Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18 / Luke 1:39-45
Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ as well as His second coming.
But for Mary and Elizabeth, it was a time of preparation of motherhood.
As these two expecting mothers met in the gospel passage, we can sense a spike of revelation.
For Elizabeth, the sad barren period of her life is over as God revealed His blessings on her.
For Mary, a joy-filled, yet anxious future, has just been revealed to her.
In Mary and Elizabeth, we can see the cycle of life and the cycle of joy and anxiety.
Yet even in our joys and anxiety, God will still reveal Himself to us, just as He did to Mary and Elizabeth.
In our joys and anxiety may we still sing the songs of love and thanksgiving, like the song we heard in the 1st reading.
May our hearts always leap with joy with each revelation from God.