“To
give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate
Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because She is chosen
from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy
was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her,
streams of grace flowed down upon us.”
-
St. Faustina
“To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us.”
- St. Faustina
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary
Lectionary: 572
Reading 1
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
OR:
Rom 12:9-16
Brothers and sisters:
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;
do not be wise in your own estimation.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6) Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia Alleluia
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Alleluia
Gospel
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,
“Most 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.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
******************************Being visited by Our Blessed Mother
Imagine what it might have been like for Elizabeth when Mary visited her, as told in today's Gospel story. Have you been personally visited by Our Blessed Mother? I'm not talking about having visions or getting messages from her. Do you know what it's like to have a personal relationship with her, in which you experience her motherly concern for you? Because God loves you and wants the best for you, through his power this is possible!
I grew up Protestant. Although I became Catholic in 1977, I couldn't feel any personal connection to Mary. I listened to what others with more experience said about her, but it just didn't seem real. I learned to pray the Rosary, but it was boring and less meaningful than my other methods of praying.
After a few years of trying and failing to understand how to experience Mary's motherly involvement in my life, I gave up and told Jesus that if he wanted me to have a relationship with his mom, he'd have to introduce her to me. A few more years went by.
In 1990, I landed a job as a staff reporter for a Catholic newspaper. One day, I was invited to write about a Marian speaker named Wayne Weible while he toured my diocese. As I interviewed the man who had organized the event, he told me that Our Lady had personally selected me to cover this story. Wow! She picked me? This was not just a decision by my editor? What a thought!
I travelled with Mr. Weible from church to church for my article. I questioned him, I listened to him, I prayed with him. I watched people thank him for his words. Some of them gave him gifts, such as a crucifix and a picture of Mary. Each time, he turned and gave them to me and said, "Your mother wants you to have this." Really? Mary was giving me gifts through these people?
I was not convinced. She continued to feel like a stranger. I knew about her, but she seemed long-dead and far away. That night before I went to sleep, I told Jesus again that if he wants me to have a relationship with his mother, he'd have to make it happen.
The next morning, I awoke feeling very different. Don't ask me how it happened, but I now had a genuine understanding of who Mary is to me: that she loves me, knows me, cares about me, prays for me, prays with me, and works to accomplish much good for me. She has been dear to me ever since. She guided me into starting Good News Ministries even before I knew God's plans for this.
Mary cares about you, too, and every person you know. From heaven, she mourns for those who reject her Son, and she laughs for joy with those who delight in the Lord. She is real. Her love for you is real. She very much wants to have an "Elizabeth experience" with each of us and to praise the Lord with us. She wants us to sing our own Magnificat with her. This is the basis of our relationship with her: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord .... "
Imagine the two of you making this a duet for the Father! "God who is mighty has done great things for us, and holy is his name!"
Today's Prayer
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us Your own Mother as an aid to our salvation. Praised be You, Holy Spirit, because Your full presence in Mary reaches us through her intercession. Amen.
------------------------------
God Bless You.....
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