Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Year C

How do you express your joy? Do you clap your hands, laugh loudly, scream out, react to someone nearby with a face or
gesture? In our Gospel today the infant John “leapt for joy”. To someone with a body image that is not good – such as I have
had throughout my life – jumping for joy is NOT the way I would describe my reaction to happiness. To me, it seems a
person who would jump for joy is a physical person, someone comfortable with his or her own body. But this was in a womb.
John, in his mother’s womb expressed both an emotional and physical reaction, according to Luke.

Even though Luke is being very imaginative here, we always tend to ascribe what happens to some emotional reaction in
babies. I am told that babies don’t laugh till they are a few months old – before that it is just gas. But we like to think they are
laughing at us, and happy. Similarly Elizabeth experienced a jump in her womb and Luke ascribes it to John’s recognition of
Jesus. Pretty far-fetched, but it captures beautifully the emotion and feeling of that meeting between the two pregnant
women.

Luke provides the richest Gospel account of the pregnancy of Mary and the birth of Christ. In the twenty to thirty years after
Mark’s Gospel which hadn’t mentioned anything about Christ until he was an adult, Luke combined or imagined many
details to create the infancy account. If you have read the four Gospels, you know that they contain very different stories in
the details about Christ’s birth. This is because they wanted to stress different things about Jesus and wanted to relate Jesus
to Old Testament stories and traditions. Luke was no different. He read in the Torah, in Micah, as we do in the first reading
today, that the savior would come from Bethlehem, so Jesus must have been born in Bethlehem. Whether that is an
historical fact or not is beside the point. If he is the Savior then he fulfilled the Old Law and so the authors create details to
point that out.

In the Gospel today Luke is setting up the eventual encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist. He may have been
bothered by the fact that in Mark’s account Jesus got baptized and that might mean to some people that he had sin. By
Luke’s time, the theological understanding of Christ was that he was sinless. So even in this early narrative Luke is setting us
and the early Christians up to understand that John was a precursor of Christ, a prophet of Christ and was baptizing, as we
saw last week, not for the remission of sins, but for repentance. It was only Jesus who could forgive sin.

In any case, we have a beautiful story told to us today. It is a little out of context so let’s bring back the context. We first meet
Zechariah and Elizabeth, an old couple, who are childless. The angel Gabriel comes to Zechariah and tells him that he is
going to have a son, but Zechariah refuses to believe it and loses his voice because of his disbelief until the son was
born. Elizabeth gets pregnant and is thrilled because she saw her childlessness as a curse, but she decides to keep the
pregnancy secret.

Mary, meanwhile, has her own secret. She has been told by an angel that she will conceive and bear a son, even though she is
not married. She is told that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and she will conceive, making Jesus the actual Son of God –
again a declaration of the theology which had early developed in the Church.

We begin then today with the meeting of the two pregnant women. They did not know that each other was pregnant. But
when they meet, the Holy Spirit comes upon Elizabeth as was foretold, and John leaps for joy, the Spirit letting Elizabeth
know that Mary is also pregnant in a very special manner. “ Blessed are you among women and blest is the fruit of your
womb.” Elizabeth was the first to speak the words which so many of us recite every day. We stop our reading at this point
just before the incredibly beautiful prayer of Mary that we call the Magnificat.

We call the story we read today “The Visitation”. The word most used in this story is the word ‘blessed’ assigned to Mary
three times. Many non-Catholics criticize us as worshipping Mary almost as a goddess, but the real reason she is universally
admired and prayed to in the Catholic church is explained in this reading. Mary is blessed because she was the vessel that
bore our savior, blessed because she had the faith enough to agree to God’s very strange and frightening happening to her,
and not because she was or did anything in herself. She is honored because she is the mother of Christ and thus God.

In Luke, all of the movement is toward the future. The events of our redemption all really begin at the meeting of John and
Jesus in the desert and so this early history is just setting us up for that event. Both women in the Gospel offered their
bodies for God’s purpose. This is what ties the Gospel reading to the second reading today because just as Mary and
Elizabeth offered their bodies, so did Jesus. Jesus, too, offered his body up for our salvation. We read in the Epistle to the
Hebrews: Behold, I come to do your will. ”By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. To be blessed and to be consecrated have the same meaning. Through the body of Christ we ourselves
have been blessed, just as Mary has been blessed, and we too are able to carry the body of Christ within us. The Incarnation
can take place within us each time we go to communion.

In Advent we have been preparing ourselves to accept this Incarnation in us again.

