Gospel Reflection for The 12th day of September in the year of Our Lord, 2024

Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary

Gospel

Luke 1:39-47

39 And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. 40 And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

46 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

I chose the optional reading for today because the regular Gospel was a continuation of what our Lord said yesterday. He explained that we must forgive as we wish to be forgiven and that we would be blessed in Heaven accordingly. This subject will surely come up again soon. God requires of us supernatural Love and forgiveness, just as He gives us. What He demands of us is not humanly possible, and can only be achieved through the grace of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the personification of all Christian grace. She is blessed more than all who have ever lived and lives forever as the greatest saint in Heaven. It is through her “yes”, her fiat that God chose to save man and through her we have that opportunity for salvation. We simply have to say our own, individual yes to the tremendous love he son, our Lord offers us.

Among Jesus' last words on the cross was the gift of His mother to us. He also entrusted us to her. Being full of all grace, Mary has a greater capacity to love and to forgive than any other person except for her divine son. She literally loves us with the love of Jesus. She forgave even those who tortured and killed her son, the living God. She knew better than anyone during His earthly life who He truly is. This capacity for love and forgiveness is truly supernatural. But, in the Blessed Mother we can see just how great and blessed a human being can be.

The promise of the Communion of Saints is that those who love God and neighbor as Jesus taught live forever in Heaven, aiding in the mission of Christ.... sharing in His divinity as the Body of Christ. They want to save us just as much as Jesus. They pray for us and help us in ways we do not understand. Mary, the greatest of all saints is the Queen of Heaven, but also our Mother. She loves each of us and even the worst of us with a motherly and divine love. The more we can accept this truth and rely on her intercession, and all the help offered to us by the countless angels and saints, the more we can answer that love in kind and, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Let us never forget our greatest advocate.

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Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2024 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3ZTXQB4

and

Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic