The guarantee of victory

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
May 31, 2010
Today's Feast: Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pray in thanksgiving for the fulfillment of God's promises:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/visitation.htm
Today's Readings:
Zeph 3:14-18a or Rom 12:9-16
Isaiah 12:2-3,4b-6
Luke 1:39-56
http://www.usccb.org/nab/053110.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_05_31.mp3
The guarantee of victory
Today's first reading can be read as a personal message from the Lord that we each need to hear. It's encouraging and uplifting and reassuring, not only because it promises victory over our troubles, but also because it says that God himself sings joyfully about you and me! Imagine that!
Why does God sing? And why so full of joy? Because he gets really excited when we persist through our difficulties and rely on his help to reach the kind of victory that Jesus provides, rather than quitting early and seeking the easy way out, the worldly way that might feel right at the time but which harms our relationships with others and with the God of Love.
When you pray, is Jesus full of joy? Or do you picture him as somber or stern, like a lot of church artwork depicts him to be? Look up the word "joy" with an online bible search tool. It far outnumbers the times when God is unhappy.
Joy is one of God's main attributes. It's one of the fruits of living in the will of God, a blessing from the Holy Spirit. Thus, we can sing with Isaiah in today's responsorial psalm: "My strength and my courage is the Lord...." With joy we draw refreshing water from Christ's fountain of salvation. This is the victory that Jesus provides.
With the Blessed Mother, whose Feast of the Visitation we celebrate today, we can sing her song from today's Gospel reading: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant... the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name."
I make this "Magnificat" part of my daily prayer, like so: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he who is almighty has done great things for me, and IS DOING great things for me, and WILL do great things for me – and through me – and holy is his Name." This prayer reminds me to praise God in difficulties.
No matter how bad things seem, no matter how bleak or disastrous our trials appear to be, God does look with favor upon us, simply because he knows our desire to handle the challenges the Christian way, even though we sin from time to time. "He has mercy on those who fear him. He has shown the strength of his arm....."
Mary knows what it's like to endure rejection and false accusations, discomfort and danger, and the heart-wrenching ordeal of watching a loved one suffer. Did she sing her Magnificat while hiding in Egypt? Did she remember it while Jesus hung on the cross?
Even if the words were not on her lips, the truth of those verses from 1 Samuel 2:1-8 (the original source of the Magnificat) remained in her heart. She knew the True Source of victory.
Whenever you ask Mary to pray for you, she visits you. She invites you to rediscover the joy of the Lord: Jesus is the True Source of YOUR victory, even during your most painful and frightening moments.
© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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