The fourth Sunday of Advent is always dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Like we say, the Church puts the spotlight on Mary because without Mary's
yes, there is no Jesus. Without the Annunciation, there's no Christmas. Mary's
role in our lives didn't end when she gave birth to Christ, but our devotion to
Mary is a share in Christ's love and devotion to her. St. Louis de Montfort
promoted total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but Pope John Paul
II took that total consecration as his motto, totus tuus, I am yours, my
queen and mother.
I am all yours, my queen and my mother. St. Louis de Montfort, like we say, went
around promoting devotion to Mary, but he was also persecuted. At one point, he was
fleeing from his persecutors, and he was in a boat with his companions fleeing,
and one of his companions noted,
no one else could sail in the direction of St. Louis de Montfort.
And so to the
blessed protagonists he gave a timpani of
two Says Could
St. Louis and his companions are invisible.
St. Louis and his companions were invisible.
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That prayer, remember our most gracious Virgin Mary, never was it known that anyone who fled
to your protection, implored your help, sought your intercession, was left unaided.
They say devotion to Mary is like a sign of predestination.
It's a certainty that God has given us the gift of faith because he shares his love for
his mother with us.
They say the heart of Mary is the door to Jesus.
The church has that little maxim, to Jesus through Mary.
Mary is the most direct, the shortest way to her son.
When we seek Mary, we find Jesus.
There's that story that when the iconoclasts went into a church, they saw a beautiful statue
of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Christ child.
It was the Virgin Mary and the child.
But they wanted to chip away Mary.
And when they chipped away Mary, Jesus came crashing down.
That's just the way it is.
Without Mary.
Mary protects and preserves our faith in Christ.
So she strengthens it.
One of...
Wherever there is a...
Today's gospel is the visitation.
We're just looking at that.
visitation and in that gospel Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and there's
an image a painting of the visitation and the whole path that Mary traveled is
filled with light the the pathway she traveled on visiting her cousin Elizabeth
and the point of that painting is that wherever Mary goes she brings the
light and life of Christ truth and grace Fatima Lords Guadalupe like we say her
vocation her mission did not end at Bethlehem but she continues to bring the
light and life of Christ into the world today Mary's like a living
tabernacle she had Jesus Christ within her and so wherever she goes her path is
illumined with light and life. Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth
which is a corporal work of mercy. Mary is on fire with the love of
God. She's full of grace, but that love of God overflows to love of neighbor. Mary,
like we say, does a corporal, but it's also a spiritual work of mercy in
visiting Elizabeth because she brings the grace of Christ to John the Baptist.
The church would teach that John the Baptist is cleansed of original sin at
the visitation. So again, one priest, Father Patrick Payton, would say that to
love God alone is to love God not at all. Mary was filled with the fire of divine
charity. She was filled with grace, but that grace overflowed to love of neighbor.
Mary,
to helping elizabeth and bringing grace to john the baptist okay and it says mary proceeded in haste
because charity is always in a hurry when we're on fire we have this desire to bring that fire
to others okay charity is always in a hurry like saint francis if he were writing a letter and
heard a knock at the door he wouldn't even cross a t or dot an eye but he would answer the door
to see if there was some work of charity that he could perform okay and and so mary in the
visitation is sometimes seen as the fulfillment of the ark of the covenant in the old testament
the ark of the covenant was israel's sign of victory like the ark of the covenant would be
carried by priests leading the army into battle when they went to jericho
it was the priest carrying the ark of the covenant that went around the walls of jericho and
following that the walls of jericho fell so for the israelites the ark of the covenant was their
guarantee of victory when the philistines stole the ark
nothing but evil befell the israelites plagues disasters famines every kind of unfortunate thing
happened to them
so so the philistines put the ark on a cart and sent it back to israel okay well
like we say mary is also our guarantee of victory devotion to mary like even the the scapula wearing
the scapula you say it it's an a certain act of confidence in mary's intercession
that no one whoever dies wearing that scapula would never suffer eternal fire
is a is a certain sign of mary's protection
against evil there's a catholic proverb that says child of mary child of paradise
child of mary child of paradise and we say as devotion to mary goes
so goes the church when devotion to mary is weak or superficial the church experiences difficult times
when devotion to mary is true progressing organization when devotion to mary is true
and flourishing when it means the imitation of her virtues then the church flourishes
and as goes the church so goes the world so so devotion to mary
enables the church to flourish but ultimately
on a pedestal. Mary is the model of virginity and motherhood. And when Mary is not on that pedestal,
the world doesn't recognize the value of virginity or motherhood. But when we exalt her,
the church acclaims her. Ultimately, the world will also value what the church values, what the
grace of God has given to Mary. So we pray for a renewed devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in
our hearts and our families, and that her triumph, the triumph of her immaculate heart,
will bring peace in our world.