MARY IS PROCLAIMED BLESSED

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Luke 1:39-45

After being informed by the angel that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant, Mary wasted no time and with strong resolution, she “set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah”. It was a difficult journey, a journey that would not be done by a young woman, unless under very pressing circumstances. Did Mary venture to go alone? There is no way of knowing, but it is well possible and probable that she went with some family member or friend or she might have joined a group of people going to Jerusalem. In doing the journey from Nazareth to “the hill country of Judah”, in the South, Mary showed the determination and courage fo someone who is strongly motivated. At all costs, she needed to go and contemplate the wonders which the Lord had done in Elizabeth for the sake of his people. And she had to share her secret with someone who had also been graced and favoured. Carrying with her the mystery of God’s love, she felt the need to be with someone who had also embraced the mystery, so that her words of joy, praise, and thanksgiving would find echo and response. 

Upon hearing Mary's greeting, Elizabeth felt the child leaping in her bosom with joy and, there and then, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, making it possible for her to recognise that Mary was the mother of the Lord.

There are people who try to ignore Mary or to despise her role in God’s plan of salvation, speaking of her as a common woman. Elizabeth, guided by the Holy Spirit was able to recognise her dignity and her role. Mary is not a simple villager from Nazareth or an ordinary woman from any other village or town, but she is the chosen one of the Lord. That’s why Elizabeth proclaimed her "blessed among women" and she is blessed because she "believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

In order to share in Mary’s blessing, we must have the same attitude of faith, accepting God’s word and putting into practice in our lives. Only this attitude of faith enables us to recognise and to accept God’s gift of grace and love. With Mary, let us prepare ourselves, guided by the Holy Spirit, to welcome Jesus in our lives. May he be born in our hearts.