Part 1 of the Crash Course/Catch-up. More will come as it comes.
December 10, 2009
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent
Luke 1:39-45 wrote:During those days 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.”
[i]The Little Blue Book[/i] wrote:Elizabeth speaks the very first beatitude in Luke’s Gospel: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
The Greek word used here for “blessed” means “inner happiness.” Being happy has a lot to do with being peaceful—being able to say “yes” to the life I’ve got, and not the life I wish I had. Mary is happy because she said “yes” to God, and trusted that this was the path to peace.
There are some things in my life that I can change for the better, and that is fine. But much of life is learning how to say “yes” to things I can’t change. Life will not always do my bidding. It just won’t. I need to accept it with a “yes” that is more than reluctant resignation. How do I do that?
I start by recognizing that the Spirit of God is at my side, on my side. And then I say “yes” as Mary did, trusting that God will see me through all of it.
On a side note, I find it mildly ironic that Elizabeth praises Mary for accepting and trusting in God’s promise, when Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah is still consigned to silence for disbelieving the promise God made to him.
This Scripture passage is connected to a few prayers that have been important to me in my life. As a Catholic, I have a deep respect for Mary. We have a prayer (the Hail Mary) that honors Mary and asks for her to intercede for us (i.e. pray on our behalf). One line of the Hail Mary comes from this Scripture passage: “blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Another prayer I am reminded of, by the reflection offered in
The Little Blue Book, is the Serenity Prayer, which I believe is a contributing factor to my continued “sanity”, and which I will include here.
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Let me know if we need an explanation for the Beatitudes—I don’t know if that’s common knowledge or not because I grew up in Catholic schools learning about such things.
December 11, 2009
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Luke 1:46-48 wrote:And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.”
[i]The Little Blue Book[/i] wrote:Joy runs through Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus.
Mary sets the tone here as she begins her Magnificat: “My spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
Think of a time when you rejoiced in what someone else had done—a son or daughter, a close friend, or someone you hold as a “hero” in your life.
That’s the kind of rejoicing Mary is talking about. She rejoices in the “greatness of the Lord,” in “God my savior.” Mary loved God. And when she realized firsthand how really good God is, she sang for joy. Her heart was lifted. It was delight—pure joy, not at all self-conscious.
When I think about it, my greatest rejoicing is often this kind. Not in what I have accomplished, but in what someone I love has done. It brings tears of joy.
The best prayer of all is the kind I experience when I suddenly and simply realize just how good God is. What a blessing to have a God like that.
I have the same God as Mary. I can take those first words of the Magnificat and make them my own. It’s as fine a prayer as there is.
Spend some time thinking about the many wonderful things that the Lord has done, and praise God’s goodness.