Irondequoit Catholic Communities
4th Sunday Of Advent C

Celebrating 100 years

Return to Cycle Index

Cycle C

Q246: Why put the story of Mary's visitation to Elizabeth only a few days before Christmas (Lk 1:39-45)? Is there a special message here?

Mary traveled "in haste" (v. 39) to share her Good News with Elizabeth, carrying the Messiah to others. And she came to serve Elizabeth in her time of need. Upon hearing Mary's voice, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and her baby (John the Baptist) leapt in her womb (v. 41).

One can draw many lessons from this beautiful scene. Surely "charity" stands out, as Mary comes to help Elizabeth. Mary is a model for love of neighbor. And from her loving service we see blessings flow, to both Elizabeth (who is filled with the Holy Spirit) and to John the Baptist (who is sanctified in her womb). We also see a reminder that Mary brought Jesus to the world, not just to Elizabeth and John. God chose her to be the willing instrument through whom he would come into the world, to save the world. So we see Mary as the Mediatrix of grace, as she brings the very life of God to everyone she meets.

One needs to respond to this choice of God, who made Mary his instrument to reach us! We need to reflect on the mysteries of both the Incarnation and the Visitation, through Mary, and link them to our own mission as baptized Christians. If Mary is the "model Christian" to imitate, then our task is clear. Are we ready and quick to help our needy neighbor in his/her time of need? Can people see the joy and love of Jesus in us, and recognize Christ in us? Am I fully aware that I bear Jesus within me, because of my Baptism, and that my mission is to bring him to others, with joyful haste, just like Mary did?

Know Your Catechism! Our freely given "yes" to God's will in all things, especially to the ordinary teaching of the Magisterium, models Mary's obedience to God's will and her charity toward neighbor (CCC #967-9). When Mary visits you, it is God visiting you (CCC #717). What kind of a welcome have you been giving Mary? For what action is she called "blessed" (CCC #148-9)?

Proceeding in haste

There are times when we must act cautiously if we would achieve a purpose (As the proverb says, "Look before you leap"). There are also times when we must act quickly or lose an opportunity (As another proverb says, "Strike while the iron is hot.")

Raoul Wallenberg usually had to make split second decisions; to strike while the iron was hot. The task he had undertaken was nothing less than saving Jews condemned to Hitler's "holocaust".

Raoul was a fascinating, even an unlikely "Scarlet Pimpernel". A Swedish Lutheran, aged thirty, he was employed as first secretary of the Swedish legation in Hungary in the early 1940's. He had wheedled from the King of Sweden, his diplomatic appointment to Budapest for precisely the purpose of rescuing victims. He had also wheedled from the King the authorization to give asylum to anybody who held a Swedish protective pass. Handing out protective passes to Hungarian Jews kept him constantly on the go, but by means of protective passes, he was able to save the lives of 100,000 Jewish people.

One day, for example, Raoul learned that a crowd of Jewish Hungarians had been corralled and packed into a train for a Nazi extermination camp. He reached the railroad station just in the nick of time. Brushing by the Nazi guard, he climbed on the roof of the train and moved along from car to car handing Swedish passes through the open doors and windows. The German officers ordered him down. The Hungarian Nazis shot at him. Nevertheless, Raoul finished his work calmly and efficiently. Then he got down and shouted, "All who have passes leave this train!" The pass-holders came out and he directed them to a fleet of autos bearing Swedish flags. Thus, he saved the lives of dozens of Jews, and the Nazis were too befuddled by his quick strategy to do anything about it.

In 1945 Raoul Wallenberg was finally arrested. Some think he may still be a prisoner in a Russian camp. But even in prison he can only be consoled by the memory of the day when he had "proceeded in haste" to rescue that particular trainful of Jews.

When Mary learned that her cousin, Elizabeth was soon to give birth to a child, she too "proceeded in haste" to the mountains where Elizabeth dwelt. (Today's gospel). In coming to Elizabeth's aid, she also brought the unborn Jesus into the presence of the unborn St. John the Baptist. And to John the future Savior communicated at that moment the freedom of the sons of God. May we never put off to tomorrow the good we can do today.

-Father Robert F. McNamara

Q. 403: Our world is in chaos, with terrorism, corporate fraud, congressional scandals, rampant abortions, divorces at an all time shameful high, and couples living together outside of marriage, to name just a few. Where is the Good News for us today?

We find our answer by looking at the behaviors and hopes of two women in our Gospel story (Lk 1:39-45). First we see Mary - an unwed virgin who is so in love with God that she says "Yes" to an invitation to become the mother of the Son of the Most High. So happy is she about her very special pregnancy that she dashes off to tell her cousin, as well as minister to Elizabeth in her own time of need. It reminds me of a couple of occasions in my own life - getting engaged, and a couple of years later becoming a father for the first time. I just had to tell everyone I knew, and made the utmost haste to do just that! Didn't you all go through those same experiences? So you can relate easily to Mary's joy.

The second woman is Elizabeth. Here is a quite elderly woman, without children - and she would have suffered humiliation because of that fact, in her cultural setting. But she, too, has become pregnant through a special blessing from God announced by the angel Gabriel. You can imagine the joy that filled her heart - - and then to have that joy overflow, when you beheld the mother of the very Son of the Most High, her own cousin!

Both women broke into praise and thanksgiving! This was also the occasion of Mary's beautiful "Magnificat" song, and part of the origin of our "Hail, Mary" prayer from the lips of Elizabeth. That is the Good News that we can all cling to today. God has broken into our world in a special way, sharing our humanity in all things except sin.

We, too, must become people of praise, imitating Mary and Elizabeth. The cause for our praise in the midst of our global chaos is the recognition of this "in-breaking," for now God's own Son is present to us always, especially in the Reality of the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. He is our Salvation, and His plan will come to fulfillment. That is Good News!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced, and so did John `the Baptist' who leapt in his mother's womb on hearing Mary's voice (CCC #523). Take this opportunity to probe this "movement of prayer" as taught in our Catechism (CCC #2676-77). It will deepen your faith, and help you cling to the Good News.


Page last modified on October 17, 2007, at 02:49 PM