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HOMILIES PREACHED BY FATHER ALTIER ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION FROM 2001-2005.
A VOICE IN THE DESERT FROM THE EXCERPTSOFINRI.COM ^ | 4/18/2006 | SOLDIEROFJESUSCHRIST

Posted on 04/18/2006 1:14:44 PM PDT by MILESJESU

Thursday May 31, 2001

Feast of the Visitation

Reading (Zeph 3:14-18a)

Gospel (St. Luke 1:39-56)

In the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah, God is telling the people of Israel, and the people of Jerusalem, that they are to rejoice because God is in their midst. Of course we understand that God is in our midst as well. He is in our midst in a general way: the fact that He is present among His people always, that He holds us in being, and so on. But in the fulfillment of this prophecy, in a way that the people could barely understand even though they had all of the various prophecies and they knew that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem, and so on, they knew that He was going to be present in a physical way.

This was something they did not really understand fully, and quite frankly it is something that we cannot ever fully understand either.

(Excerpt) Read more at desertvoice.excerptsofinri.com ...


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: feastofthevisitation; fraltier; homilies
Thursday May 31, 2001

Feast of the Visitation

Reading (Zeph 3:14-18a)

Gospel (St. Luke 1:39-56)

In the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah, God is telling the people of Israel, and the people of Jerusalem, that they are to rejoice because God is in their midst. Of course we understand that God is in our midst as well. He is in our midst in a general way: the fact that He is present among His people always, that He holds us in being, and so on. But in the fulfillment of this prophecy, in a way that the people could barely understand even though they had all of the various prophecies and they knew that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem, and so on, they knew that He was going to be present in a physical way. This was something they did not really understand fully, and quite frankly it is something that we cannot ever fully understand either.

How can God be man and be present physically among us? It is the Incarnation of Christ, and it is something that for all eternity we will never understand fully, because it deals specifically with the Divinity. It is a mystery that is beyond us, and yet it is a mystery into which each one of us is invited.

The great and holy One of Israel is in our midst, as we prayed in the Responsorial Psalm. What exactly does that mean for us? It means that salvation has come. That is what Elizabeth understood. She saw the great gift that God had given to her that she would be able, in her sixties at this point, to conceive a child. And yet when our Lady comes to rejoice with her, and to be with her, and help her, Elizabeth says, "Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" It was something else that was happening. Mary did not say a word about what was happening with her. She simply greeted Elizabeth.

We can see the grace of God at work as the two children in the womb are communicating, and as the two mothers are communicating. God somehow infuses the knowledge into Elizabeth's mind, that within the womb of our Blessed Lady is God Himself. St. John the Baptist understood it and he leaps with joy in his mother's womb. At this point original sin is removed from St. John the Baptist's soul, so that he is born without original sin. Conceived with sin, but born without it because this was the moment that he had been purified that he was sanctified by the Visitation of our Lady and our Lord.

We see that what our Lady does is she goes up to Jerusalem exactly along the same path that the Ark of the Covenant went up to Jerusalem, carrying within her own self the covenant, the new and eternal covenant. There are lots of different things that one can see as we consider this mystery of what is going on the Visitation. But I think what we also need to consider is the great charity of our Blessed Lady.

To think that God has just given to her the greatest gift that anybody could ever imagine, and the first thing that she does is to go and help somebody else. Rather than trying to draw any kind of attention to herself, rather than even sitting back praying and pondering the mystery that is taking place in her own womb, immediately her focus is on others. So too it is for us when we receive our Lord in Holy Communion. When we have Jesus within ourselves, and as we meditate upon the mystery of the Lord present within our souls, He by nature is going to turn our focus to charity, to pray for, to think about and to serve others.

As we consider this mystery of the Visitation, this great Feast, and all of the different communications and the Grace that is present between these two women, between the two babies, then we need to bring it back to ourselves and ask how does this affect me? It affects us because it sets the model for us. The Lord is indeed present in our midst and He is present in our souls. When we receive Holy Communion, for a half an hour or so, He is present in our bodies, and then we can ask ourselves, is my reaction the same as our Lady's? Is my reaction the same as Elizabeth's? Who am I that the Lord should come to me? When our Lord came to our Lady her first reaction was charity. The first words out of her mouth were to praise God. What about us?

