December 23^rd. FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
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Don Fabio tells us that the most distinctive thing about this passage is the attitude displayed by Mary. She went to visit her cousin with a zeal and with a commitment for the things of God that was exemplary. We too must learn to cultivate this attitude if we are to be life-giving in the way that Mary and Elizabeth were. Mary was a virgin and Elizabeth a sterile woman, but the Lord was able to make them life-giving in extraordinary ways. In our own lives, there is much sterility and apparent incapacity for productivity. The Lord can bring our lives to fruition in extraordinary ways, but only if we zealously care for our faith lives.

Mary visits Elizabeth with a very distinctive attitude

In this dynamic passage it is the attitude of Mary that stands out. The passage begins with the words, “In those days . . .” Which days is the text referring to? Immediately prior to this event, Mary had been visited by the Angel in the Annunciation. As soon as Mary is visited by the Angel, she springs into action. We are told that she went “in haste”. The original Greek word for “haste” refers to something that is done with great intention, great care, or zeal. It has nothing to do with the hurry or anxiety that we would usually associate with the term. In the original text, it refers to something that Mary did with great desire and self-application. Mary’s actions are even more significant when we consider that she had just conceived the only Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            The early days of pregnancy cannot be an easy time. Many changes are taking place, and the future becomes a much more uncertain place. But none of this appears in the text. All we are made aware of is the eager attitude with which Mary visits her cousin.

Mary is filled with zeal and wishes to share with others her joy at God’s works

During the Annunciation, after the angel informs Mary that she is to bear a son, he goes on to tell that Elizabeth had conceived a child despite the fact that everyone thought she was sterile. Grace gives rise to grace. The first grace is the visit of the angel and Mary’s conception of the Son of God. The second grace is Mary’s visit to her cousin. The beautiful things that God announces to us must be shared with others. This is the origin of Mary’s eagerness to go to Elizabeth – to share together this moment of joy. This, in fact, is a text that is full of joy. The child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy when Mary’s greeting fills the house. Heaven never gives private graces to anyone. Any grace we receive is to be shared with everyone. The Lord visits us so that we may visit our neighbour. The nature of faith is that it involves interaction, the recounting of stories, the giving of testimony of what we have experienced. Mary’s visit, in fact, coincides with her incantation of the Magnificat, praising the Lord for his great works. How do I encounter the faith-story of others? By recounting the story of my own faith. This is how it is in the story of the visitation. Elizabeth begins by recounting the joyous effect that the salutation of Mary has had on the child within her womb. Mary responds with the Magnificat.

Too often we belittle our faith with the lack of care with which we live it

Let us return however to the theme of the eagerness or zeal with which Mary visits her cousin. Too often our faith is belittled by the mediocrity with which we live it. There is a beauty that does not come ready-made and pre-packaged, but requires cultivation, self-application, commitment, effort. This commitment does not come from a sense of obligation but from desire. When we are in possession of something precious, we do not throw it in a place where it might be damaged. We take care of it with eagerness. Too often, we live a life that lacks zeal, eagerness and commitment. When a visitor comes to our house, we clean the house so that it is presentable; we offer food that is good quality, and we use plates and utensils that are worthy of our guest. There is an attitude of care and eagerness with which we receive people into our home. To do things any other way is to belittle our guest. How do we cultivate and take care of our faith? In the case of the interaction between Mary and Elizabeth, we see the care and zeal that permeates every moment of the encounter. Even the greeting of Mary causes Elizabeth and her child to rejoice. In Greek, the word for “greeting” signifies to open oneself to others. The angel had previously saluted Mary, and in this way the heavens had opened themselves to her. Now she goes to Elizabeth and does the same thing herself. In this encounter, Mary and Elizabeth interact with each other with a spirit of openness in which their true beauty, the story of their faith journey and what the Lord has done for them, is revealed. In the attitudes that characterize this encounter we see the diametric opposite of jealousy, rivalry, and envy that can dominate relationships.

Mary and Elizabeth are full of care and zeal and they produce an incredible abundance of fruit. We too can produce fruit if we zealously care for our faith lives

Mary and Elizabeth share together the joy of their fertility and the life-giving work that the Lord is doing in them. We are all fertile in that all of us have the capacity to do things that are extraordinary. In Mary we have a virgin that becomes fertile, and in Elizabeth we have a sterile elderly woman who generates life. But our Christian existence is characterized by virginity and sterility that have the potential to give life. Our Christian lives have the potential to generate life where there is sterility, to bear fruit where the branches seem old and beyond productiveness. Without care, however, we cannot be life-giving for others. Without zeal and commitment, our lives will not bear fruit. Sometimes our churches seem merely like public places. We sit in church as if we were sitting on the public transport, not interacting with others and not really interested in what is going on around us. But the church is God’s house! We must enter there with an intuition for the beauty that lies beyond the senses, and with a care and zeal that can bring this beauty to life. Mary and Elizabeth are models of what the Christian should be, people who know that life and beauty can be generated from the most unlikely of circumstances, and who zealously cultivate that life.