Fourth Sunday of Advent

Greetings in the name of the Lord:

Today we light the fourth candle of the Advent wreath. We are nearing the conclusion of the Advent Season. Today’s Gospel from Luke gives us the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who went and greeted Elizabeth. This encounter brought joy to both Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth cried out with joy, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

A friend recently sent me a post from Women of Grace:

“Open to the Spirit, [Mary] consecrated herself totally as the lowly handmaid to the person and work of the Savior. She received Christ in order to share Him with all the world whose hope He is. In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and our own.” – St. Eugene de Mazenod

The post continued: “Are you open to the Spirit like Mary? Let us model our faith after hers so we may more fully dedicate our lives to the work to which the Savior has called us.”

Yours in Christ:
Fr Haft