When we receive our Lord day after day in Holy Communion, that should lead us to charity, and it should lead us to praise God, to a greater love of God and a greater love of neighbor. That is what we see in this Feast; and that is what should be seen in our lives as well, to be able to glorify God. We need to be able to recognize that He is present in our midst. We need to give Him the glory and the magnification of our soul, for the One who is within our soul, for the One who wants to shine out from within us, that is what we can understand in this for ourselves. It is a model for us so that we can imitate the charity of our Lady, and the great love that Jesus has for us, and then we can share that love with others by showing them the great love He has for them as well.

Note: Father Altier does not prepare his homilies in advance, but relies solely upon the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

Friday May 31, 2002

Feast of the Visitation

Reading (Romans 12:9-16)

Gospel (St. Luke 1:39-56)

We see in the readings today a snapshot of the way we are to live the Christian life. Saint Paul tells us, for instance, in the first reading that we are to love what is good, to reject what is evil, to show affection to one another, to be hospitable, and all these different points that he makes along the way. Of course, we see all of these things in the scene of the Visitation. Our Lady, hearing about Elizabeth being in her sixth month, immediately gets up and walks 80 or 90 miles to Ein Karem just outside of Jerusalem. Entering the house of Zechariah, Our Lady greets Elizabeth, and John the Baptist leaps in her womb.

You see these two women, then, in total charity toward one another. As Mary reaches out to Elizabeth, Elizabeth turns right around and she exalts Our Blessed Lady. And Our Lady, in her humility, turns right around and gives all the glory and honor to God.

Here is the Blessed Mother with Our Lord within her - the most exalted of all creatures that ever has been and ever will be - and her first inclination is to serve, to go beyond herself, not to look for any recognition for herself. She did not say a word to Elizabeth about the fact that she was with child; but rather, it was by the Holy Spirit that Elizabeth recognized that Our Lord was present within Our Lady. She would be able, then, to exclaim, "Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" And yet again, Our Lady, not looking at herself and thinking how wonderful it is that Elizabeth recognizes this mystery, but rather, looking immediately to God, she glorifies Him: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior."

We see the way that we need to be. The Christian way is charity. It is precisely the command of Our Lord that we are to love. Again, love is not about having happy feelings for somebody; love is giving. It is going beyond yourself; it is seeking the good of another; it is pouring one’s self out for the sake of other people. That is what we are supposed to be doing: always looking to the needs of others, knowing that God will take care of our needs. Our Lady was not worried about herself; she simply was concerned about Elizabeth and she went to serve. So that is the pattern for us. We also see the pattern of the way that these two women are: Mary, looking to the needs of Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, looking beyond her needs even when Our Lady comes to serve her. Elizabeth does not look at herself and proclaim how wonderful this is that God has favored her with a child when she is in her sixties; but rather, she simply turns to Our Lady and glorifies her. Then Our Lady glorifies God. What we see in this for ourselves is that we need to focus on the other and anything good that another will approach us with needs to go to God. We know it is not us; maybe we cooperated with God. Our Lady could say, "Well, I said ‘yes’ - that is about all I did." What about us? We cannot say a whole lot more than that. All we can ever say is that we cooperated with God to do whatever good happened. We cannot take the credit for it because we did not do it; God did it, so we need to glorify Him.

He is at work within us and any good that we are going to do is because of His grace, not because of any merit of ours or any ability of our own. It is God’s gift which has given us the ability and it is God who has given us the grace. So we glorify Him.

But we need also to meditate upon this beautiful scene. Keep in mind that at this moment we have Elizabeth, who is exceedingly holy, but we also have the three holiest persons that will ever be known on the face of the earth. We have Our Blessed Lady; we have Our Lord; and we have Saint John the Baptist, who at this moment was freed from Original Sin as he leapt in his mother’s womb; and the communication that is taking place between the two women externally, the communication that is taking place between the two babies in the womb, and what is going on within the hearts of each as the grace of God fills each one of them with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist is filled with the Holy Spirit as Original Sin is removed. Elizabeth, we are told, was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had already descended upon Our Lady. And, of course, the Holy Spirit animates Our Lord. So you have these four individuals filled with the Holy Spirit and giving glory to God.

That is the Christian life.

