Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
Mary did not delay or hesitate because of preoccupation with her own situation. Rather she seemed filled with purpose and went in haste. She hurried because she wanted to see Elizabeth, to help and to celebrate what the angel announced God had done for Elizabeth. But Mary herself had been invited by the angel to rejoice and she doubtlessly desired to share this joy with Elizabeth. She had been invited to be the bearer of the presence of God to the world, the ark of the New Covenant. Now she would bring that presence to others so that they could share in her joy.
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.
King David danced for joy before the ark of the Old Covenant. But now John, even while still an infant in his mother's womb, thrilled and leaped for joy at the very sound of the voice of Mary. The glory cloud had overshadowed the mercy seat atop the old ark. That glory cloud had departed, due to the infidelity of the people. But the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and Most High overshadowed her, inaugurating an era of restoration.
Most blessed are you among women
Just as Judith was considered blessed above all women because of the way her trust in God allowed him to use her to save Israel from the Assyrians so too did Mary's faith allow God to work a great victory through her. But the victory worked through the faith of Mary was not a military conquest, but the defeat of the powers of darkness. The salvation brought about through her child was not from the military powers of Rome but rather from sin and Satan.
We see in salvation history that Mary's role was not merely accidental, nor even simply decorative. God delighted to begin to bring about the salvation of his people through the simply and humble response of a faithful virgin to his invitation. And he continues to use her to bring joy and spiritual victory to his people, especially those neglected, overlooked, and underserved. We celebrate a particularly significant instance of such a victory in our feast today of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And so the questions we are invited to consider are: Do we lack spiritual joy? Do we lack spiritual victory? If so, let us turn to the mother of Jesus and rejoice before the ark of the New Covenant. In doing so we will be led inexorably by way of the mother to the source of the mother's joy: Jesus himself.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
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