“The first act of charity we can do to our neighbour is to offer him a serene and smiling face. It is to bring them the joy of Jesus, as Mary did with Elizabeth,” the Pontiff said.
Vatican City (23/12/2021 15:19, Gaudium Press) Last Sunday, 19, before the recitation of the Marian prayer of the Angelus before the pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recalled the Gospel of the day, which recounted the visit of Our Lady to her cousin St. Elizabeth.
The Holy Father pointed out that after receiving the angel’s announcement, Our Lady does not “stay at home, thinking about what happened and considering the problems and unforeseen events, which certainly were not lacking. Instead of bowing over her problems, “she thought of Elizabeth her relative in old age and pregnant.”
Our Lady gave the joy of Jesus to Saint Elizabeth
Pope Francis emphasises that the Mother of God “set out with generosity, without allowing herself to be frightened by the discomfort of the journey, responding to an interior impulse that called her to be near and help. A long road, miles and miles. There were no buses in those days. She went on foot. She went out to help. How? By sharing the joy.”
Our Lady gives her cousin Saint Elizabeth the joy of Jesus, the joy that she carried in her heart and in her womb. She goes to her and proclaims her feelings, and this proclamation of feelings later became a prayer, the Magnificat that we all know.
God is great and is ready to lift us up, if we stretch out our hand to him
The Pontiff then underlined the passage in the text that says that Our Lady “got up and went in haste”. “Getting up and walking in haste. These are the two movements that Mary made and that she invites us to make in view of Christmas. First of all, to get up. After the angel’s announcement, a difficult period is approaching for the Virgin: the unexpected pregnancy exposed her to misunderstandings, to severe punishments, even to stoning, in the culture of that time. Let us imagine how many thoughts and troubles she had! However, she did not become discouraged, she did not get down, but stood up. She did not look down on her troubles, but up to God,” she commented.
“She did not think of whom to ask for help, but to whom to bring help. Always thinking of others: Mary is like that. She thinks of the needs of others. She will do the same at the Wedding at Cana, when she sees that the wine is missing. It is a problem for others, but she thinks about it and tries to find a solution. Mary always thinks of others, she thinks of us,” Pope Francis said.
The Holy Father underlines that we must learn from Our Lady this way of reacting: “to stand up, especially when difficulties threaten to crush us. Getting up, so as not to get bogged down in problems, sinking into self-pity and falling into a sadness that paralyses us. Looking inwards and staying in the sadness. But why get up? Because God is great and is ready to lift us up again, if we reach out to Him.”
The first act of charity we can do for our neighbour
Immediately afterwards, Pope Francis dealt with Our Lady’s second move “walking in haste,” stressing that this does not mean proceeding with agitation, but “conducting our days with a joyful step, looking ahead with confidence, without dragging ourselves along grudgingly, slaves to complaints, those complaints that ruin many lives, because the person puts that in and complains, complains. Complaints lead one to always look for someone to blame.”
“The journey from Elizabeth’s house, Mary proceeds with the quick pace of someone whose heart and life are filled with God, filled with his joy. So let us ask ourselves: how is my ‘step’? Am I active or do I remain in melancholy, in sadness? Do I go forward with hope or do I stop to feel sorry for myself? If we continue with the tired step of grumbling and gossiping, we will not bring God to anyone. We will only bring bitterness and dark things. The first act of charity we can do for our neighbour is to offer him a serene and smiling face. It is to bring them the joy of Jesus, as Mary did for Elizabeth. May the Mother of God take us by the hand, help us to stand up and walk with haste towards Christmas,” he concluded. (EPC)