Praised Be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
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| An Ordinary Visit, A Divine Encounter |
Having heard from the angel that
her cousin Elizabeth was with child in spite of her old age, Mary set out in
haste to the house of Zechariah in order to visit her. The encounter seemed
like an ordinary visit of one woman to a relative. But something else took
place: the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth and sanctified the six month old John
the Baptist in her womb. The baby John leapt for joy in his mother’s womb while
Elizabeth recognized the blessedness of Mary. This encounter became an occasion
of joy because at that moment, Elizabeth and John the Baptist encountered Jesus
who was then in Mary’s womb.
An ordinary visit that turned
into an encounter with the Lord – this is what the visitation turned out to be.
And this becomes for us a paradigm for the new evangelization. Pope Francis
wrote: “Today, as the Church seeks to experience a
profound missionary renewal, there is a kind of preaching which falls to each
of us as a daily responsibility. It has to do with bringing the Gospel to the
people we meet, whether they be our neighbours or complete strangers. This is
the informal preaching which takes place in the middle of a conversation,
something along the lines of what a missionary does when visiting a home. Being
a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others,
and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city
square, during work, on a journey.
“In
this preaching, which is always respectful and gentle, the first step is
personal dialogue, when the other person speaks and shares his or her joys,
hopes and concerns for loved ones, or so many other heartfelt needs. Only
afterwards is it possible to bring up God’s word, perhaps by reading a Bible
verse or relating a story, but always keeping in mind the fundamental message:
the personal love of God who became man, who gave himself up for us, who is
living and who offers us his salvation and his friendship. This message has to
be shared humbly as a testimony on the part of one who is always willing to
learn, in the awareness that the message is so rich and so deep that it always
exceeds our grasp. At times the message can be presented directly, at times by
way of a personal witness or gesture, or in a way which the Holy Spirit may
suggest in that particular situation. If it seems prudent and if the
circumstances are right, this fraternal and missionary encounter could end with
a brief prayer related to the concerns which the person may have expressed. In
this way they will have an experience of being listened to and understood; they
will know that their particular situation has been placed before God, and that
God’s word really speaks to their lives.” (Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 127
-128.)
We fail to recognize the
effectiveness of this person to person approach because our paradigms for
evangelization are narrowed to the formal catechism classes, seminars, and
homilies. We think that formal classes are the only effective ways of preaching
the gospel. While we cannot deny the importance of dogma and theology, we must
also accept that fact that the Holy Spirit enlivens our faith through dialogues
of life experiences. Only a few have the charism of teaching, all of us are
capable of conversations and visitations. The Holy Spirit moves in our lives
and sharing with one another how He touches us is a moment of witness and
evangelization. We are all disciples and being a disciple means being
constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others. May we be bearers of
glad tidings as Mary was to Elizabeth and John.
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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