As the daylight became shorter in the last few months we were more and more in darkness, but starting today on this last
Sunday of Advent, the daylight gets longer each day. How appropriate! Where is the darkness within us that needs light? Do
we find ourselves jealous of others, do we have strong moments of anger or impatience? Are we blind to the feelings of
others? We work in Advent to bring light to those places inside us so that we can let the Incarnation take place in us on
Christmas Day. We need to be like Elizabeth and Mary and say ‘yes’ to his coming. We need to wait – the birth of a child
takes a set amount of time, the people of Israel waited for a savior for a period of time. For the men here today, we need to
imitate the courage of women in preparing ourselves for this child – how demanding a child can be on one’s ego, one’s
privacy, and one’s plans for the future. It is even painful at times. Hopefully, if we have waited and prepared ourselves well, if
we have let the light in, something inside us will also leap for joy this Christmas, and we can celebrate the coming of our
Savior 2012 with the same innocence and joy that Luke describes in his Good News today. And so, this is the Good News I
also bring you today – Christ is coming. Let us ready ourselves through the Spirit to receive him.

And this is the Good News I wanted to share with you today.

The Perfect Gift

Micah 5:2-5 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45

Little Anita has a very busy father. He is a dot-com technocrat who makes a
lot of money but has little time to be with his family. Every night, however,
Anita insists that her father read her a story before she would go to sleep.
This continued for some time until the man found a "solution." He bought
Anita a colourful kid's tape player and made a tape of her favourite stories in
the story book. Whenever, therefore, the child asks him to read her a story he
would simply push the button and play back the tape-recorded stories. Anita
took that for a few days and then revolted and refused to accept the stories on
tape. "Why," asked the father, "the tape reads the stories as good as I do!"
"Ya," replied the little girl, "But I can't sit on his laps."
One thing that is associated with the celebration of Christmas everywhere is
giving. Christmas is the feast of giving. Christmas is the one time in the year
when everyone is sure to give and receive a present, even if be only a
Christmas card. People spent a lot of time and money shopping for the
perfect Christmas gift. We put up Christmas trees to surprise family members
with our gifts and to be surprised with theirs. Santa Claus is the perfect
symbol of Christmas because Santa is the one who gives and gives and never
gets tired of giving. Christmas is a feast of giving even from God's point of
view. For at Christmas we celebrate the mystery that "God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). God gives, and the
people of God give, and that is Christmas.

If Christmas is the feast of giving, then the question of what to give and how
to give becomes very important. After all what is worth doing is worth doing
well. How can we improve on the quality of our giving? How can we
improve on the quality of our Christmas celebration? Today's Gospel reading
helps us to answer some of these questions.

In today's Gospel we read the story of Mary visiting with Elizabeth. What
gift did Mary bring to Elizabeth? We are not told that she brought foodstuff,
although she might as well have brought some. We are told she brought just
one thing: herself. She gave Elizabeth the gift of her very presence. And, dear
friends, this is the best and the hardest gift of all. It is easy to send flowers, it
is easy to send a parcel, but to give the gift of ourselves, to make out the time
to be with somebody, that is the gift that many people long for but do not
receive at Christmas. Anita's father gave his little girl a costly tape recorder
and made tapes for her, but he did not give her himself, his presence, his
time. Following Mary's example in today's Gospel story, we must, in addition
to the flowers and parcels, give of ourselves, our presence, our time. We
must find the time to visit and be with people. This is the greatest gift
because its value cannot be calculated in terms of money.

Another point we can make out of Mary's gift to Elizabeth is that one should
give not according to one's convenience but according to the needs of the
receiver. It was not convenient for Mary to travel the lonely, dangerous road
from Galilee to the hills of Judea. It was certainly for her an uphill task. But
Elizabeth needed a helping hand. She was six months pregnant and would no
longer be able to go and draw water from the village well, to look after the
crops in her garden and the animals in her farm, she would no longer be able
to go to the market to do her shopping. So Mary, as soon as she learned that
Elizabeth was six months pregnant went with haste and stayed with her for
about three months, meaning, until she gave birth. Mary gave to Elizabeth
what she needed when she needed it. That is the perfect gift.

Do you know one thing everybody needs today? Everybody needs

 encouragement. Everybody needs the interior peace and joy that comes from
the Holy Spirit. This is what Mary's visit did for Elizabeth. Mary's visit was
an inspiration to Elizabeth. When we visit people this Christmas, let us try to
bring some inspiration into their lives, let us seek to bring them closer to
God, and let us try to share with them the Spirit of God in us, the Spirit of
consolation, of courage, of peace and joy, just as Mary did.

