Bible
Study: Zephaniah 3, 14 to 18 and Luke 1, 39 to 56.
As we finally come the end
of the Month of May, our attention is drawn once again to the greatest woman
that ever lived as we celebrate the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. When the Angel Gabriel told Mary that her kinswoman, Elizabeth,
the one who people called barren was now in her sixth month, Mary went with
haste in the hill country to visit and stay with Elizabeth for three months. This
visit is what we celebrate today.
There are many reasons why
this visit is so significant:
One, it tells us the kind of
woman Mary is. As soon as she heard that Elizabeth was heavy with child, she
quickly ran to help her out. How often have you heard that people are sick and
refused to visit them? How often have you heard about your close relatives and
even your friends who are in trouble and just sat down to laugh about their
condition?
Two, this visit explains why
we are devoted to Mary. Mary forgot about herself, she forgot about her own
needs, she put herself in the shoes of an old woman having to go through the
pains of pregnancy and she went to help. She would again display her thoughtfulness
and ability to put herself in the shoes of people in need of help at the
wedding feast at Cana. There she had to practically force Jesus to work his
first miracle.
Now, if Mary is an expert in
putting herself in the shoes of others and helping them when in need, we
believe that if we ask for her intercession, she would gladly pray to God on
our behalf. If she could forget herself to help Elizabeth, we know that even
today, Mary is not sitting idle in heaven. She has never stopped coming to help
us. There are countless miracles that have occurred due to Mary’s intervention.
Thirdly, from this visit we
get to see the words of the Rosary. Anyone who want to know why we pray, “Hail
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and
blessed is the fruit of your womb,” should read today’s Gospel passage from
Luke 1, 39 to 56.
Fourthly, from this visit,
we learn that life begins from the womb and not on the day of birth. “For
behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb
leaped for Joy.” In the visitation, what really happens is John the Baptist in
the womb of Elizabeth giving a salute to Jesus Christ who is at this time
already made flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the moment Mary
said yes to God’s plan, she instantly become the mother of God. Under no
circumstance is abortion justified, it is murder.
Fifthly, from this visit, we
get to see the humility of Mary. While exchanging greetings with Elizabeth,
Mary sang the Magnificat. “My soul glorifies the Lord… for he has regarded the
LOW ESTATE OF HIS HANDMAIDEN. For behold all generations shall call be blessed,
for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.” C. S.
Lewis would say: “Humility is not a matter of thinking less of yourself, it is thinking
of yourself less.” In Mary’s Magnificat, we see a truly humble woman. She sang
praises to God fully acknowledging what God has done in her.
When we honour Mary, when we
venerate her statutes, when we ask for her intercession, it is God that we
worship. God alone receives the glory for whatever honour we give to Mary. We
respect Mary because God himself gave her that honour of taking human flesh
from her womb. We call her blessed because she herself prophesied about it and
the bible recorded it. She never stopped seeing herself as a lowly handmaid but
at the same time, she knew who she had become to God.
Finally, in the visitation,
we see how God works. To shame the strong, God always chooses the weak. Again
from the Magnificat, we hear Mary say: “He has brought down the mighty from
their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with
good things and the rich he has sent away empty.”
Dear friends, as we conclude
our May Devotion today, let this day not pass you by without saying the rosary
and I pray that just as Mary visited Elizabeth who was in need of a helper,
Mary would visit you and become your helper today.
Let us pray:
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of
your womb; Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the
hour of our death. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy End of the
Month.
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