By Fr. Roy Cimagala
IMAGINE the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, the greatest women of all time, enjoying the greatest dignity, especially Mary! (cfr. Lk 1,39-45) The exchange of greetings between the two can only reflect the highest honor and privilege any human being can enjoy.
Mary, already aware of being the mother of the very Son of God, goes immediately to her cousin to offer her service. What humility she is showing us! And Elizabeth, the recipient of such favor, could not help but exclaim: “O, most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
And Elizabeth continues to express her overwhelming joy, saying: “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.”
And then the most important part of her greeting came out of her mouth: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
My friends, let us again remind ourselves of how important it is to have a strong and effective faith for the will of God of be fulfilled in our lives as it was fulfilled perfectly in the life of Mary!
Mary is the New Eve who never violated the honor and dignity God gave her. And that’s because of her great faith that she was able to incarnate the very Son of God, again underlining a basic truth about our relationship with God—that we are meant to share the same life and nature since God wants us to be his image and likeness, children of his.
In spite of our weaknesses and failure, we should just try to imitate the example of Mary, ever strengthening our faith so that we too can eventually share the honor and dignity that she herself is enjoying.
It’s a faith that necessarily would lead us to an unwavering hope despite the confusing drama of our earthly life. More than that, it’s a faith that can drive us to an overwhelming love that is the very perfection of our humanity as it is the very essence of God.
Mary shows this charity by immediately making herself available to serve her cousin, practically reminding us that charity is not just sweet words and intentions, nor enjoying the honor of a privileged status. It is always expressed in deeds, in wanting to serve, just like Christ himself who once said: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,28)
May it be that just as we are now a few days before Christmas, we rev up our desire to serve in a purely gratuitous way, just like what Christ and Mary did, without counting the cost and ever eager to serve in all conditions, whatever may be the cost.
This eagerness to serve would really identify us with Christ who is our “way, truth and life.” Definitely, to be able to serve, one has to be humble. And that’s what we see in our Lady, and of course, in Christ, first of all. Pride and all its allies would always extinguish any desire to serve others. They only are interested in serving their own selves.
May this Christmas fuel to the max our desire to serve, that is, to love!
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
