At least I made a difference to that one!

A little girl was walking along a beach covered with thousands of starfish left dying by the receding tide. Seeking to help, she started picking up the dying starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. A man, who watched her with amusement, said, “Little girl, there are hundreds of starfish on the beach. You cannot make a difference by putting a few of them back into the sea.” Discouraged, she began to walk away. Suddenly, she turned around, picked up another starfish, and tossed it into the sea. Turning to the man, she smiled and said, “At least I made a difference to that one!” — Today’s Gospel tells us how Mary, a village girl carrying Jesus in her womb, made a difference in the lives of her cousin Elizabeth and of Elizabeth’s unborn child, John. When John had grown up, he helped Mary’s Son to transform the history of mankind by preparing the way for the Messiah. The starfish story suggests that each person, no matter how unimportant, may truly benefit from our work, and that any service, however small, is valuable. The story also shows how seemingly hopeless problems can be solved by taking the first step. (Fr. Tony)

Additional insights on the First Reading from Fr. Tony

Micah 5:1-4, explained: Micah prophesies the doom of the corrupt leaders of Judah in chapters 1, 2 and 3. Like his three immediate prophetic predecessors — Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah — Micah’ receives from the Lord God oracles rooted in the Jewish concept of social justice: the relationships people are expected by God to develop with one another and with Him. The pain His people are experiencing from the Assyrian invasions is Yahweh’s punishment for their lack of concern for the unfortunate individuals around them. Then in Chapter 4, Micah is given the Lord God’s Good News to foretell: the restoration of the people living in Judah to a godly state. In Chapter 5 Micah prophesies that Israel will be led by a new king, who will come from the town of the great historic King David (“Bethlehem-Ephrathah”), and from David’s family. The situation when Micah wrote seems to be that which prevailed at the end of the Exile, when hopes ran high for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. With a background of kings who heard and spoke Yahweh’s word, but never did anything different because of it, the Lord God speaks through Micah about a future, God-rooted king, who “shall stand firm and shepherd His flock by the strength of the Lord.” The future, kingly descendant of David, of Whom the Lord God speaks here, will lead the Israelites to victory over their enemies and, “He shall be peace” (Micah 5:4). Micah expresses a rare hope: if God’s people recognize and follow the religious insights of this one special Davidic King, they will receive the peace they’re seeking.

Additional insights on the Second Reading from Fr. Tony

Hebrews 10:5-10, explained: The letter to the Hebrews was written for the benefit of Jewish converts to Christianity. When their old friends turned them out of synagogue and Temple, they missed the institutions of Judaism, especially the Law, the priesthood and the Temple rituals and sacrifices. Hence, Paul gives them the assurance that it is Christ and their relationship with Him in the Church which replaces and improves upon everything they’ve been asked to give up. In today’s passage, Jesus is said to have quoted Psalm 40 which explains his mission: “to do his Father’s will” in the world. Paul explains that the meaning of the Incarnation is summarized in the words, “Behold, I come to do your will.” More than anything else, it is Jesus’ determination to discover God’s will and carry it out that actually saves us. True Faith entails doing God’s will, carrying out God’s commands in our everyday lives. Unfortunately, however, it is often not God’s will that we seek. Instead, we make idols of our jobs, our spouses, our children, our wealth, our social standing, and our bodies. Hence, Paul reminds us that Christ took a body so as to have an instrument through which He would be able to offer this sacrifice of perfect, loving obedience to the will of God. “You have prepared a body for me… Behold I said, I come to do your will.” This means that our bodies are the meeting place of God and human beings. That is why, as a believing community, we take our bodies seriously. We wash them in the waters of Baptism; anoint them with holy oil to seal them in the Holy Spirit; and feed them with Bread from Heaven. In addition, when we are ill, we ask the priest to anoint our bodies with holy oil. When we die, we honor our bodies with Christian burial. (http://netministries.org).

Additional insights on the Gospel from Fr. Tony

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. There is a saying, “He (she) who is on fire cannot sit on a chair.” Mary, filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit and carrying the newly- conceived Jesus, hurried to the mountain country where Elizabeth lived, thereby conveying the Holy Spirit to her cousin and Elizabeth’s unborn child. Like all good Jews, whatever Mary did was prompted by her commitment to God’s word in her life. “It is traditionally believed that Mary received the message of Elizabeth’s pregnancy while residing at her home in Nazareth. Elizabeth was living in Ein Karem at the time, and the distance between the two villages is roughly 100 miles. Ein Karem is on the outskirts of Jerusalem and is about 2,474 feet above sea level, while Nazareth is at 1,138 feet. This means Mary had to trek uphill nearly 1,336 feet in elevation!” According to writer J. A. Loarte, “Most likely it was Joseph who arranged the trip, looking for a caravan in which the Blessed Virgin could travel safely. He himself may have accompanied her, at least as far as Jerusalem; some commentators even think he went with Mary right to Ain Karim, which is only five miles from the capital. If so, he would have needed to return immediately to his workshop in Nazareth.”( (https://aleteia.org/2019/05/31/mary-traveled-a-highly-dangerous-path-to-visit-elizabeth/#)) According to Fr. Robert Maloney, ((https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/555/article/historical-mary) “It would be a mistake to think of Mary as fragile, even at 13. As a peasant woman capable of walking the hill country of Judea while pregnant, of giving birth in a stable, of making a four- or five-day journey on foot to Jerusalem once a year or so, of sleeping in the open country like other pilgrims and of engaging in daily hard labor at home, she probably had a robust physique in youth and even in her later years.”

