Dec. 21st Visitation

 

Today’s Gospel is the visitation, which is the second joyful mystery of the rosary. Recall the Blessed Virgin Mary, was told by the angel Gabriel, that her cousin Elizabeth, was with child. The Holy Spirit had come down upon Mary, and Jesus came in Her womb. Immediately Mary, who was carrying the unborn baby Jesus, set out to travel in order to visit her cousin Elizabeth. When She arrived and greeted Elizabeth, the unborn baby in the womb of St. Elizabeth leapt for joy. Elizabeth’s unborn baby is John the Baptist, who would prepare the way of the Lord.

When I was a child, my mother let me feel my sister in her tummy, and my sister kicked inside. And you who are mothers, wasn’t your heart filled with joy, when you felt the unborn baby within you.

When Mary greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” We are familiar with these words because we pray these words, every time we pray the Hail Mary. If Mary had just become pregnant with the baby Jesus, so how is that Elizabeth would have known Mary was pregnant? Mary didn’t tell Elizabeth. The baby Jesus was too small to kick in Mary’s tummy. So, how could Elizabeth have known Mary was pregnant, and even more interesting is why would she say, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb”? After she said these words, she also said, “How does this happen to me, that the Mother of my Lord, should come to me.” Not only did Elizabeth know Mary was pregnant. Not only did Elizabeth predict that the unborn baby would be blessed, but Elizabeth even knew the unborn baby, was the Lord. This is absolutely most remarkable! The Gospel gives us the answer to the question of how could Elizabeth had known these things. The Gospel states, “Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit”. It was the Holy Spirit who revealed to Elizabeth, Mary was pregnant, the unborn baby would be blessed, and the baby was the Lord.

As Christmas approaches, we should pick up the bible, and read the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke, which is about the baby Jesus. And if we pray to the Holy Spirit, before we read the scripture, perhaps, just perhaps, the Holy Spirit may reveal many things to us about the baby Jesus. We can also pray to the Blessed Virgin, and ask Mary to help us to understand scripture. We can ask Mary to help us think about the birth of Jesus. After all, Mary is the one who carried the unborn Jesus for 9 months. Mary is the one gave birth to Jesus. Mary is the one who wrapped the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Mary was the first to hold the tiny babe in Her arms, to kiss the babe on the cheek, and to wipe away His tears, when He cried. Let us therefore resolve to read the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke in preparation for Christmas, let us also pray to the Holy Spirit and to the Blessed Virgin Mary asking them to help us to understand the beauty of that Christmas night, when Jesus was born, on that cold winter night!