Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The meeting of Mary and Elizabeth was also a meeting of the children they were carrying, the Saviour and his precursor.  John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. In Luke’s account we see hints of Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant, the one who bears God.  Joy pervades this scene as Mary brings the hidden presence of Jesus to the home of her relatives.

In the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah (3:14-18) we hear the “Daughter of Sion” exhorted to “Shout for joy” because “The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst”.    In the alternative first reading, Paul’s letter to the Romans we hear of the role of hope in our lives “If you have hope, this will make your cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying.:  In the Gospel from Luke (1:39-56) we hear of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and her great canticle of praise “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour”.