3RD WEEK OF ADVENT

Blessed are you who believed. 

Most of us have seen enough pictures and statues of Mary that we easily imagine her as a beautiful woman with a serene look on her face, eyes slightly downcast. Although these images convey Mary’s holiness and submission to God, they may also give us the idea that Mary was a passive woman who accepted God’s will without thinking or questioning.

But if we look at Mary’s life closely, we can see that she was far from passive! In today’s Gospel, she emerges as a person of action. Although she had just found out about her unexpected pregnancy, Mary left home to offer help to her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month of her own miraculous pregnancy. In fact, Luke says Mary traveled “in haste” to reach Elizabeth (1:39). The journey, covering dozens of miles over hilly terrain, would not have been easy for any pregnant woman.

Imagine: here was a virgin, newly pregnant and carrying a child who was not the biological son of her betrothed—and a child destined to be the Messiah no less! It’s hard to contemplate just how many questions Mary must have had as she faced an uncertain future both with Joseph and within her community. It would have been easy to panic or try to get out of this situation. But Mary didn’t give in to these thoughts. Instead, she trusted that God would somehow take care of her and the child now growing in her womb. And so she was able to turn her attention away from her own problems and focus on Elizabeth’s needs instead.

Mary’s decision to visit Elizabeth reveals her to be a decisive woman, filled with determination, courage, and trust in God. It also shows that submitting to God’s will is anything but boring or passive. It requires radical trust and Spirit-inspired bravery. It moves us to take risks that may seem foolish to the world. But it also opens our hearts to new and unexpected blessings from the Lord!

“Holy Mary, pray that I will be as brave as you in seeking and following God’s will for my life.”

Song of Songs 2:8-14
Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21
Luke 1:39-45