4th Sunday of Advent (Year C)

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10 Gospel Reading: Luke
1:39-45

“HERE I AM, I COME TO OBEY YOUR WILL, O GOD!”

"Will you please tell me in a word," said a Christian woman to a Minister, "what your idea of 'consecration' is?"
Holding out a blank sheet of paper, the Pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and let God fill
it in as He wills.”

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent - the final Sunday before Christmas. Christmas is only a few days away and the season of
Christmas carols has begun. The
birth of Jesus is now imminent. In a few days’ time we will be
celebrating the memory of that great event. Throughout Advent, we have heard of God’s
promise to send a liberator - a savior into the world; today, we catch a glimpse of how
that is to be accomplished. Today’s Mass prepares us for the Christmas celebration.
Each of the three readings takes up a different aspect of this great mystery to help us in
our understanding and in our personal preparation. And they tell us that the mystery
of 'incarnation' is contained in –'Doing God's will' - “Here I am, I come to obey your
will, O God!”

In the First Reading of today from the Book of the Prophet Micah, God through the
Prophet Micah promises a unique Savior, born in David’s town of Bethlehem: a Savior,
who will stand and feed his flock and establish peace. Here there is an explicit reference
to the forthcoming birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem - the least of the clans of Judah.
The prophet speaks of God bestowing on Bethlehem the distinction of being the
birthplace of an ideal ruler of Israel. The one who will come from this town will be “the
one who is to be ruler in Israel” and “whose origin is from of old, from ancient
times.”
When Micah proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, the Israelites in Jerusalem were
under attack. Their enemies, the Assyrians, were ready to "wipe them out." So the
good news that God would send them a strong and just ruler was music to their ears
and it filled them with joy and hope.
However, it also seems that God is going to abandon the people, and until such time as
the Messiah arrives to deliver Israel from its oppressors, the Jewish people will continue
to be subject to other nations.
When he does come, he will be the true shepherd of Israel and the servant of God. He
will guide people by the standards of heaven rather than by the misguided notions of the
bad shepherds before him. Very significantly, “He shall be peace” and deliver God’s
people. His peace shall bring about total harmony among the nations and the ends of
the earth will hear of his wisdom. We therefore anticipate the fulfillment of that prophecy
in Jesus Christ, who comes among us as it were secretly and unnoticed, in the womb of
Mary.

As we have said before, today is the Fourth and final Sunday before Christmas. And on
this last Sunday, we change our focus. The past two Sundays have centered on the
ascetic, somewhat fierce figure of John the Baptist. In the Gospel Reading of today, the
Church gives us the figure ofOur Lady to imitate: she was the one who first welcomed
Christ at the first Christmas and she can help us welcome Him now.
In the Gospel we come down with a bump into the real world. From the grand prophetic
language of Micah we are brought to a small remote corner of Israel. St. Luke's account
of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, underlines the mystery of Christ in our midst. In
the Gospel passage, Luke very skilfully sets the stage for the coming of the Messiah.
The meeting of the two expectant mothers is also the meeting of their sons. John leaps
with joy in the womb of Elizabeth, and thus acknowledges the presence of the one
prophesied. As soon as Mary enters into the presence of Elizabeth, Elizabeth is filled
with the Holy Spirit and praises Mary for her faith and trust in God:“Blessed are you
among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth recognized the
presence of God, the Messiah, in Mary, the living Ark of God and burst into praise and
said prophetically: “Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my
Lord?”Both Mary and Elizabeth already anticipate the joy of God's presence and
salvation unfolding before them. This beautiful meeting leads us into the very center of
Advent, namely the prayerful anticipation of the mystery already among us.
“Here I am, I come to obey your will, O God!”
gave us the Savior - “And the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Mary is our
Mary’s “Yes”
model of discipleship. Somehow or other, the power of God broke into the life of Mary of
Nazareth. And that power of God asked Mary to believe that she would bear within
herself a special child. And because Mary, in her absolute humility was so attuned to
the presence of God and because she was a woman of extraordinary faith, she said
simply - “Be it done to me as you say.” These words are very easy to say when everything is
going our way; but they are not so easy to say when things are not going our way, when
in fact what is happening to us is the opposite of what we want to happen. During this
time of Advent, let us follow Mary in her absolute humility and extraordinary faith.

