In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
I remind myself that Mary’s willingness to bear a child was not passive. Hers was an active ‘yes,’ and the meekness with which she is often characterized is, at its heart, a bold humility.
By how she sings her Song of Praise, the Magnificat, I know that she is audacious in her actions and her words. Mary is firmly rooted, an echo of the origins of the word humble—humus, Latin for ‘ground.’
She is like Mary Karr’s “great stallion at full gallop,” deft, sensitive and strong as hell.
—Claire Peterson works in the advancement and communications office of the USA Central and Southern Province and is the local organizer for Jesuit Connections – St. Louis.
Who The Meek Are Not
Not the bristle-bearded Igors bent
under burlap sacks, not peasants knee-deep
in the rice-paddy muck,
nor the serfs whose quarter-moon sickles
make the wheat fall in waves
they don’t get to eat. My friend the Franciscan
nun says we misread
that word meek in the Bible verse that blesses them.
To understand the meek
(she says) picture a great stallion at full gallop
in a meadow, who—
at his master’s voice—seizes up to a stunned
but instant halt.
So with the strain of holding that great power
in check, the muscles
along the arched neck keep eddying,
and only the velvet ears
prick forward, awaiting the next order.
—Mary Karr, published in Sinners Welcome
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Welcome to prayloyolamed.org!
At Loyola Medicine, “we also treat the human spirit. ®” Inspired by the vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and our namesake, we care for our patients as whole people - body, mind and spirit - and seek to be a healing presence in our communities. Whether you are a patient, family member, clinician, chaplain, or student, we invite you to pray these reflections and prayers with us.
