THE WORD
Rev 11,19; 12,1-6.10 / 1 Cor 15,20-27 / Lk 1,39-56
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.” 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.
“The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
The Hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
IN OTHER WORDS
On Mary’s important feasts we often hear Gounod’s or Schubert’s “Ave Maria” sang or played on an organ. Equally enthusiastic, the Bisayans sing “O Maria, Reyna sa Pilipinas,”while the city parishioners enjoy a modern Marian hymn “Gentle Woman.” The mother of the Lord was a gentle woman, a lady in many ways. Yet, it’s a gentleness imbued with strength to protect her children in need.
When Christianity faced a crisis against the powerful Turkish Ottoman Empire that aimed to wipe out Christianity and Western civilization, Pope Pius V urged the Christian soldiers to place their hopes not on their might but on the Blessed Mother to whom we pray, “Who is she who comes forth bright as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army set in battle array.”Mary, like a good mother that she is, does not want her children oppressed. Belonging to a race that toppled tyrants by God’s grace, the valiant Mary confidently prayed, “My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior. …He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.”
In the Philippines, the underdogs won the epic Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. In 1646, in peril of being conquered by the Calvinist Dutch, the Spanish-Filipino forces prayed to Our Lady as they engaged their enemy in 5 naval battles. Victorious, they marched on bare feet to church in grateful praise for Our Lady’s miraculous intervention.
The woman God chose to be the mother of His only Son is gentle. Yet, as a good mother and rm “Reyna sa Pilipinas,” she will ght for her children whenever they are wronged.
- Fr. Florencio Lagura, SVD | U.S.A.
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