The greetings of the cousins: The two cousins greeted one another, one running to assist the other, both pregnant with life and Faith. Mary’s formal salutation served both as a prophetic gesture and a prophetic oracle. Elizabeth’s unborn child, touched by the Holy Spirit, leaped with joy in recognition that salvation was near. John’s “leap” revealed the sheer joy of being filled with God’s Spirit. Elizabeth was the first to hear the words, but John was the first to experience the grace. Elizabeth perceived Mary’s coming; John perceived the coming of the Lord. Many scholars also see a possible parallel with the “leaping” of the brothers Esau and Jacob in their mother’s womb (Gn 25:22). No wonder, John would be the first to recognize the presence of Jesus as He began His public ministry!

“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb”: To many Catholics, these lines are most familiar because they form part of the core of the Hail Mary. Elizabeth does not simply speak these words; on the contrary, the text says that she “shouts them out with a loud voice.” Elizabeth then prophetically interprets this event, pointing away from her own motherhood to reveal the hidden identity of her visitor and the baby she carries. We too can “leap for joy,” because Jesus has come to us to forgive our sins. Elizabeth’s concluding words (“Blessed is she who believed… “) express a deeply Biblical and profoundly Jewish conviction: to trust in the Lord and in the Lord’s promises (no matter how seemingly impossible). That is the epitome of that authentic Faith, which, for Luke, both Mary and Elizabeth supremely exemplify. Elizabeth, in turn, gives Mary assurance and confirmation to strengthen the young woman’s Faith in the early stages of her pilgrimage. She pronounces a blessing over Mary. Having been both blessed and favored, Mary was now in a blessed and happy condition. Mary was blessed both because of her Faith and because of her bearing of the Christ-child. Thus, Mary becomes the true believer, model of Faith and first among her Son’s disciple-followers. Mary helps Elizabeth in her time of need and serves her till John is born — her perfect, loving, and sacrificial gift to Elizabeth. This story teaches us the importance of mutual ministry. Each of us has a unique call, leaving us no reason for envy. Mary brought the Savior; John recognized and identified Him; and Elizabeth gave prophecy, mediating God’s word by interpreting this event.These two women rejoice, and we are called to rejoice with them, for one reason and one reason only: because God loves us enough to act. God wants each of us, like Mary, to bear within us, and to carry to those around us, no one other than the Lord of life.

The new Ark of the Covenant. Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth had enormous significance for Luke’s Jewish and Gentile readers. It showed them that Mary’s womb was truly the locale of God’s presence. This story suggests a mysterious parallel between Mary’s journey into the hill country and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant to the same locale on its way to Jerusalem (II Samuel, Chapter 6). Both the Ark and Mary are greeted with “shouts of joy;” both are sources of joy for the households into which they enter; both the Ark and Mary remain in the hill country for three months. King David’s sacred leaping and dancing before the Ark (2 Samuel 6:12) could be compared to John’s stirring, or, more literally, leaping (eskirtesin) for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. In the same way that King David had leapt and danced with joy in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant, so John is leaping and dancing within the confines of Elizabeth’s womb. As a temporary vessel housing the immanent presence of God, Mary appears to fulfill the same purpose as the Ark of the Covenant. What the Ark of the Covenant could only signify (and only in a local way), Mary makes a reality, in a personal and universal way: Mary with her Child is an effective sign of God’s presence with His people.The Jewish Christians believed that God dwelt in the Temple in Jerusalem, but now, the evangelist tells them, God is present in Mary. Like the Ark of the Covenant, God is journeying throughout His land, visiting His chosen people, and blessing them with His presence. As Ark of the New Covenant, Mary is the model par excellence of what every believer is called to be, the dwelling place of the Divine presence on earth.

The paradox of blessedness. In his commentary on this episode of visitation, William Barclay remarks that blessedness confers on a person both the greatest joy and the greatest task in the world. Nowhere can we see the paradox better than in Mary’s life. Mary was granted the blessedness and privilege of being the mother of the Son of God. Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart: one day she would see her Son hanging on a cross. So, to be chosen by God is often both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God does not choose us for a life of ease and comfort, but in order to use us, with our free, loving consent, for His purposes. When Joan of Arc knew that her time was short, she prayed, “I shall only last a year; use me as You can.” When we realize God’s purposes in our lives, the sorrows and hardships of life disappear.