"Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."- Luke 1:45
I'll never forget that rainy March afternoon when I was laid off from my very first engineering job. It was hard for me to believe that all my hard work through college plus two years of a budding career would end so abruptly. Where was God's hand in the midst of all that? Undoubtedly, many of us have experienced similar difficult moments of life where we ask that very question. Perhaps you are in the midst of such a moment right now. The Feast of the Visitation is an invitation to us to renew our faith in the Lord through the intercession of Mary, whose faith was unshaken. Consider all the events that Mary witnessed and pondered in her heart: The Incarnation, Jesus' first miracle, and the Passion of her Son, to name a few. She experienced many difficult moments, yet her faith remained unshaken. As Elizabeth proclaims in today's Gospel, Mary believed in the midst of every moment of her Son's life that God would be faithful to his promise of salvation for all people.
How can we hear the Lord's invitation to continually renew our faith in Him, even if it seems difficult to do?
Mary, Blessed Mother of Jesus who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled, obtain for us by your prayers the grace to receive the gift of faith anew each day.
Reflection by:
Christian Galvan
Did You Know...
Christian Galvan is a seminarian for the Diocese of St. Petersburg currently enjoying his pastoral year assignment at St. Catherine of Siena in Largo. His home parish is St. Stephen in Riverview. He worked in engineering design and construction management for five years before discerning the call to priesthood. He enjoys singing, cooking, Rays Baseball, and Notre Dame Football.
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