Each one of us is called to holiness. Each one of us is called to give glory to God. Each one of us is called to charity, to follow the pattern that we see in the life of Our Lord, the pattern we see in the life of Our Lady, the pattern that we see laid out for us in the Gospel reading today. It is love of God and love of neighbor, the two greatest commandments fulfilled. Two women, looking out for one another, and two women giving glory to God. That is what we are called to be: to seek the good of one another, and in all things to give glory to God.

This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

Recognizing the Dignity of Human Life

Monday May 31, 2004

The Visitation

Reading I (Romans 12:9-16)

Gospel (St. Luke 1:39-56)

Today as the country takes time out to remember all those who have died in service to the country, it is a very common thing that people will go to the cemeteries and visit their beloved dead. So it is an interesting correlation today that it is also the Feast of the Visitation; in this case, not to those who are dead, but of those who are bringing life to the world.

Here we have Our Blessed Lady, who is with child, and she is going on a very difficult journey some eighty or so miles down from Galilee through the deepest valley in the world near the Dead Sea and up into the mountain region to Jerusalem. That is a 7,000 foot climb from down by the Dead Sea up to Jerusalem, and then just outside of Jerusalem to where Zechariah and Elizabeth live. And there she finds Elizabeth also with child, bearing the harbinger of the Gospel, the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of the New Testament prophets: Saint John the Baptist. As the two women converse, the two children within them are also conversing. Saint John the Baptist, when he hears Our Lady’s voice, leaps with joy in his mother’s womb. At that moment, Original Sin was removed from the soul of Saint John the Baptist and he was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.

At that same moment, we hear that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and inspired by the Holy Spirit she cried out, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Note that this is inspired not only through Saint Luke by the Holy Spirit, but Elizabeth is also inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is an important point because our non-Catholic brothers and sisters ignore this passage. They do not like to talk about Our Lady. And here we have what we could call a double inspiration by the Holy Spirit with both Elizabeth and Saint Luke telling us the exact same thing: that Our Blessed Mother is the most blessed among women, and also blessed is the fruit of her womb.

Then, of course, Elizabeth, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, proclaims the truth that people had difficulty with for the first several hundred years of Christianity when she says, How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me? So we have here the first public proclamation from a human person (Saint Gabriel had already told Our Blessed Lady the truth of what was going to happen) that Mary is indeed the Mother of God. That is a hard thing for some people to understand. How can God have a mother? Under normal circumstances, to be a mother implies that a new human person begins in the womb of his mother. Christ, Who is God, has no beginning – He is an eternal person – so how is it possible that He can have a new beginning in the womb of this most extraordinary of all women? It is not that He has a beginning as a person in the womb of His mother, but He has a beginning as a human being. Jesus, remember, is not a human person – He is a divine person from all eternity – but, in His human nature, He has a beginning in His mother’s womb.

For those who are in favor of abortion, this reading is also very important. Here you have a child who is at six months’ gestation leaping in his mother’s womb when he hears Our Lady’s voice. Our Lady, at this point, is probably three or four days pregnant. She heard from the angel Gabriel that the Holy Spirit was going to descend upon her and that she was going to receive the Son of God, and she set out immediately. That would be about a three days’ journey under normal circumstances from Nazareth to Jerusalem. Here she is already proclaimed to be the mother of the Lord, and Jesus, at this time in Our Lady, would still be microscopic as far as His humanness goes. Yet today we have people who want to claim that a baby is not a baby, that the humanness of a child is not there. And we have Christian people (people who want to call themselves Christian, anyway) who want to make the same claim. We need to show them this reading.

It is a rather ironic point, once again, that this is the reading we would have upholding the truth of the dignity of our humanity, the truth of who Our Blessed Lady is, the truth of who these two children are in the wombs of their mothers, on this very same day that our country takes time to remember the dead. Let us not forget the forty or so million innocent dead who died not so much in the service of their country, but have died because of the malice of our country. But we also have to understand that in God’s providence the blood of these little babies is not going to go without its retribution. What these little children are going to do for their country is going to be even greater than what those who have given their lives in service to their country have done in the past. So, for us, we need to recognize not only the importance and the dignity of what those soldiers have done in the past, and even those recently who have been killed in the service of their country, but we need to remember all of those who have died, all of our relatives who have built up the family and in that way built up our country, and also all of the babies who have been killed because their dignity has been taken from them, because their humanity has been stripped from them. We must never forget.

