Fourth Sunday in Advent, Year C.
- First Reading ‡ Micah 5:1- 4
- Responsorial ‡ Psalm 79:2-3.15-16.18-19
Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. - Second Reading ‡ Hebrews 10:5-10
- Gospel ‡ Luke 1:39-44
- Play MP3
- Watch video (I forgot that I am tall)
- Readings
What is your favourite scene in the life of Mary? Is there one that resonates a little more than the others? In the Gospel of Luke there are several scenes that are presented: the annunciation, the visitation, the birth of Jesus, the journey to Jerusalem. In John we have the wedding at Cana, and the scene of Mary with the beloved disciple by the cross, and then in the room with the disciples after the resurrection. In Acts we have Mary with the other disciples on the day of Pentecost. (There are only passing mentions of Mary in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, and no reference in the letters of Paul, other than that Jesus was “born of a woman” in Galatians 4:4.)
In the Gospel today, there were three things that resonated with me: Mary responding to the need of her cousin by travelling in haste to be with her; the response of Elizabeth and her child, John, to the presence of Mary and the child within her; and the gift that Mary helps to facilitate within Elizabeth that she is filled with the Holy Spirit. How might Mary facilitate similar responses within us this week?