December 21, 2016 - The Blessings of Faith

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,
“Most 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.”

Luke 1:39-45



In the encounter between the mother of John the Baptist and the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth says:

Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.

It is easy to assume from this passage that Mary’s confidence and faith in God was a prerequisite for Jesus’s conception.  But that clearly is not the case.  Mary questioned the angel Gabriel closely, just as Elizabeth’s husband did.  They conceived nonetheless.  

Mary is blessed by her belief because she can experience the full richness and joy of relationship with God as a result of accepting it.  But the relationship would clearly exist even if only God was sure of it.