Mary set out in those days and traveled
to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the
infant leaped in her womb, and 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.”
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Reflection:
Aside from the birth of our savior, one
of the many beautiful and relevant messages of Christmas is self emptying of
ourselves. To look less on our personal needs and focus it to the needs of
those who are materially and spiritually poor.
Considering that she was also pregnant
at that time. The Blessed Mother did not focus on her own needs and safety. She
looked outside of herself to make a difference in the life of someone else:
That is her cousin Elizabeth. This is what we must always emulate every
Christmas time and even every day, to empty and make ourselves available for
others.
Children usually focus
of their Christmas celebrations and expectations for themselves. That's why
during Christmas eve they hang socks in anticipation of the gifts
that Santa Clause would put into it. Then as they mature they slowly capture the true
essence of Christmas. That Christmas is not about gifts and
certainly not about themselves.
Christmas is actually the gift of life
of Christ, the self emptying of God’s only begotten son for our sake.
Therefore, let us focus our Christmas on making others happy, let us remember
those who are poor.
Let us also remember our relatives whom
we’ve not been in touch for so long especially the poor ones and let us make a
positive difference in their lives this Christmas. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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