MY daily reflection and prayer:
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. 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, “Most 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 upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
TODAY is feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What can we learn from this moment?
As the Blessed Virgin Mary, Elizabeth, and the infant in her womb, we can learn to open our heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has filled Mary’s soul to impel her to undertake her perilous journey to visit Elizabeth. The Gospel today also tells us that this same Holy Spirit has filled the heart of Elizabeth at Mary’s greeting and moved the infant within her womb.
So, the first fruit of the fullness of the Holy Spirit is joy. This joy expands the dimensions of the human spirit, raising it from the anxieties of egoism, making it capable of authentic love.
The joy of Mary and Elizabeth flows from their humility. Elizabeth’s humility is profoundly expressed in her awareness of her lowliness in the face of a visit from the mother of her Lord. Mary echoes her deep humility throughout her Magnificat.
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist we worship Jesus Christ who grants us joy as he has given it to his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary and also to Elizabeth and the infant in her womb. There we rejoice in our own littleness. We ask the Holy Spirit to make us to do great things for Christ with our life.
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, we believe in your supreme goodness and love. We entrust our entire selves to you with all of our hopes, fears and joys. Thank you for giving us the gift of yourself in the Eucharist. Thank you, too, for giving us your own mother to be our mother. Here we are, like her, to do your will in humility forever and ever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