Now, God can only work through the consent of his people - and ultimately, could only
work to save his people with the willing consent of the Christ. In the Second Reading of
today from the letter to the Hebrews, the author compares the Jerusalem Temple
sacrifices to the bodily death of Jesus on the cross. The author says the perfect
sacrifice of Jesus essentially differs from the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Those
sacrifices were often offerings of animals. Jesus' sacrifice was the offering of himself.
Jesus’ sacrifice is far superior to the Temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. Yes, Jesus,
through his fidelity to his heavenly Father and his own self giving, opens up to
humankind a transformed life beyond this earthly life.
The old Law had strict rules governing sacrifice and holocaust dating back centuries -
the animals to be used and the ritual carefully prescribed and followed. However, in the
incarnation of the Christ in Jesus a new era dawned. God was to be revealed as a god
who did not want the sacrifice of animals but, as the psalmist said, a humble, contrite
heart. Jesus had no need for contrition being wholly without sin - but he was humble
and, on coming into the world, simply said to the Father:“Here I am, I come to obey
your will, O God!”

In this final week of Advent season, the Word of God invites us to discover anew the
true meaning of Christmas - 'Emmanuel' i.e. 'God is with us.' Micah challenges us
to hope in God especially in the face of disappointments; the author of Hebrews, to do
the will of God as best we can discern that will; and the Gospel, to trust always in
God as Mary did, so that we can bring forth the Word made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, and
be a sign of God’s presence to one another.
To conclude - During the American Civil War a lady exclaimed effusively to President Lincoln: “Oh Mr. President, I feel so sure
that God is on our side, don't you?” “Ma'am,” replied the President, “I am more concerned that we should be on God's
side.” Yes, oftentimes we pray to God and ask him to do what we want, rather than we doing what He wants us to do, and
surrendering to His will. So, trusting in God's faithfulness and love, and full of hope let us come to him today and humbly say -
“HERE I AM, I COME TO OBEY YOUR WILL, O GOD!” and this is the Good News of
today.

*******************************

4th Advent [C] 2012

Fr. Charles Irvin

4th Advent [C] 2012

Micah 5:1-4; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

This is the time of Christmas parties -- all sorts of Christmas parties. What, we might
ask, are they celebrating? In whose honor are these parties given? Picture yourself at
such a party and asking people if they're partying because of the birth Jesus Christ. Can
you imagine the stares you would receive? Many are there simply to celebrate “The
Holidays.”

Our Gospel reading today is about a party. We might even call it the First Christmas
Party. It wasn't big or elaborate. No caterer was present. Waiters and waitresses
weren't slipping through the crowd with silver trays bearing long-stemmed champagne
glasses. No, it wasn't a party like that.

There were just two women there, both celebrating their rather strange pregnancies.
Elizabeth was old, until recently thought to be sterile. Mary was a virgin, half girl and half
woman, who was carrying a child resulting from the strangest of all pregnancies. Neither
one of them lived with anywhere near the level of comforts we have. Yet they were
absolutely bursting with excitement. John the Baptist was even leaping in his mother's
womb.

What is critical is the way we see this picture, this tableau. And this is true, of course,
anytime we read any gospel account, when we look into the picture any Gospel
passage is presenting to us. Perhaps it true even more so here, in this account we just
heard.

The important question has to do with the realm in which we locate this event. What
questions should we be asking ourselves as we peer into this picture that's being placed
before us? The big question that we should be asking ourselves is this: What is God
doing? Where is God in all of this? What's He up to?

Mary and Elizabeth both saw themselves as willing instruments in the hands of God.
They both knew that even though they didn't fully understand the "how" or the "what" of
God's activities He was at work in their lives. They aware of the fact that throughout
their lives He was advancing His purposes in our world.

Do we know that? Do we ever ask ourselves those questions? Let me repeat them.
"Where is God in all of this? What is God up to in these things that are happening to
me? What is God doing with my life here on earth?”

You see, the problem is that we have no difficulty in saying that we believe in God. Nor
do I doubt the sincerity of faith in those who state that they believe in God. But most of
us (and all too often I have to include myself in that number) are downright surprised
when we discover God is actuallydoing something in our lives and with our lives.

