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Jesus in the Mysteries of the Rosary
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Joyful Mysteries
- The Visitation of the Virgin to her cousin Elizabeth
After “The Incarnation of the Son of God”, we go to the mystery of “The Visitation of the Virgin to her cousin Elizabeth” (a landmark in the History of Salvation) (read more: Introduction).
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1st) «Mary got ready and hurried to a town in (…) Judea» (Lk 1:39). This is how the faith of the Virgin is!: not only did she say “YES” but, at the same time, she responded with deeds (and nimbly!). That is the apostle James challenge of coherence for us: «Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds» (Jas 2:18). If Mary had stayed “prudently” in Nazareth protecting her pregnancy, we would all have accepted and understand it... but now there wouldn’t be the 2nd Joyful Mystery... (read more: Mary is the quintessential believer).
2nd) «The baby in my womb leaped for joy» (Lk 1:44). With the arrival of Jesus (only a few days of life in the womb of his Mother), there is an atmosphere of contagious joy also in the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth (read more: «Blessed are you who believed»). Again, the protagonist is Jesus Christ (read more: John, before his birth, begins his mission as Jesus’ precursor): God makes Himself present, St. John feels it and their respective mothers act as exultant spokesmen for such a nice Mystery.
3rd) «But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?» (Lk 1:43). We understand Elizabeth's surprise: the Mother of the Lord looks after the mother of the forerunner. Shouldn’t it have happened the other way around? God’s logic! Later at Calvary Jesus and Mary will surprise us again with their “logic”: instead of something like «John, take care of my mother», from the lips of Jesus came the «Woman, here is your son» (Jn 19:26). Jesus takes care of us, and Mary does too! (read more: The “one-God-who-comes” desires to meet us and visit us).
4th) «My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior» (Lk 1:46-47). The Magnificat is a prayer in a poem’s form that comes from the grateful heart of Saint Mary (read more: Humility and gratitude of Mary). That shows a high and balanced knowledge of the Sacred Scripture (read more: The “Magnificat” of Virgin Mary). Thanks to this background, Mary is capable of responding well and quickly to the Will of God…, always! That is not easy!
November 24th
Sunday 34th in Ordinary Time: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (B)
Gospel and commentary video
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