Message for Advent 4, 2024 – Sunday, December 22, 2024

Brothers and Sisters,

I share with you on the Gospel reading for today from the  website https://queenofapostles.org/commentary-for-the-4th-sunday-of-advent-year-c-bewildered-gratitude

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Elizabeth in our Gospel today, the last Sunday of our Advent preparation, greets Mary with these joyful words, known to us so well in the Hail Mary. 

The heart of this moment is not so much Elizabeth’s veneration for the unique holiness of Mary, but the joy and awe with which she is consumed when she understands that Christ the Lord, the Savior and Redeemer has come to visit her. As Elizabeth herself says, “how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Her almost delirious, nearly disbelieving joy carries with it a tremendous gratitude. She realizes that she is suddenly in the presence of God’s love and salvation in a way she could never have imagined or expected—and she doesn’t even understand yet that Christ is actually God Himself! The situation is far better than even she understands in her joy! Elizabeth is stunned and humbled by the great gift she has received, and it is with this gratitude that she greets Mary, thanking the Mother of God for bringing Christ to her, and for listening in faith to the angel.

This last Sunday of Advent, with Christmas fast approaching, we can examine our own lives and ask how it is we greet Mary and the Child she carries. Do we share Elizabeth’s deep humility and gratitude? Do we allow ourselves to be astounded and shaken in joy by the goodness God has shown us?

The wonder and awe in the words of Elizabeth, “blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,” can begin to re-awaken in us the joy of this holy season, wherever it has become tired or rote. Inspired by her enthusiasm, we can greet Mary and Jesus in the same way, with our hearts leaping within us bewildered at our good fortune. With each Hail Mary, with each prayer of gratitude to our Savior, we can continue to grow in that hopeful joy, until one day it bears fruit in the eternal vision of God in heaven.