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, “Most 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
This is the only Gospel where two women are found together… and they’re both pregnant. It’s what we celebrate today, “motherhood.”
***
We’ve all had mothers. Some of us are mothers. We celebrate them because you cannot be a mother to yourself. You’re always a mother in relation to someone else, a child – offering life, protection, nourishment, and love.
Mary was the mother of Jesus. She was with him from the womb to the tomb.
Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, who leapt in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.
Centuries later, Our Lady of Guadalupe becomes a mother to Juan Diego, appearing to him in his native Mexico over the course of 4 days in the year 1531.
During these appearances, Our Lady says to him, “Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection?”
The message of Mary’s maternal love converted 8 million natives in Mexico, and has converted countless others around the world since.
It’s why Our Lady of Guadalupe was featured on the cover of National Geographic Magazine a few years ago, when they titled her, “Mary, the Most Powerful Woman in the World.”
She cares for all who call upon her name, offering each of us what she offered Saint Juan Diego – her maternal care and intercession.
***
As we continue our Advent journeys, we turn to Mary in hope, asking her to pray on our behalf…
Hail Mary, full of grace…
***
***
Image credits: (1) Knights of Columbus (2) Passionist Nuns (3) EWTN on X.com
One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
There’s an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
In today’s Gospel, a group of friends go far together. Physically, they may only have traveled a few hundred feet. But spiritually, they do whatever it takes to lay their friend before Jesus. Together, they move the mountain of this man’s paralysis, forever changing his life.
***
During this holiday season, we’re all reminded of the power of teamwork and intercession. Together, we can move mountains of poverty, loneliness, sickness, isolation, and ignorance, transforming people’s burdens into blessings.
Think of a person in need – much like this man paralyzed in today’s Gospel – and imagine ways you can bring them before Jesus, beginning with interceding on their behalf.
You’ll certainly brighten their day. And who knows, you may even move a mountain, forever changing their life.
***
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
May we continue our Advent journeys together.
***
***
Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) Lumo on X (Twitter) (3) LinkedIn
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
While the Titanic was cruising in the northern Atlantic on that fateful night in 1912, another ship, the Californian, was sailing only a few miles away.
The captain of that ship saw icebergs off in the distance so he reversed his course. Although he signaled the Titanic about the danger ahead, that captain was too distracted by other passengers to notice.
So, the two ships, in the words of Longfellow, “passed as ships in the night.”
***
During the Christmas season, it’s easy to feel like we’re onboard two different ships.
Markets are bustling with activity, while the Church observes the quiet waiting of Advent.
A jolly Santa Claus tells us to be merry, while John the Baptist tells us to, “repent.”
By December 26th, gifts are unwrapped and Christmas trees are often taken down, while the Church celebrates Christmas for nearly two more weeks, until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
This season can feel like two ships passing in the night.
Perhaps we’re being invited to find the right balance, to enjoy the anticipation of the season, the gift-giving, the time spent with family and friends, while also challenging ourselves to go deeper, to make room for the Christ-child, the reason for the season.
So, what might the Lord be saying to us in today’s Gospel?
***
Mark’s Gospel is often called, “the Gospel of beginnings,” because it’s the first word he uses to tell his story.
“The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.”
Mark uses this verb begin nine times to describe the life and ministry of Jesus. What Mark never says is that our Lord stopped doing these actions; meaning, everything Jesus does is meant to continue through us.
So, which of these “beginnings” is the Lord inviting us to continue?
***
The first is immediate: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.”
Mark starts his Gospel by echoing the Book of Genesis. The first Christians would’ve made an instant connection: in Jesus, God is doing something new – he is creating a new order, a new creation, a new start for all who believe.
Perhaps one of us is in need of a new beginning. Turn to the Lord this Advent, who “makes all things new.”
In chapter 4, Mark describes the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, saying, he “began to teach by the sea.” Aren’t we all being called to continue that effort, sharing our faith with others in the workplace, in our social circles, in the open, by the sea, as it were?
Then, Jesus, “began teaching in the synagogue.” Perhaps the Lord is tapping you on the shoulder, inviting you to continue teaching our youth as a catechist in this house of worship.
Later, Jesus, “begins driving out those selling and buying in the Temple area.” Aren’t we all being cautioned to guard our hearts against all greed?
While walking through an open field, the disciples, “begin to pick heads of grain and to eat on the Sabbath.” Is the Lord calling you to feed the hungry this holiday season?
Finally, in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest, Jesus pulls Peter, James, and John aside as he, “begins to be troubled and distressed.”
Maybe we, too, feel that way – troubled and distressed. Turn to the Lord, who proclaims through the prophet Isaiah, “Comfort, I will comfort my people.”
***
Mark also uses this word, begin, to describe things that are contrary to the work of Jesus.
For example, when Jesus predicts his crucifixion and death, Peter pulls him aside and, “begins to rebuke him.” Don’t we find ourselves in Peter’s shoes at times, resisting the Lord’s will, unwilling to accept the future?
Later, the mother of the Apostles James and John asks Jesus for a special favor, to allow her sons to sit on his right and his left. When the other Apostles find out about this, they, “become indignant.” Outraged.
The Apostles provide a cautionary tale – do not be jealous of what others ask for or have.
***
The two ships, the Titanic and the Californian, “passed as ships in the night.”
While it’s easy for us to feel like we’re being pulled in two different directions this holiday season, may we find the right balance – shopping and celebrating, while also digging deeper to encounter the Lord, the author of new beginnings.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Wildhive (2) Pinterest (3) Joy M. Mills
