It’s God, Not Me
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” (Lk 1:41-48a)
Mary sure put everything in perspective.
When Elizabeth praised her, she turned right around and said, no, it’s not me. It’s God who should be praised.
That is the best learning we can take from her encounter with Elizabeth.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, we are mindful of the fact that Mary showed us what can happen if we are faithful to God.
Since she was born without the stain of original sin, it was only proper that she would be assumed body and soul into heaven since her body would not undergo the corruption of death.
However, all of us have the opportunity to go to heaven if we are faithful in this life. Mary shows us that the best way to be faithful is to be humble and a servant of God.
When people praise us for whatever it is we may do or say, let us remember that it was because of the grace of God that we were in the position to be praised. And, as we remember that, let us give the praise to God.
FAITH ACTION: Reflect upon the humility of Mary and ask God to give you the grace that you need to be as faithful and as humble.