From the Pastor

Dec. 22, 2024

The two figures who most represent the season of Advent are John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Over the past two weeks, we have focused on John, and this week we focus on Mary. The two of them represent all of Israel, who for centuries had believed the great Messianic prophecies, and who had prepared for the coming of the Savior. 
    
Today we are presented with the story of the Visitation.  When the angel declared to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Son of God, he also told her that her cousin Elizabeth, who was thought to be barren, was bearing a child. Mary set out “in haste” to come to the house of Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah.
    
When the two women greeted each other, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,” the second phrase of the Hail Mary. She also asked, “How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

This encounter, not just between Mary and Elizabeth, but more significantly, between John and Jesus, shows the partnership that they will undertake to bring about the salvation of the world. John will be the one who cries out, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” His birth will prepare the way of Jesus’ birth. His ministry will prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. And his death will prepare the way for Jesus’ death.
—Fr. Mike Comer