📜Introit (Ps 118, 151-152; 1)
Prope es tu, Dómine, et omnes viæ tuæ véritas: inítio cognóvi de testimóniis tuis, quia in ætérnum tu es. Beati immaculáti in via: qui ámbulant in lege Dómini.
Thou art near, O Lord: and all Thy ways are truth. I have known from the beginning concerning Thy testimonies: that Thou art for ever. Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in the law of the Lord.
📖Epistle (Is 11, 1-5)
Thus saith the Lord God: And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins.
⚡Gospel (Lk 1, 39-47)
At that time, Mary rising up, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
🍇The Mystery of the Visitation and the Flower of Jesse
The union between Isaiah's prophecy and the account of the Visitation reveals the dynamism of grace that precedes the coming of Christ. The rod that sprouts from the root of Jesse is the Blessed Virgin, and the flower is the Savior Himself, upon whom rests the fullness of the Holy Spirit with His seven gifts. When Mary rises with haste to visit Elizabeth, she does so not out of curiosity or doubt, but led by the charity that the Incarnate Word was working in her womb. Mary, entering the house of Zechariah, brings with her the invisible presence of God, and the salutation of her voice is the instrument through which the Precursor, John the Baptist, is sanctified and leaps for joy in the maternal womb. The soul that receives Christ must, like Mary, magnify the Lord, recognizing that all greatness comes from humility and faith in divine promises. Mary's haste teaches that the response to grace admits no delay, for the charity of the Holy Spirit knows no slow obstacles (Saint Ambrose, Exposition on the Gospel of Luke). The Roman Missal, on this Friday of fasting, invites the faithful to be near the Lord, echoing the Introit which affirms God's proximity and the eternity of His testimonies. Just as justice is the girdle that surrounds the Messiah in the prophecy, the Christian life must be guided by the constant search for the divine will and by docility to the gifts of the Spirit, which allow us to discern the paths of truth. The Church, in celebrating the Ember Days, recalls that the purification of the body through fasting is necessary so that the spirit may exult in God, our Savior, as taught by the Catechism regarding the importance of prayer and asceticism in the life of the believer. The encounter between Mary and Elizabeth anticipates the joy of Redemption, where the Old Testament, represented by Elizabeth and John, recognizes and submits to the New Testament present in Mary and Jesus.
📅See English version of the critical articles here.
📖Epistle (Is 11, 1-5)
Thus saith the Lord God: And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins.
⚡Gospel (Lk 1, 39-47)
At that time, Mary rising up, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
🍇The Mystery of the Visitation and the Flower of Jesse
The union between Isaiah's prophecy and the account of the Visitation reveals the dynamism of grace that precedes the coming of Christ. The rod that sprouts from the root of Jesse is the Blessed Virgin, and the flower is the Savior Himself, upon whom rests the fullness of the Holy Spirit with His seven gifts. When Mary rises with haste to visit Elizabeth, she does so not out of curiosity or doubt, but led by the charity that the Incarnate Word was working in her womb. Mary, entering the house of Zechariah, brings with her the invisible presence of God, and the salutation of her voice is the instrument through which the Precursor, John the Baptist, is sanctified and leaps for joy in the maternal womb. The soul that receives Christ must, like Mary, magnify the Lord, recognizing that all greatness comes from humility and faith in divine promises. Mary's haste teaches that the response to grace admits no delay, for the charity of the Holy Spirit knows no slow obstacles (Saint Ambrose, Exposition on the Gospel of Luke). The Roman Missal, on this Friday of fasting, invites the faithful to be near the Lord, echoing the Introit which affirms God's proximity and the eternity of His testimonies. Just as justice is the girdle that surrounds the Messiah in the prophecy, the Christian life must be guided by the constant search for the divine will and by docility to the gifts of the Spirit, which allow us to discern the paths of truth. The Church, in celebrating the Ember Days, recalls that the purification of the body through fasting is necessary so that the spirit may exult in God, our Savior, as taught by the Catechism regarding the importance of prayer and asceticism in the life of the believer. The encounter between Mary and Elizabeth anticipates the joy of Redemption, where the Old Testament, represented by Elizabeth and John, recognizes and submits to the New Testament present in Mary and Jesus.
📅See English version of the critical articles here.