Most of us, and we see this especially at Christmas parties, are practical atheists. What
I mean by that is to say that in practice we live and move and act as if God really isn't
there, as if God isn't present and acting in our daily lives. For all practical purposes we
might as well admit that we act as if God has taken a temporary leave of absence.
Rarely do we advert to His presence and His power in things that happen to us, or in the
things that we plan to do, or choose to do. Nor do we ever, or hardly ever, tell ourselves
or tell others, that we've seen God doing this or that or the other thing in our lives.

When we see a solution to a problem we congratulate ourselves on how smart we are

and how competent we are. When we see no solution to our problems we sometimes
plunge ourselves into despair. Some thereupon blame God for their problems. When we
have enough money and people to do a job well, we promote ourselves to being the
next chief executive officer. When there's a shortage of money and personnel, we turn
bitter, cynical, and defeatist.

Mary and Elizabeth found God present and active in their wombs and in their lives. They
knew He was at work in them; they knew that in their lives He was accomplishing His
and advancing His plans.

Which is not to say that their lives would be easy, or filled with happiness. No, quite the
contrary. Elizabeth would see her son's head delivered on a platter by a little girl,
Salome, delivered to a besotted king Herod during a party that was little more than a
drunken orgy. Not only that, but little Salome would be bringing John's the Baptist's
head into the party on a platter because her mother asked her to!
Elizabeth, this very same celebrating Elizabeth we see in today's Gospel account, would
have to witness that scene and bear that in her memory forever. Can you imagine any
mother having to see her son's head delivered up on a silver platter during a drunken
orgy? The word "pain" collapses under the weight of such an enormity. And Mary, the
mother of Jesus, the other celebrating woman at that first Christmas party? Can you
imagine the pain that she, too, had to endure? What mother is forced to see her son die
in tortured agony?

Today is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the last before Christmas. Mary,
Elizabeth, Joseph, shepherds, Wise Men, and all of the other characters in the scene
are in front of us. God has come to them ... and in coming to them He has come to us in
our lives.

"Where's God in all that's happening in my life?" "What is God up to in these things that
are happening to me?" "What is God trying to accomplish in all of this?" Mary and
Elizabeth's little party isn't something that's simply "nice", a lovely little vignette 2,000
years distant from you and from me. Oh, no. Mary and Elizabeth's meeting was all
about their recognition that God was at work in their wombs and in their lives and that
the world was going to be different because of their sons.

How do we see the tableaux of our lives? And what do we see in the picture that the
events in our lives have painted? Where is God in all of this? The answer, as we all
know, is not always that clear to us.

Back in the late 1800’s John Henry Cardinal Newman was an Anglican priest who later
became a Catholic priest and was later made a Cardinal of the Church by Pope Leo
XIII. Early in his journey through life Newman wrestled with the question of what God
was doing with his life. Newman wrote a prayer about that and I want to share it with
you now.

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to
me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission - I many never know it in
this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection
between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His
work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not
intending it- if I do but keep His commandments.Therefore I will trust Him, whatever,
wherever I am. I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve
Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve
Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my
friends; He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my
spirits sink, hide my future from me - still He knows what He is about.
When all is said and done we all struggle, no matter what our station in life may be, with
questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives. Ultimately the answer is a matter
of faith, something we must leave in the hands of God. But whether or not we have an
answer is not really important. What is important, and what is central to everything, is
that we have faith, faith in which we place ourselves and our lives into the hands of God
who loves us, knowing that, as Cardinal Newman said, God knows what He is about.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

by Fr. Tommy Lane

We are waiting for and looking forward to the celebration of Christmas. In our
Gospel Mary and Elizabeth were also waiting and looking forward to the births of Jesus
and John the Baptist. On this last Sunday before Christmas our thoughts turn to Mary as
she carried Jesus in her womb.

As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the child in her womb leapt for joy. All
the action takes place when Mary greets Elizabeth who was now an old woman even
though in the culture of that time the elder came before the younger. When Mary spoke
the Holy Spirit came on John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb (see Luke 1:15) and he
leapt for joy. It was the moment when John the Baptist was cleansed of original sin. Mary
was the Spouse of the Holy Spirit since the Annunciation when she conceived Jesus of
the Holy Spirit. Now when Mary visits Elizabeth the Holy Spirit shows the importance of
Mary, his Spouse, by cleansing John the Baptist of original sin and John the Baptist leaps
in Elizabeth’s womb. I have heard one person say the Holy Spirit is boasting about Mary
his Spouse.

