Thoughts on Tuesday's Gospel

LK 1:39-56

Mary was the first evangelelist as she brought forth the Word of God both through her own proclamation of what God had done in her life..."My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord" and even more in her bringing for the Word of God from her womb, from the very core of her being. She truly exemplified that saying ascribed to Francis to preach the Gospel...if necessary use words.

As Catholics, evangelisation does not come easy. Perhaps we think too often of door to door evangelists that are seen more as a bother than one proclaiming the good news. But proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ is necessary if we are let God's Word work through us to lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things, to deliver God's promise of mercy.

St. Irenaeus said that the Word and the Spirit were the two hands of God that created the world. Now God asks to use our two hands to transform it as Mary transformed the lives of those she met and to whom she proclaimed the joy of her heart.