JOYFUL EXPECTATION
"My heart
exults in the Lord, my Savior" (1 Sm 2:1a)! He raises us in our weakness
and makes us a part of His glorious heritage.
As the events
leading to the birth of our Savior unfold we see all the prophecies, promises
and prayers of the Old Testament being fulfilled because "God so loved the
world that He gave us His only begotten Son" (Jn 3:16). Today's Gospel of
Luke reveals the presence and loving power of the Holy Spirit in Mary's life.
When Elizabeth greeted Mary she was filled with the Holy Spirit and both were
filled with joyful anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promise to send a
Messiah. John the Baptist, even before his birth, pointed to Jesus! When he
heard Mary's greeting he leapt for joy in the womb of his mother, for a King is
to be born!
We can pray today
with the Responsorial Psalm, "My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior"
(1 Sm 2:1a)! He raises us in our weakness and makes us a part of His glorious
heritage. Mary, our mother, accepted her mission with uncompromising faith and
obedience. She acted with unwavering trust because she believed that God would
fulfill the word He had spoken. Her great hymn of praise, her
"Magnificat," echoes the song of Hannah (see 1 Sm 2:1-10) who also
proclaimed the favor of the Lord: "Yes, God exalts the lowly and he fills
the hungry with good things." Hannah, like Mary, had been without child
and God in a marvelous way gave her a son, Samuel, whom she dedicated at an
early age to the service of the Lord; called to servant ministry.
Christmas time is
for renewing our faith and hope in God and in His promises and for deepening
our love for God and those around us. We are all called to servant ministry!