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“Mary Visiting Elizabeth”
by Jan-Erasmus Quellinus 1651 |
Readings for December 21 [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1
First Option: Song of Songs 2:8-14
Hark! my
lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!
“O my dove in the
clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
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Commentary on Sg 2:8-14
From
the Song of Songs we are given a love song, in this instance the bride seeing
her love approach. The time of their meeting draws near, and she begs for the
time they can be together: “Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your
voice is sweet, and you are lovely." This reading is a favorite at
weddings for obvious reasons. Placed here, on the verge of Christmastide,
we see a more complete purpose as the Church rejoices in the coming of her
bridegroom, Christ.
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OR
Second Option: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Shout for joy, O
daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
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Commentary on Zep 3:14-18a
The prophet Zephaniah begins this passage with
an exaltation of praise to God. His invitation sounds in the present tense, but
then he says: “On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem,” which places
the event, the rejoicing over the Lord God being in their midst, in the future.
In effect, this is a prediction of events to come. Zephaniah also includes the
effects of God’s presence as he continues: “a mighty savior; he will rejoice
over you with gladness and renew you in his love.”
We hear the expectation of the Messiah: “The
King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst.” In this case the effects of
the Messiah on the people are the focus. The prophet proclaims a renewal
of God's loving adoption and the joy felt by the Father at his favorite
creation.
CCC: Zep 3:14 722,
2676; Zep 3:17a 2676; Zep 3:17b 2676
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21
R. (1a; 3a) Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him
a new song.
Give thanks to
the Lord on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
But the plan of
the Lord stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
Our soul waits
for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
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Commentary on Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21
This
hymn of praise is an invitation for those who follow the Lord to rejoice in His
grace. The theme of breathless anticipation is again expressed as the psalmist
sings: “Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield.”
The sense of renewed passion for the Lord is captured in the response which is
taken from the first verse of this psalm.
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Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out in
those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
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Commentary on Lk 1:39-45
St. Luke’s nativity story continues with Mary’s
journey to visit Elizabeth. In this passage, we see the first meeting between
John the Baptist (the child in Elizabeth’s womb) and Jesus (now growing in
Mary’s womb). Here also is one of the foundational Scripture passages for the
“Hail Mary” prayer: “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the
fruit of your womb.” This greeting of Elizabeth’s sets the stage for the
beautiful Canticle of Mary which follows immediately.
"St. John Chrysostom comments on this
scene of the Gospel: ‘See how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not
yet left the womb, but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out,
but he makes himself heard by his actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light
but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as
Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature
to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his mother’s womb and
he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Savior is about to come’ (‘Sermo
Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio’)." [4]
And how does this happen to me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? "In the Old
Testament, the title 'my lord' is frequently used for the Davidic king
(e.g., 1
Kings 1:31; 2:38; Psalm 110:1). In the
Spirit, Elizabeth may thus recognize that Mary bears her king, the Messiah.
Moreover, in the Old Testament, the Hebrew name of God, YHWH, was translated in
the Septuagint as 'Lord' (kyrios). So far in Luke, that word has thus
been used to refer to the Lord God, [Luke 1:6, 9, 11, 15-17,
25,28,32.] but now it is used for the first of many
times for Jesus." [5]
CCC: Lk 1:41 523,
717, 2676; Lk 1:43 448,
495, 2677; Lk 1:45 148, 2676
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Reflection:
Every evening, those who pray
the Liturgy of the Hours join millions around the world in remembering the
words of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We recall her example of faith to which the
whole Church aspires. When we pray the Canticle of Mary at each Evening Prayer,
the first words, as we make the sign of the cross, seem to fill us up: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord."
We can feel her emotion as we
say: "My spirit rejoices in God my
savior." And the truth of: "He
has looked with favor on his lowly servant." The song is so filed with
quiet grace and confidence in God that it imparts that same feeling to those of
us who have echoed its words down through the millennia.
And on this day, as we
approach the Nativity of the Lord and the completion of Mother Mary’s first
blessing for being the vessel of the Lord, we see in her attitude perfect
obedience to God’s will. If we could
reach the faith of Mary our mother, we would find indwelling peace that the
grace of Christ’s presence gives to us. We would also find glorious serenity
that places all of the cares and sorrows of our world in the hands of God and
would let our spirits soar.
Ah, but that is hard. Mary,
who was graced with a character so pure of sin that even original sin never
spoiled that exemplar of God’s love and fidelity, was given such a special
place and grace that her cousin Elizabeth cried out: "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb."
What can we do? All we have
found that gets us close to her peace and serenity is the marvelous Canticle of
Mary, the Magnificat. We look forward
to it each day and find ourselves praying the first few lines during the day
when we feel the work we have accomplished is indeed to the greater glory of
God. And there is a reason the archangel Gabriel’s words begin the most common
prayer of our faith: "Hail Mary,
full of grace...” The words bring us comfort and remind us of the beauty,
obedience and sincere worship expressed by the Mother of God, and our hope that
we might emulate her faith by word, action, and thought.
The nativity of the Lord is
nearly here, and we join Holy Mary in her expectation of the blessed event of
the Lord’s birth, and his return in glory.
Pax
O Antiphon for this date [6]
O Radiant
Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris,
et umbra mortis.
[1]
The picture is “Mary Visiting Elizabeth” by Jan-Erasmus Quellinus 1651.
[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible “Gospels and
Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 349-50.[5]
The Gospel of Luke by Pablo
T. Gadenz © 2018, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI, p. 49.[6]
The Roman Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least
the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat
canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology
that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old
Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old
Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative
"Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. (
USCCB)
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