FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT - YEAR C - Gospel (Lk 1: 39-45) - The Word of God for Everyone

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Gospel
(Luke 1: 39-45)
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
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.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God for Everyone
Dear People of God,
Today's Word of God speaks about the Mother of God visiting the human family, specifically to the family of Zechariah, Elizabeth and the baby John who was still in his mother's womb.
God reveals that this visit was the first event in which the Son of God made Himself known through Mother Mary. Through her faith, the woman said yes all her life, God was present among humanity.
She did not doubt or question the angel: how can her cousin give birth when she is old? But she sympathized with the difficulties and hardships of Elizabeth who was about to give birth. Mary quickly prepared to go to her cousin's family with the Son of God, stayed with the family, shared the joy and happiness with the family, and especially took care of and served Elizabeth until she gave birth to John the Baptist. She promptly carried out the Word of God as in today's reading, Saint Paul in his letter to the Hebrews wrote the words of Psalm 39: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God."
Today's Gospel recounts: When Mary arrived, the power and strength of the Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth; and the child in her womb leaped for joy in a strange way. At the same time, Elizabeth was also filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, raising her voice in praise and thanksgiving to God, praising the woman standing before her, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Through Elizabeth’s blessing and praise, God also told all mankind that Mary was the Mother of God, the Mother of the Most High. God invites all mankind to believe that in God’s work of salvation, there is always the presence of the Virgin Mary. She became the first person to bring the Good News to humanity; because the Messiah is hidden in her womb. Therefore, in the home of the first human family visited by God, the power of the Holy Spirit covers an atmosphere of joy, delight, and happiness. Wherever God is present, there is joy and happiness. Thus, in the era of the Holy Spirit, God opens a sign for people to see one thing: wherever there is the Spirit of God, there is the joy of conversion, which is also the joy of a perfect Heaven right here on earth. Because the Spirit of God covers the vast universe, and all creatures: the human world and the world of fallen angels.
Today's Word of God also invites us: if we want to have joy, we must open our hearts to receive the Son of God, receive His holy will; and open our hearts to receive the love, strength, and power of God into our hearts.
In today's world, God does not want us to be dominated and controlled by Satan in extreme suffering. Those of us are invited to run to the God of love, to become close to Him, and to remain with Him. Do not leave Him anymore; welcome Him into our hearts to have complete joy and happiness. With the awareness that I am a good, holy, beautiful creature created by God. Now, because of sin, I have become ugly, dirty, and ashamed, not daring to approach God, the Holy One.
Hence, the work of the Holy Spirit connected with the work of Redemption is opened to give us the grace of Conversion, the grace of Faith, and the grace of Healing. He has invited us to sincerely examine ourselves and repent, to pray: "May the Spirit of God help me to recognize my sins and grant me the strength to be determined to avoid the occasion of sin, to wholeheartedly give up sin to become pure and bright, worthy of God's visit and to come into my soul, into my family and to joyfully welcome Him to stay in our country."
Thanks be to God. Amen.