“Blessed are You Who Believed” - 4th Sunday of Advent Homily

If you listen to our new Parish podcast on our Christmas Day episode, you will hear a fun debate on who the first person to believe in Jesus was.

I said Mary.

I don't want to go against her.

And I think that when the angel Gabriel appears to her, it's specific to her son, who will be the Christ.

Now my co-host went with Elizabeth, strong choice, and there's reason for it.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to her husband Zechariah, it was before he appeared to Mary.

But the message to Zechariah seemed more general, that his son John would go before the Lord.

But nonetheless, you got Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit, her son is John the Baptist, it's possible.

But whoever's exactly first, these two women.

are the first disciples of Jesus.

Mary, when she said yes to Gabriel, she said yes at that moment, became not only the mother of the Christ, but a disciple, a believer.

So this beautiful scene, this apatrional event of our parish, this is the visitation.

These two holy women, and in each of their wombs would be the two men who would change the world.

John would lay the...

Path for Christ, prepare the way for Jesus, the one who saves.

They're having this holy conversation.

Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit and she said words that should sound very familiar to you and to me.

Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

From the Hail Mary.

Now the sentence we say in that prayer before this,

comes also from Luke chapter one, the angel Gabriel, hail full of grace, the Lord is with you.

So when we pray the Hail Mary, the first part is straight from the gospel, it's a biblical prayer.

And we reflect on the second joyful mystery is the visitation this scene, this holy encounter among women, among mothers.

Now Elizabeth says something not in the Hail Mary.

Blessed are you who believe that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.

Profound.

Profound statement and pray God that's true about us.

This could be said about us, that we're like Mary who believed what has been spoken to us by the Lord about her son.

We're there with Mary as a disciple of Jesus, believing what was spoken to us by the Lord, that he is a son of God, he is the son of Mary, he is risen from the dead, he is present

in the Church, he's present in the Eucharist, he's present in the poor.

We believe like she did.

but also personally.

To personally believe that what God is saying to us right now in our lives, we believe it will be fulfilled.

Mary believed not only that she carried the Son of God, but that God would keep him safe within her.

She takes this arduous journey in haste.

She goes right away, doesn't think about it, just goes.

Three month journey, rough terrain, dangerous roads.

paths, not roads, believing that God would take care of her.

Do we have that same trust, that same faith, that what God is speaking to us in our prayer, in scripture, through the Church, through other people, through our experiences,

that he will fulfill what he's saying?

Saying to us, it's gonna be okay.

I got you, I got this.

I'm with you, I'm leading you, I'll show you.

Do we have that belief like Mary?

Personally, the God will fulfill this in our lives.