Here we are at the last Sunday of Advent! This Advent, we are Called to enter into and participate in the Jews’ waiting in exile in anticipation of The Long Promised Messiah but at the same time the rejoicing in Salvation finally arriving. After the previous weeks of hearing St. John The Baptist crying out to prepare The Way, revealing himself to be not the Messiah but the one who goes before Him, preparing the people for him, The Church Leads us in The Holy Scripture back before Our Lord Jesus and John The Baptist were born, when they were yet in their mothers’ wombs. GOD, Through The Evangelist, WANTS TO MAKE Sure that everyone knows that HE, WHO PREPARED HIS People For Their Redemption from ages past, So PREPARES Them Again By Revealing His Only Begotten Son, Promised Through HIS Prophets hundreds of years prior. For instance, in the book of Ruth, who is the grandmother of King David, from whom it was PROMISED Of THE LORD That HE WOULD ESTABLISH an Eternal Throne (Who Else But God Eternal Can Sit On That Throne?): Ruth 4:11 “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. 2 Samuel 7:12-16 And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. / He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. / I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. ... In the letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is quoted as saying God Has a body Prepared for Him. Mary Brings The Savior Jesus in Her Womb on the long journey to the hill country in Judah to Her elderly kinswoman Elizabeth who is in need, with-child in her advanced age. Joseph accompanied Her on the long perilous journey, fulfilling his duty as husband, being Her protector and provider. I believe it is no stretch of the imagination to say that St. Joseph is the perfect model of True Devotion to Mary, such as that taught by St. Louis de Montfort. I did some research on what the journey that Mary Made to Elizabeth would have been like; According to an article on Alteia.com, it is traditionally held that Mary received the news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy while at home in Nazareth. Elizabeth lived in the village called Ein Karem, which today actually has a beautiful shrine church built there honoring this Visitation, roughly 100 miles away. Ein Karem, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, is about 2,474 feet above sea level, while Nazareth is at 1,138 feet. This means Mary had to travel up nearly 1,336 feet in elevation! Not only the physical toll of the journey could be imagined but also hidden dangers like bandits who were believed to be hiding along the winding mountainous dirt path waiting to pounce on unsuspecting travelers. Knowing St. Joseph and his devotion to his Betrothed Wife (they were officially married but it was before they finally lived together. I know; times are quite different, aren’t they?), he wouldn’t have even the slightest hint of a shadow of a thought doubting The Holiness and Purity of The Blessed Virgin Mother and through Faith, Lovingly and Zealously Accompanied and Guarded her on the long journey. “The Visitation presented many risks to Mary, yet she trusted that God would protect her and allow her to assist her aging cousin. It is a beautiful mystery, one that only deepens when you learn about the geography and the obstacles Mary had to overcome to visit Elizabeth.”Philip Kosloski - published on 05/31/19 That’s why you can understand the absolute shock of Elizabeth when she says, How is It Given to me That The Mother Of My Lord Should Come to me? It also Reveals The Mystery of man; from the moment of conception, a woman becomes a mother and a mother is not carrying not just something, but someone! It is The Lord! “A person is a person, no matter how small” Just as we heard in the first week of Advent, those who are unprepared at Our Lord Jesus’ Coming, will be caught like a trap, just like most of the Jewish religious and secular leaders were at His First Coming. Like them, it is easy to get comfortable and fall asleep and start to believe that we have time to get ready. Thank GOD, though that we have The Church To Wake us up through The Celebration of Advent to prepare our hearts and souls as well as our minds and bodies on the way to Christmas just as GOD HAS DONE For us.