mary did not wait to be notified that she was needed. She knew she was needed, so off she went. We tend to wait until we are asked instead of just offering to help, but that is not what a supportive Christian should be doing. Go without being asked. Do not wait around listening to what others are saying, go out and be with those in need. Be like Mary, who went because she knew Elizabeth needed her. Encourage others to go as well, let them know that it would be wonderful if they also went out to help.
2. Contemplation. Mary contemplated her life through God’s lens. She prayed to see what God wanted from her. She knew what her contribution to the history of salvation was going to be. That is what you have to do today. Look at your life with God in mind. He brought you here to fulfil a mission, you are here to show His greatness. The only way to understand what is happening to you and what you must face is looking at your life from God’s view. Only by meeting Him in prayer will your life mission be revealed and will your soul be relieved. Remember, things always happen for a reason. Learn to look at things from God’s point of view and instead of complaining, learn to praise Him for the things that happen to you, just like Mary did. Ask Mary for the joy of being able to give, for peace to face difficulties, and for faith to continue in God’s path. Mary takes you to Jesus.
3. Heaven is the goal. This is what we’re celebrating. Mary reminds us that we are called to go to heaven, our home. How do we get there? Through contemplation, seeing God’s plan and living a simple life. Serving others and thus, serving God. There is more than this life, your ultimate goal is heaven. Do not stop halfway. Do not give up. If today it is hard to see the finish line, look up to heaven and tell yourself “my life does not end here, it ends there.” We should never forget that Heaven is our goal.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
