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 leapt 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 leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour 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 for ever.’

1. Baby moving inside the womb
2. Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy
3. Anatoth Community Garden
4. Sisters pregnant at same time

1. What does your life song say?
2. What should I, a rich man, make of the being “scattered” by God?
3. What causes you to ‘leap for joy’?
4. In what ways does this closeness of Jesus’ and John’s mothers help us understand their respective ministries?

IMAGE

1. Mary’s Magnificat, by Andrew Carter
2. Womanly Song of God, by San Francisco Girls Chorus
3. Magnificat, by John Rutter
4. Pavane Op. 50, by Gabriel Faure
5. Vespers of 1610, Magnificat, by Claudio Monteverde
6. All This and Heaven, by Florence + the Machine
7. Dressed Like a Ghost, by Desert Noises
8. O Praise the Lord, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
9. Mangificat, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
10. Candlelight Carol, by John Rutter

HAIKU

To leap, cry,
look idiotic
and not care!