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.” (Lk 1:39-45)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122122.cfm
The prayer we call the “Hail Mary” is formed from the words of the angel to Mary in the Annunciation and from the words of Elizabeth in today’s gospel. Ever since Mary joined in constant prayer with the first disciples (Acts 1:14), the church has consistently invoked the prayers of the Mother of God—for through her we have the received the Radiant Dawn, Christ our Lord, whose coming we await.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Wednesday, Week IV, Advent—O RADIANT DAWN, December 21
