Mary set out in those days 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This is the only encounter in the Gospels between two women… and they’re both carrying secrets.
Mary and Elizabeth are holding onto the most intimate secret a woman can physically experience – being pregnant. Why either of them is pregnant is strange, almost unbelievable.
Mary conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth in her old age.
Instead of celebrating, throwing huge baby showers surrounded by their family and friends, they must celebrate together… quietly, unnoticed by the outside world.
They might not have much … but they have one another. And that’s what counts in the end.
In fact, we see just how strong and nourishing their relationship is, as Mary stays with Elizabeth for three full months.
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This encounter between them reminds all of us just how much we need other people – we need friends who bring out the best in us; who encourage us; who nourish our hearts with love; who affirm us in our faith.
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How am Ia friend for others? How do I nourish other people with love, much like Mary and Elizabeth nourished one another?
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Sometimes being a friend comes at a cost.
Elizabeth offered Mary the comfort of her home, her food, and above all, her heart for three full months. Sacrifices she made while pregnant herself.
But that’s what we’re called to do as Christians – to love and support one another – no matter what the cost may be.
Strangely enough, being kind and generous towards others makes us happier, too.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Christmas is less than five days away!
I’m sure everyone’s excited.
Children, in particular, are counting their boxes beneath the Christmas tree, wondering what’s inside. A set of AirPods? A Roku stick? The entire collection of Harry Potter films? A smart tv?
Regardless of what it is, they trust it’s something good, something they’ve wanted, something given out of love.
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Why shouldn’t we see every moment of our lives in this way?
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Life is a gift from God – each moment is given out of love. Most of these are ordinary moments, which too often we take for granted.
But other moments are special; unique; “God moments,” we might say, when it’s clear the Lord is acting.
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In the Gospel, Mary’s having an otherwise ordinary night. I imagine her watching something like The Real Housewives of Nazareth when suddenly, POOF!
The angel Gabriel appears, and says, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
God is about to change the rest of Mary’s life. Soon she’ll begin to understand what a blessing Jesus will be, but for the moment she’s terrified.
Her life plans, it seems, have been thrown out the window. “A son?” Mary must’ve thought. “But I’ve had no relations with a man! And how will I tell Joseph?”
Maybe we’ve had such a moment like that in our own lives, when suddenly life took a dramatic, unexpected turn.
Perhaps it was a health emergency, an unexpected job loss, a death in the family, a pandemic quarantine, or even like Mary, an unexpected pregnancy.
Our future as we understood it changed in an instant.
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But notice what the angel Gabriel does next.
He turns Mary’s attention to the past, reminding her of what God has already done.
“Behold,” Gabriel says, “Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.”
That’s a miracle. Elizabeth was not only old; she was also previously unable to conceive. And yet, now she’s pregnant with her son, John the Baptist.
If God has already done something miraculous, Gabriel says to Mary, then trust that God can – and will – act again. Only this time, the Lord will do something miraculous in your life.
“You will conceive in your womb and bear a son…and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
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Looking to the past allows Mary to embrace the future.
“Let it be done unto me,” she says, “according to your word.”
Then angel departs from her.
And her real journey of faith begins.
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I met with a women’s Cornerstone group this week via Zoom, and this was something we talked about, the importance of telling our stories, remembering those moments when we saw God acting in our lives.
Remembering what God has already done for us strengthens our faith in the future.
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So, when was a time I saw the Lord acting in my life? When did he answer one of my prayers?
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It’s humbling to think about myself as being part of an “answered prayer,” but how many of you prayed for a pastor this year?
So many of you have said to me that you were afraid this parish would either be closed or merged. Yet here we are! The Lord provided!
It may have taken much longer than you hoped, but God answered your prayers.
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And consider how you yourself are part of an “answered prayer.”
How many children will receive toys this Christmas, and how many families will be fed, because you provided for them?
And not only this year, but all the years past.
I have to thank Patrice Rosato, Christine Massaro, and the Benaghis for spearheading these efforts, but dozens – if not hundreds – of parishioners within our Saint Pius X community make this possible year after year.
When we work together, God uses us, making anything possible. Together, we’ve answered dozens – if not hundreds – of prayers.
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Perhaps this is the key.
Our past is our strength. Remembering those moments when we saw God acting, helps us trust that he will act again in the future.
We can face 2021 with confidence, then, aware that each day is a gift from God, much like those presents wrapped neatly underneath the Christmas tree.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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How often does life seem unfair?
We don’t get into the high school or college of our choice; we get a pink slip at work; a poor diagnosis; a relationship ends; a brutal virus ravages our world.
In these moments, the challenge is to believe God is still working in our lives.
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Consider the life of Saint Joseph. Scripture tells us he was a humble man; an honest man; the type of person you want to root for. Yet his world seems shattered by unfairness.
Mary, his bride-to-be, is pregnant and the child isn’t his. Even after the angel appears to Joseph in a dream and explains what’s happened, his circumstances remain terribly unfair.
God invites Joseph to love a woman whose story he doesn’t fully understand; to protect a baby that he didn’t father; to accept this child as the heir to his name; and, soon enough, to rush into Egypt as a refugee because King Herod put a death warrant out for Jesus.
That’s a tough pill to swallow.
But maybe there’s a message in that for us.
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Joseph’s experience of faith reminds us that God is always at work in our lives, even when our circumstances are difficult or seem unfair.
Sometimes we just need to be patient with the Lord – and trust.
When Joseph first heard Mary was pregnant, for example, he thought his life was over. But slowly he began to see that this was the first step towards the salvation of the world.
What seemed like the end was merely a bend in the road.
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When have my own life circumstances felt unfair? Or when has the Lord invited me to trust, like Joseph and Mary?
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In the words Mary, who also finds herself at a bend in the road, “May it be done unto me according to your word.”
