Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
REFLECTION
"the Almighty has done great things for me"
God blessed Mary.....He did many things for her personally. The Mother of God was preserved from original sin. Upon her death or when she fell asleep, her body was not allowed to decay and she was taken up body and soul into eternal glory. Our Mother Mary intercedes for us and obtains graces for us. She is the new Ark of the Covenant and our mother.
In this age of, "This is my body and I can do with it what I want", we see the young Mary accepting the Will of God and becoming the Mother of God. The sacredness of the nascent baby from conception. We see the elderly Elizabeth full of life and joy as God has answered her prayers. Mary responds with the Magnificat words drawn from the Word of Scripture. How well Mary knows the Word of God, and how attune she is to Him. She thinks and speaks with the Word of God.
Reflect on how Mary proclaims the glory of God and meditate on this love.
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