Gospel for Sunday, August 15 Luke 1: 39-56
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
39In those days Mary set out towards the mountain and quickly reached a city of Judah. 40Having entered Zechariah’s house, she greeted Elizabeth. 41As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed in a loud voice: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43Why do I have the mother of my Lord to come to me? 44Behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the child rejoiced for joy in my womb. 45And blessed is she who believed that the words of the Lord would be fulfilled.” 46Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior, 48because he looked at the humility of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. 49The Almighty has done great things for me and Holy is his name: 50from generation to generation his mercy extends to those who fear him. 51He has shown the might of his arm, he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52he has overthrown the mighty from their thrones, he has exalted the humble; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, he has sent the rich away empty-handed. 54He helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, 55as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 56Maria stayed with her for about three months, then returned to her home.
Luke 1: 39-56
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Misericordie, I am Carlo Miglietta, doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it).
Also today I share with you a short meditation thought on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
THE MEETING BETWEEN MARY AND ELIZABETH, A “GENERATIONAL PACT”
Pope Francis said: “Mary meets Elizabeth (see Luke 1:39-56), already advanced in years. But it is she, the old woman, who speaks of the future, who prophesies: “filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 41), she calls her “blessed” because “she believed” (v. 45), anticipating the final beatitude of the Gospels: blessed is he who believes (see John 20:29). Here, the young woman goes to meet the old woman looking for her roots and the old woman is reborn and prophesies on her young woman, giving her a future. Thus, young and old meet, embrace each other and are capable of awakening the best in each other. It is the miracle aroused by the culture of encounter, where no one is discarded or labeled, on the contrary, where everyone is sought after, because they are necessary, to make the Face of the Lord shine through. They are not afraid to walk together and, when this happens, God arrives and works wonders in his people”; “We can think that the Virgin Mary, staying at Elizabeth’s house, would have heard her and her husband Zechariah pray… The young Mary listened, and kept everything about her in her heart. The wisdom of Elizabeth and Zechariah enriched her young soul; they were not experts in motherhood and fatherhood, because it was the first pregnancy for them too, but they were experts in faith, experts in God, experts in that hope that comes from Him: this is what the world needs, at all times. Maria knew how to listen to those elderly and amazed parents, she treasured their wisdom, and this was precious for her, in her journey as a woman, as a wife, as a mother”.
Pope Francis further states: “The stories of the elderly are very good for children and young people, as they connect them with the lived history of both the family and the neighborhood and the country. A family that does not respect and does not care for its grandparents, who are her living memory, is a disintegrated family; instead a family that remembers is a family that has a future. Therefore, “in a civilization in which there is no place for the elderly or they are discarded because they create problems, this society brings with it the virus of death”, since it “is torn away from its roots”. The contemporary phenomenon of feeling orphaned, in terms of discontinuity, uprooting and fall of the certainties that give shape to life, challenges us to make our families a place where children can take root in the soil of a collective history.”
It is up to the elderly to be a living memory for young people, not only so that yesterday’s tragedies are not repeated, but also so that the positive values acquired in the field of human rights, work, respect for people, cultures and the environment are passed on . It is in the capacity for memory that the elderly person becomes an “influencer”: “Being an “influencer” in the 21st century – says the Pope – means being custodians of the roots, custodians of everything that prevents our life from becoming “gaseous” and evaporating in nothing. Be custodians of everything that allows us to feel part of each other, to belong to each other… The elderly are the roots of our society, we cannot send them away from our community, they are the living memory of our faith. Young people need roots, memory. Let them communicate with each other, without fear.”
Happy Mercy to all!
Anyone who would like to read a more complete exegesis of the text, or some insights, please ask me at migliettacarlo@gmail.com.