Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
22 December
Reading: 1 Samuel 1:24-28
Responsorial Psalm: 1 Samuel 2:4-8
“My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour”
Gospel: Luke 1:46-56
Luke 1:46 – “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”
By far, the most important Advent figure is Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God, for Mary sums up in her person the whole of the people Israel, the nation whose whole purpose was to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In her great Magnificat, which we hear in today’s Gospel, Mary is the new Isaiah and the new Jeremiah and the new Ezekiel, for she announces with the greatest clarity and joy the coming of the Messiah.
What was only vaguely foreseen in those great prophetic figures is now in clear focus: “He has shown the strength of his arm; he has scattered the proud in their conceit; he has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”
There is nothing stronger or more beautiful in any of the prophets.
Pray for those who have the courage of their faith.
With thanks to Holy Name of Mary Parish, Hunters Hill, who have supplied these daily Advent and Christmas 2021 reflections from their publication Daily Inspirations of Faith: A Season of Prayer – Advent to Epiphany 2021-22.
