Today’s Gospel gives us an account of Mary’s reaction to the glad tidings Gabriel brought her. She did not keep it to herself. Rather, she reached out to share it with her cousin Elizabeth to help her deal with her concerns.
This action on her part teaches us that one of our hopes, our ambitions of Christmas is to reach out to others in a spirit of friendship and to bring them the faith and joy that have been gratuitously given to us.
Elizabeth responds to Mary’s visit by acknowledging the fullness of God’s grace within her. She recognizes that Jesus is being formed within her womb. In doing so, she teaches us who Mary is and gives us an example of recognizing Jesus presence in those we encounter on a daily basis, particularly at Christmas. In doing so we acknowledge what a Christmas gift truly entails.
Resolve: To prepare myself for Christmas, I’ll make a special effort, with the help of Mary, to study the words of today’s Gospel more carefully so as to appreciate better the promises God made in the Old Testament are realized.