(It is interesting that modern medical science has shown that by twenty-five weeks the baby in the womb
has the ability to hear like that of an adult and can discern the moods and attitudes of its mother. Only
three people were born without original sin and we celebrate their birthdays; Jesus on Dec 25th, Mary on
Sep 8th and John the Baptist on June 24th. Jesus and Mary were conceived without original sin but John
the Baptist was cleansed of original sin while in the womb.)

When Mary spoke, the Holy Spirit came on Elizabeth and on John the Baptist in
Elizabeth’s womb. St. Louis Marie de Montfort, who wrote much about Mary, tells us
that when we have Mary we will also have her Spouse, the Holy Spirit:

“When the Holy Spirit finds his Spouse in a soul, he flies to that soul,
to communicate himself to it, to fill it with his presence, in proportion
as he discovers there the presence and the fullness of his Spouse. One
of the major reasons why the Holy Spirit does not now work blinding
wonders of grace in our souls is that he does not find in us a
sufficiently strong union with Mary his indissoluble Spouse.”
(True Devotion to Mary Part 1, chapter 1, article 2)
So when we have Mary in our lives we will also have the Holy Spirit, just as the Holy
Spirit fell on Elizabeth and John the Baptist when Mary spoke. So we can say that the
closer we are to Mary the closer we are to her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, and the closer we
are to God. Mary leads us to God and when we have Mary in our souls the Holy Spirit
comes to us.

Mary in cooperation with her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, became the mother of Jesus.
Elizabeth asked, “Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord?”
Elizabeth described Mary as the “mother of my Lord” but our more common expression
is Mother of God. Some people misunderstand the meaning of the titleMother of God.
When we describe Mary as “Mother of God” we do not mean that Mary is the mother or
source of the Trinity and we do not mean that Mary is the source of Jesus’ soul or that his
divinity came from Mary. Yet Christ was both human and divine in one person; he had
both human nature and divine nature (see Col 2:9). He was not two separate persons but
one person with two natures so therefore we can say that Mary was the Mother of God. It
is the same with every mother here. Every mother here gave a body to her child but that
child’s soul came from God. Yet when we talk of someone being a child’s mother we
never specify or distinguish and say the mother is the mother of child’s body but not of
the child’s soul. Likewise the child says, “Hello, mother” and does not say, “Hello,
mother of my body.” In the same way we call Mary the Mother of God because Jesus had
human and divine nature in one person. Mary is even described as Mother of God in
Scripture, in our Gospel today when Elizabeth asks, “Why should I be honored with a
visit from the mother of my Lord?” And the word that Elizabeth uses for ‘Lord’ (κυριος)
is a word that is used for ‘God’ in the New Testament so there can be no confusion. It is
the same word that Jesus uses when he describes himself as ‘Lord of the Sabbath.’ (Mark
2:28)

So no wonder that Elizabeth says to Mary, “Of all women you are the most blessed
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” These inspired words have now become part of
that beautiful prayer which we call the ‘Hail Mary.’ Mary was Mother of God once but
continues to be mother for all time, mother to each of us bearing fruit in us and Mother of
the Church bringing new life to the Church. St. Louis Marie de Montfort wrote,

When Mary has implanted her roots in a soul, she produces…wonders

of grace which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful
Virgin who never has had, nor ever shall have, her equal in purity…”

So let us spend time in prayer with Mary that she may implant her roots in our souls, and
produce wonders of grace which she alone can produce and that her Spouse, the Holy
Spirit, may fly to us and fill us with his presence. We can understand why Pope John Paul
II was very much influenced by the writings of St. Louis Marie de Montfort and took his
motto “Totus Tuus, O Maria,” “I am all yours, O Mary,” from St. Louis Marie de
Montfort. The best way to spend time with Mary is by praying the Rosary, the prayer
which she has told us in so many places is so dear to her and which is very powerful.

When Mary spoke, the Holy Spirit came on Elizabeth and on John the Baptist in
Elizabeth’s womb. When we have Mary in our lives we will also have the Holy Spirit,
just as the Holy Spirit fell on Elizabeth and John the Baptist when Mary spoke.

“When the Holy Spirit finds his Spouse in a soul, he flies to that soul,
to communicate himself to it, to fill it with his presence...”
(True Devotion to Mary Part 1, chapter 1, article 2)

When Mary has implanted her roots in a soul, she produces…wonders

of grace which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful
Virgin who never has had, nor ever shall have, her equal in purity…”

May we spend time in prayer with Mary that she may implant her roots in our souls, and
produce wonders of grace which she alone can produce and that her Spouse, the Holy
Spirit, may fly to us and fill us with his presence.