4th Sunday of Advent - Cycle C

Luke 1:39-45

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42)

I am always drawn to scripture passages that have a particular focus on the women in the Bible, because they often demonstrate the unique spiritual gifts that women possess and how God uses them. The story of the Visitation is one of these moments where Mary, the Mother of God, goes in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth after hearing of Elizabeth’s pregnancy in her old age. Elizabeth receives Mary with great joy, even the unborn John leaps upon hearing Mary’s voice.

Through the Visitation, we see that fiats produce fruits. In Latin, “fiat” means “let it be done.” When we give God our “yes,” He works great miracles, even in seemingly barren places. Both Mary and Elizabeth were open to receive the Lord and his workings. Women in particular are given these special qualities of receptivity, sensitivity, generosity, and maternity to understand God's purpose for their lives and how to radiate God's love to others. Mary is a perfect example of these traits.

We see Mary’s feminine nature in the story of the Visitation. We read that, after Mary’s encounter with the angel, she went quickly to be with her cousin Elizabeth, who was expecting a child. How many of us, after receiving the kind of news that Mary did, would so immediately turn our thoughts to another in need? Might not our own incredible and miraculous news eclipse that of others? Mary selflessly takes on another person’s concern as her own and sets out to serve another. 

What strikes me most above all else in the Gospel reading is the overarching sense of joy when Elizabeth asks, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” In these moments of joy, John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. The joy of being in the presence of the Lord cannot be contained. It is in John’s leaping that provokes Elizabeth to proclaim the goodness of the Lord and Mary’s blessings, and it is in Elizabeth’s proclamation that Mary utters her Magnificat.

The Lord comes to us each and every day, even now. So let us leap for joy!