Blessed is she who believed

 Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C - 19th December 2021

Gospel Luke 1: 39–44

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

C15 stained glass panel, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As I prepare to pray, I give time to  becoming slowly aware of my body. I relax and breathe gently. I allow the conviction of God’s presence, in and around me, to flood my being. I ask the Spirit to pray within me.

When I’m ready, I take up the text and read it slowly a couple of times.

At one level, it is the simple meeting of two pregnant women. I imagine the scene and quietly watch it unfolding before me.

What strikes me most about what I see? And why is that?

I look at Elizabeth, see the thrill on her face as her baby moves within her; her joy at meeting Mary; her spiritual insight in seeing her cousin as the ‘mother of her Lord’.

Do I find small echoes of any of this in my life?

I consider Mary, arriving to help with the ordinary chores of life, but caught up in a unique moment of blessedness.

How does this speak to me?

I ponder the deep bond between the two women: their joy, their pride in carrying their precious children, but also their humility, and their consciousness of touching the divine in all their humanity.

I may see this encounter as a contemplative moment. I remain silent before them.

I speak to the Lord, expressing how I feel.

I pray for all pregnant women as I end my prayer.