Replies

From: Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Psalms of Joy in Zion

[14] Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion,
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
[15] The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
he has cast out your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall fear evil no more.
[16] On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
[17] The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
[18] as on a day of festival.”

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Commentary:

3:14-18a. Now the promise becomes a song of jubilation. The Lord, the Savior,
sees to it that all is joy (v. 14), and there is no room for fear (v. 16). The Chris-
tian, in reading these verses, cannot but be reminded of the scene of the An-
nunciation: Mary, too, the humble Virgin (Lk 1:48), is invited to rejoice (Lk 1:28)
and not to fear (Lk 1:20), because the Lord is with her (Lk 1:28). And indeed,
with the Incarnation of the Word, the Lord did come to dwell among his people,
and the salvation that was promised came to pass.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Romans 12:9-16

Charity Towards All

[9] Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; [10] love one
another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. [11] Never
flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. [12] Rejoice in your hope,
be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. [13] Contribute to the needs of
the saints, practise hospitality. [14] Bless those who persecute you; bless and
do not curse them. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who
weep. [16] Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate
with the lowly; never be conceited.

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Commentary:

9-21. “After speaking about those gifts which are not common to all, the Apostle
now teaches that charity is common to all” (St Thomas, “Commentary on Rom,
ad loc”.). True charity takes different forms depending on the needs and capacity
of each person; it always involves seeking good and avoiding evil (v. 9); it has to
be exercised with those who are already Christians (vv. 10-16) and those who are
not (vv. 17-21); indeed, the charity shown to the latter is instrumental in bringing
them closer to the faith. However, it is not always possible to do to others all the
good we would wish: we have limited resources, more pressing duties; there are
problems of physical distance, etc. Only God, who is infinitely perfect and almigh-
ty, can do good to everyone all the time; this does not mean that he always gives
everyone the same gifts: to some he gives more, to others less, according to the
designs of his Wisdom.

Even bearing in mind our own limitations, our love for others should affect every-
thing we do, everything we think and say. Obviously, one of the first consequen-
ces of charity is never to judge anyone, or speak badly about anyone, or scan-
dalize them by what we say or do. Moreover, we should perform positive acts
of this virtue; it would be impossible to give a complete list of the ways of being
charitable but they certainly include, Fray Luis de Granada says, “among other
things, these six—loving, counselling, assisting, suffering, forgiving and edifying.
These are so closely connected to charity that the more one does them the
more charity one has, and the less, less [...]. For, according to this order a per-
son can check to see what he has and what he does not have as far as the per-
fection of that virtue is concerned. For we can say that he who loves is on the
first step; he who loves and counsels, on the second; he who assists, on the
third; he who suffers on the fourth; he who forgives and suffers, on the fifth; and
he who builds on all this with his words and his good life, as is the task of per-
fect and apostolic men, on the highest step of all” (”Guide to Sinners”, I, II,
chap. 16).

12. The love of God makes us joyful, strong and persevering. Therefore “one ac-
cepts tribulation with joy and hope, because one knows that what is promised
in exchange is something much better” (Pseudo-Ambrose, “Comm. in Epist. ad
Rom, ad loc”.)

This setting gives us every opportunity to derive supernatural benefit from suffe-
ring, which is quite a normal part of the Christian life: “A whole program for a
good course in the ‘subject’ of suffering is given to us by the Apostle: “spe gau-
dentes” — rejoicing in hope, “in tribulatione patientes” — patient in troubles, “ora-
tioni instantes — persevering in prayer” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 209).

Joy in the midst of difficulties is in fact one of the clearest signs that love of God
is influencing everything we do, for, as St Augustine comments, “where one loves,
either one does not feel the difficulty or else one loves the very difficulty [...]. The
tasks of those who love are never laborious” (”De Bono Viduitatis”, 21, 26).

13. “For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God
whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). Similarly, it can be said that Christians, that
is “servants of the Lord”, unless they serve their brethren whom they see before
them, cannot serve God either. Serving God, in other words, ultimately means al-
leviating “the needs of the saints “ and offering hospitality to strangers, after the
example of the patriarchs Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:2-5; 19:2-3; cf. Heb 13:2).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast Day
May 31st

Visitation
Mariotto Albertinelli
1503 - Oil on wood, 232 x 146 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior..."

HISTORY:
Assuming that the Annunciation and the Incarnation took place about the vernal equinox, Mary left Nazareth at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to visit her cousin Elizabeth, because her presence and much more the presence of the Divine Child in her womb, according to the will of God, was to be the source of very great graces to John, Christ's Forerunner.
The event is related in Luke 1:39-57. Feeling the presence of his Divine Savior, John, upon the arrival of Mary, leaped within the womb of his mother Elizabeth; he was then filled with the grace of God.
St. Joseph may have accompanied Mary, returned to Nazareth, and when, after three months, he came again to Hebron to take his wife home, the apparition of the angel, mentioned in Matthew 1:19-25, may have taken place to end the tormenting doubts of Joseph regarding Mary's maternity.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)
PRAYERS and READINGS
Collect:
Almighty ever-living God,
who, while the Blessed Virgin Mary was carrying your Son in her womb,
inspired her to visit Elizabeth,
grant us, we pray,
that, faithful to the promptings of the Spirit,
we may magnify your greatness
with the Virgin Mary at all times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jersalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, He has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will renew you in His love; He will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it."
Or Romans 12:9-16
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited.
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-56
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is he fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, He has put down the mighty from their thorns, and exalted those of low degree; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity for ever".
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Mary's song of praise is known as the Magnificat
See also Marian Feast Page | Pope John Paul II Homily at Lourdes - August 15, 2004