Our Lady went in haste when she heard that there was another woman who was in need because she was with child. Our country now needs to recognize the same thing. The greatest need in our country today is to recognize the dignity, not only of the woman with child, but of the child within the woman. If we truly want to be of service to this nation and to our world, that is the battlefield upon which we must fight to uphold the rights and the dignity of the human person from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death; anything less strips the humanity from these people. And since we are all equal, if they are not human then neither are we. If it is okay to destroy them, it is okay to destroy us. It is interesting how even the pro-abortionists would argue against that position. They think that their life is somehow important, but the lives of other people are not.

It is time that we recognize the truth of the dignity of the human person and the truth of the dignity of the two most important persons who have ever lived: Our Lord and His mother. We need to pray in a very profound way that as Our Lady in her great charity went in haste to visit her relative who was in need, that now she will come in haste once again because her children are in need – great need. We need to beg her to come in haste to visit us so that we will be able to recognize the truths that are proclaimed by the Church, the truths which are contained right in Scripture, and that we will recognize the reality of God’s creation and the dignity of this most extraordinary of all women (indeed, the most extraordinary of all human persons who have ever lived and who will ever live). We must recognize our own dignity and the dignity of every person – especially of those in the womb – as well as all those who are handicapped, those who are sick, those who are elderly, and so on. This is the truth that must be upheld. The only way, I am afraid, that we are going to learn that lesson in this country completely given over to sin is if we have our own visitation. As Jesus and Mary went up to Jerusalem to visit Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist and the truth was there proclaimed, pray and beg Our Lord for the grace to send His mother so that these same truths can be upheld and proclaimed in our country in our day.

*This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

Tuesday May 31, 2005

Feast of the Visitation

Reading (Romans 12:9-16)

Gospel (St. Luke 1:39-56)

When we hear the words of Saint Paul in the first reading today from his Letter to the Romans, we see perfectly described the situation of our Blessed Lady. First of all, Saint Paul says, Let your love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection. So perfectly did Our Lady love these things that she was able to receive the greatest gift that has ever been given to a human being, that is, Jesus Himself. She loved the good so perfectly that the true Good, God Himself, was able to be incarnate within her womb. Her love was so perfect that she was united perfectly with love, Love Himself, that is.

But it is something that goes beyond just that, as we celebrate in this feast today. Once Our Lady had received this extraordinary gift of love, she did in return exactly what had been done for her. That is, just as God in His mercy had come down from heaven to the womb of our Blessed Lady, so now our Blessed Mother, the highest of all human creatures, once this gift had been given and she learned about her cousin Elizabeth, immediately went to her. Just as Our Lord had come to Our Lady, so Our Lady will go now to Elizabeth.

In the mystery of what takes place at this visitation, we see the two children within the wombs of their mothers communicating one to another. We see Our Lord giving, through Our Lady’s voice, the word which causes Saint John the Baptist to leap in his mother’s womb. We hear of Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit and crying out in a loud voice all of the things that were true, that Mary is the Mother of our Lord. And she was able to recognize that even before she knew that Our Lady was with child. She called Our Lady “most blessed among women.” She called “blessed” the fruit of Our Lady’s womb, and then questioned, How is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? Imagine what Our Lady, at that point, had been pondering for an eighty-mile journey down there: Who am I that my Lord should come to me?

We see how charity operates. Once we recognize what true charity is, then we have an obligation in return to practice it. Well, this gift of the Visitation continues because Our Lord continues to give Himself to each one of us. And each one of us, having received this gift of Jesus in the Eucharist, must then take this gift out into the world. Like Our Lady, when we receive this gift and say, “Who am I that my Lord should come to me?” then we need to be able to bring Him to others. We do not keep Jesus just for ourselves, but we want the same gift to be given to all. In this gift, we have to recognize the true Good, the perfect Love, Who is God Himself. Then we are the ones who have to love sincerely, to hate what is evil, to cling to what is truly good. Saint Paul goes on to talk about how we have to anticipate one another in mutual affection and in showing honor.

