Luke 1:39-56

Zephaniah 3:14-18a or Romans 12:9-16

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

Luke 1:39-56

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,

            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,

            he 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 for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months

and then returned to her home.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you wonderfully prepared Mary to be the mother of your Son. You preserved her from sin, and she collaborated fully with your plan of salvation. Help me to see my role in your plan and collaborate with your grace as I serve others today.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Blessed are You Among Women: Elizabeth’s greeting of blessing to Mary is familiar to us because we take up her words in the “Hail Mary” prayer. Saying, “Blessed are you among women,” was a Semitic way of saying that Mary is the “most blessed of all women.” Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she said these words, meaning that she was prompted by the Spirit to prophesy about Mary’s role in salvation history. Not only does Elizabeth prophetically acclaim that Mary is the mother of the royal Messiah and the Son of God, but also that she has a role to play with her Son in the crushing of the head of the ancient serpent (see Genesis 3:15).

2. Jael and Judith: Elizabeth’s blessing is found twice in the Old Testament. In Judges 5:24, we read: “Most blessed of women be Jael.” And in Judith 13:18, we read, “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth.” Jael was praised in song by Deborah and Barak because Jael assassinated an enemy general of the Canaanites, named Sisera. She did this by driving a tent peg into his head (Judges 4:17-22). Similar words will be spoken to the heroine Judith after she severed the head of the general, Holofernes, in a tent. “Both Jael and Judith, therefore, were considered blessed among women because the Lord used them to rescue the people from their enemies” (Sri, Walking with Mary, 71).

3. The Victory of our Blessed Queen: Jael and Judith “were blessed for their heroic faith and courage in warding off enemy armies hostile to Israel. Victory was assured when both Jael and Judith assassinated the opposing military commanders with a mortal blow to the head. Mary will follow in their footsteps, yet in her case both the enemy destroyed and the victory won will be greater, for she will bear the Savior who crushes the head of sin, death, and the devil underfoot (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1830). Jael and Judith engaged in a physical battle, Mary, by contrast, participates in a spiritual battle and liberation: “Mary is blessed because the child she bears is the one who will accomplish God’s plan of salvation for Israel. And, as Luke’s Gospel makes clear, the kind of salvation this child brings involves a lot more than the political liberation Jael and Judith helped to bring about. The child in Mary’s womb is coming to save his people from a much darker enemy: sin” (Sri, Walking with Mary, 71).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your mother was truly wonderful in the way she served others and cared for them. Help me to imitate her example and be attentive to the needs of others. Let me give myself without reserve as a humble servant.

Living the Word of God: Am I willing to dedicate my time to the service of others like Mary? What can I concretely do today to serve my family? Is there an area of the house I could clean? Is there a neighbor who needs help with their yard work? Do I hasten to alleviate the sufferings of other people?