Mass for the Members of the Catholic Women’s League

Celebrated By Archbishop Denis Hart
at Glowrey House, Fitzroy,
on Wednesday, 31st May, 2006, at 11.15am

Introduction

My dear sisters,

Today we celebrate the feast of the Visitation of Our Lady to her cousin, Saint Elizabeth.  Mary, the perfect temple of the Holy Spirit, goes to visit her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, who recognises in her the Mother of the Lord.

As we celebrate this Mass, let us seek to fulfil in our lives the perfect openness to Jesus and to others, which Mary shows and which she retains as our constant intercessor in heaven.

Homily

My dear Friends,

Today we have before our eyes the wonderful scene of Mary greeting Elizabeth, who recognises in her the presence of the Lord and the special dignity, which Mary is given as the Mother of the Lord.

To so many of you who have known motherhood, this very special privilege given to you, which was given to Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, is something we ought never forget.  Elizabeth’s own testimony, “Of all women you are the most blessed and blessed is the fruit of your womb”, is a reminder that it is because of Jesus that Mary is blessed.  Accompanying her openness of body is a total openness of heart and soul to Jesus; to his truth, to the perplexing and terrible sufferings that both were to undergo, and to her special role as Mother of the Church.

For each of us here in this room that openness of Mary to Jesus made her the instrument by which our salvation would be brought.  For each of us too our openness to Jesus brings about the capacity for us to do great things for God, for those whose lives we touch, but always in humility and always entrusting our lives to her.  Mary’s own words, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exalts in God my Saviour, because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid”, are a reminder that if we tell of God’s greatness, then he will look upon us.  We too can say, the Lord has done great things for me, holy is his name.

Today we might well remember that Mary’s prayer was characterised by faith and by the generous offering of her whole being to God.  The Mother of Jesus is also the new Eve, the “mother of all the living”.  She prays to Jesus for the needs of all people.  And along with her prayer at Cana in Galilee, the Gospel gives us her Magnificat, which is the song both of Mary and of the Church, the joyous thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met by divine promises.

As we contemplate this mystery once again, let us remember that it was Mary’s forgetfulness of self, openness to Elizabeth and openness to God, which made her achieve great things.  In our lives, let us try to be ever more open to God, to his power and to the guidance which his Church can give us in achieving our true destiny and the capacity to place our gifts at the service of others, as Mary did.  Mary kept the word of God and pondered it in her heart.  This transformed her from a simple Jewish girl to the great Mother of the Redeemer.  We too are invited to ponder this Word of God because the Almighty has done great things for us and we can never cease to thank him.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.