It is exactly what Our Lady did. She went to Elizabeth. Then look at what Elizabeth does. Immediately – rather than focusing on herself – she is focusing on Our Lady. That is what real love and true honor toward one another is about. It is two people looking out for one another’s good, neither one looking out for their own good. Here are two women to whom extraordinary gifts have been given. Elizabeth, well beyond the normal time of childbearing, suddenly receives a son miraculously. Our Lady receives her Son miraculously. We are told that everyone in the neighborhood around Elizabeth was wondering about this extraordinary event, and yet Elizabeth does not focus on herself. She does not say to Our Lady, “Look what the Lord has done for me!” And Our Lady does not say that to Elizabeth either. Both focus on the other. Both anticipate one another in showing honor. Both love with a pure and perfect love.

That is what our lives are to be about. It is about charity. We have received perfect charity, and we do everyday when we receive Holy Communion. Now the question is within our own selves. How do we respond to that gift of charity? When we receive Our Lord, we must learn from our Blessed Lady to be able take Him out into the world, to learn to be selfless, to learn to truly love, so that we focus on the good of the other and bring Jesus into the world and into the hearts of those who need Him the most.

*This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

1 posted on 04/18/2006 1:14:48 PM PDT by MILESJESU
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah; sandyeggo; Siobhan; Lady In Blue; NYer; Pyro7480; livius; ...

HOMILIES ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION PING!


2 posted on 04/18/2006 1:17:59 PM PDT by MILESJESU (Father Robert Altier is a True Soldier of Jesus Christ. Merciful Jesus Christ, I Trust in you.)
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To: All

HOMILIES ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION BUMP


3 posted on 04/18/2006 1:51:28 PM PDT by MILESJESU (Father Robert Altier is a True Soldier of Jesus Christ. Merciful Jesus Christ, I Trust in you.)
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To: nanetteclaret; All

Dear Freepers in Christ,

Check out these awesome Homilies by Father Altier on the Feast of the Visitation.

In the Risen Lord Jesus Christ,


4 posted on 04/18/2006 3:33:09 PM PDT by MILESJESU (Father Robert Altier is a True Soldier of Jesus Christ. Merciful Jesus Christ, I Trust in you.)
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To: All

AWESOME HOMILIES ON OUR LADY BUMP


5 posted on 04/19/2006 7:06:38 AM PDT by MILESJESU (Father Robert Altier is a True Soldier of Jesus Christ. Merciful Jesus Christ, I Trust in you.)
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To: MILESJESU
American Catholic’s Saint of the Day

May 31, 2007
Visitation

This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Birthday of John the Baptist (June 24).

Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy—the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages.

It is helpful to recall that we do not have a journalist’s account of this meeting. Rather, Luke, speaking for the Church, gives a prayerful poet’s rendition of the scene. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary as “the mother of my Lord” can be viewed as the earliest Church’s devotion to Mary. As with all authentic devotion to Mary, Elizabeth’s (the Church’s) words first praise God for what God has done to Mary. Only secondly does she praise Mary for trusting God’s words.

Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here Mary herself (like the Church) traces all her greatness to God.

Comment:

One of the invocations in Mary’s litany is “Ark of the Covenant.” Like the Ark of the Covenant of old, Mary brings God’s presence into the lives of other people. As David danced before the Ark, John the Baptist leaps for joy. As the Ark helped to unite the 12 tribes of Israel by being placed in David’s capital, so Mary has the power to unite all Christians in her Son. At times, devotion to Mary may have occasioned some divisiveness, but we can hope that authentic devotion will lead all to Christ and therefore to one another.

Quote:

“Moved by charity, therefore, Mary goes to the house of her kinswoman.... While every word of Elizabeth’s is filled with meaning, her final words would seem to have a fundamental importance: ‘And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her from the Lord’ (Luke 1:45). These words can be linked with the title ‘full of grace’ of the angel’s greeting. Both of these texts reveal an essential Mariological content, namely the truth about Mary, who has become really present in the mystery of Christ precisely because she ‘has believed.’ The fullness of grace announced by the angel means the gift of God himself. Mary’s faith, proclaimed by Elizabeth at the visitation, indicates how the Virgin of Nazareth responded to this gift” (Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer, 12).



6 posted on 05/31/2007 8:36:17 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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