20240531 MARY FULFILS OUR HOPE BY BRINGING US JESUS
31 May 2024, Friday, The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
First reading |
Zephaniah 3:14-18 © |
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst
Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed your sentence;
he has driven your enemies away.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
you have no more evil to fear.
When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.
Responsorial Psalm | Isaiah 12 © |
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk1:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:39-56 © |
The Almighty has done great things for me
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
And Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
MARY FULFILS OUR HOPE BY BRINGING US JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ZEPH 3:14-18 OR ROM 12:9-16; LUKE 1:39-56]
In today’s first reading, Israel was in exile, waiting for deliverance. The prophet Zephaniah prophesied that “The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.” Indeed, when the Lord is with us, we can shout for joy like Israel because the Lord will fight the battle for us. “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.” With God on our side, there is nothing for us to fear because we know that we can overcome all things in Him.
But God is not just our protector, He has renewed His love for us in Christ. We are once again His sons and daughters. The prophet said, “Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.” As St Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:37-39)
This hope would not have been fulfilled without Mary who brings Jesus into our midst. This is what the Feast of the Visitation celebrates. It celebrates the visitation not so much of Mary but of God in Christ fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. After raising the son of the widow Nain, “Fear seized all who were present, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.” (Lk 7:16 New Catholic Bible) Indeed, Jesus is the visitation of God. He has come to restore the people of Israel as Mary prayed in the Magnificat. “Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him. He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy – according to the promise he made to our ancestors – of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth anticipates what the Messiah would do. He would baptize us with the Holy Spirit and God will dwell in us. Indeed, when Mary greeted Elizabeth, “the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Jesus’ presence brings about the presence of the Holy Spirit, filling John the Baptist and Elizabeth with His love. Knowing that the Lord was in their midst in the womb of Mary, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.”
So for us all too, we need to welcome Jesus and make Him the centre of our lives. Unless the Lord lives in our hearts and in our midst, we will not find joy and peace. How can we welcome the Lord into our lives? We need to be humble like Mary and Elizabeth. Both of them were conscious of their blessings from God. They were not envious of each other. They celebrated God’s love together, glad that God blessed them in His own way. Elizabeth was not envious of Mary’s position as the Mother of God. Neither was John the Baptist when he grew up and was happy to play the friend of the bridegroom. Being able to rejoice with others is a sign of gratitude and contentment, believing that what God has given us is always for our good.
Secondly, we need to believe. Elizabeth said to Mary, “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Faith is necessary for anyone to welcome the Lord into his or her heart. Mary and Elizabeth could experience the presence of God in their lives only because they believed. Even though Mary was a virgin and Elizabeth was in her old age, yet because both believed, the Lord worked in and through their lives. Faith is the way in which we allow God to live and work in us.
Thirdly, Mary brought Jesus to us by announcing the coming of the Holy Spirit. St Luke speaks of her as being filled with the Holy Spirit wherever she went. She was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit when she conceived our Lord in her womb. She was filled with the Holy Spirit when she sang the Magnificat in response to the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Elizabeth and John the Baptist. Whenever Jesus is present, He gives us the Holy Spirit. When He was still on earth, His presence evoked the Holy Spirit because He was the bearer of the Holy Spirit. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit made Jesus present to us in our lives through miracles and testimonies of those who felt the work of the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, we make Jesus present by our works of charity. Mary brought Jesus to Elizabeth and John the Baptist by her desire to help them. She took the trouble to travel all the way from Nazareth and spent three months with Elizabeth in her last days of pregnancy. Mary put the needs of her cousin before her own. Instead of being focused on herself now that she was pregnant, she was always focused on others. We see this too at the Wedding in Cana. Instead of simply enjoying herself with the guests, she was observant that the wine had run out. And so she turned to her Son to see how He could save the wedding celebration.
This is the kind of charity that St Paul spoke of in his letter to the Romans. The love of Mary was always sincere and devoid of hypocrisy. She did not do good to gain attention. And in fact the steward at the Wedding in Cana did not know who was responsible for changing the water into wine. “Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other.” Mary never announced to others how good she was, or the good that she did for others. She gave hospitality to others in need. “If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.” So, too, when her Son was misunderstood or condemned at His passion, Mary was silent and never retaliated or thought ill of others. She was a woman of charity and forgiveness. As St Paul said, “Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor.”
Mary gives us hope in life. “If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying.” She was always encouraging when the apostles were left on their own after the ascension of her Son. She was with them in continuous prayer, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mary never gave up even in the face of hopelessness. This is why we must turn to Mary. She will lead us to Jesus, our sure hope. In turn we must continue to encourage one another, especially those who are going through difficult times and want to give up hope in life. We must continue to lead them to Jesus and Mary. Only in and through them, can they find hope and encouragement in their difficult journey of life. Let those whom we encounter feel that God has visited them. Like Mary and Elizabeth, let us continue to inspire them in their life.
Indeed, with Mary, let us be true missionaries of Christ by journeying with other believers and with the Church. With the rest of the Church, let us together join Mary and Elizabeth, and John the Baptist to proclaim Christ everywhere and always, to transmit the faith to every human person. We must make this synodal journey with the Church and incarnate Christ and the gospel wherever we are through our life, our words and our works of charity, especially to the sick, the marginalized, the lonely and the elderly. But most of all, we must give Jesus to them because He is the true treasure and hope and joy for all of humanity.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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