For information on Our Lady of America, visit:
OurLadyofAmerica.org
OurLadyofAmerica.com
"The Message and the Messenger."
"The 56th Anniversary of Our Lady of America"
Please consider an informative blog post of Our Lady by: The Catholic Knight
Luke 1:26-56 (NRSV)
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town
in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The
Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to
her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with
God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called
the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of
Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary
said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The
angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child
to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now,
your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son;
and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here
am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to
your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town
in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the
child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this
happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as
soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb
leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would
be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
Mary’s Song of Praise
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in
God my Saviour,
for he has looked with
favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done
great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who
fear him
from generation to
generation.
He has shown strength with
his arm;
he has scattered the proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the
powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry
with good things,
and sent the rich away
empty.
He has helped his servant
Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he
made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his
descendants for ever.’
Indeed, blessed is Mary, our Mother, the Mother of our Lord!
-
Mary to God the Father, Creator: Blessed Daughter
-
Mary to God the Son, Jesus: Blessed Mother
-
Mary to God the Holy Spirit, third person of the Trinity: Blessed Spouse
-
Mary to the body of Christ, i.e. brothers and sisters, fellow Christians:
-our Blessed Mother, starting with John, entrusted at the
foot of the cross;
-Queen of Heaven;
-Ark of the Covenant that houses the precious Body and Blood, just as the Ark housed Manna, Bread from Heaven, for the Israelites after they left Egypt and were in the desert, on their way to the Promised Land
-the Tree of Life that produces the Sacred Fruit: the indwelling trinity, Love that leads to Eternal Life, forever nourishesing her children, the Saints, the Church.