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
The Assumption of Mary
1. She set out in haste. In Mary we see selfless and effective service. Mary did not wait to be notified that she was needed. She knew she was needed, so off she went. One of the elements that we see nowadays is “procrastination”, leaving things for later and not doing them. Or simply giving up, having no desire to do anything. Today let’s ask Jesus for the attitude of effective service, without waiting around listening to what others are saying, but rather going out and being with those in need. May your attitude today be that of doing things for others, without beating around the bush and without excuses.
2. Joyful. Ask Mary to help you to be a joyful person. Don’t let the blows of life make you bitter. Don’t let these blows pull you down and make you forget the beautiful moments of your life. Ask for the strength of the Holy Spirit to be able to see life as a gift that God has given you and not as a burden or a punishment. Life is too short to spend your time regretting the bad things you’ve gone through; take them as experiences you can learn from and redirect your life.
3. Three months. How important it is to set limits. You must also set limits to the help you give others, because you must remember it’s about giving them the tools so that they can live, but it’s definitely not about creating dependence on you so that the other person’s life is subjected to yours. You must also learn that all help has limits in terms of time and space. To be charitable does not mean forgetting about yourself; your service shouldn’t absorb who you are. However holy and healthy service may be, if it makes you leave aside your family, your vocation or your mission, then it’s not called service, but rather a great temptation. Learn to give others the tools so that they can improve themselves and not depend on you, don’t destroy their capacity to choose. To teach is to serve, to serve is to love and to love is to prosper.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
