Saturday, December 22, 2018
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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
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Friends,
by far, the most important Advent figure is Mary of Nazareth, the
Mother of God, for Mary sums up in her person the whole of the people
Israel, the nation whose whole purpose was to prepare for the coming of
the Lord. In her great Magnificat,
which we hear in today’s Gospel, Mary is the new Isaiah and the new
Jeremiah and the new Ezekiel, for she announces with the greatest
clarity and joy the coming of the Messiah.
What
was only vaguely foreseen in those great prophetic figures is now in
clear focus: "He has shown the strength of his arm; he has scattered the
proud in their conceit; 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 forever."
There is nothing stronger or more beautiful in any of the prophets.
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 198
In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: "Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD." She left Samuel there.
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Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon 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,
and 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 remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months
and then returned to her home.
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