The Visitation

Today the Church celebrates and remembers the visit of one family member to another. In the Gospel according to St. Luke, he tells us that after the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she was to become the mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary went from Galilee to Judea to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, soon to be the mother of John the Baptiser. Elizabeth greeted Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Mary responded with that beautiful prayer that we call the Magnificat:

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.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke tells us that John the Baptiser, still unborn, leaped for joy in his mother's womb. These two women embraced, one too old to have a child, but who will give birth to the last prophet of the Old Covenant, and the other woman, a young girl who to all appearances looked not to be ready to have a child, but called to give birth to the Word made flesh who was the beginning of the New Covenant, the age that would not pass away.

Collect for the day:

Father in heaven, by whose grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially for all of those who gave their lives in the service of the United States of America, for all of those serving and are in harm's way today, especially those from St. Augustine Angela Lemons' son in the Army and Bill and Tammie Taylor's son in the Navy, for all those with health concerns, including Tammie Taylor and Liz Mack, and for the new interns working at the Diocese of Texas Disaster Relief.

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

1 June at 7:00 p.m. at the Church: meeting for the Community Garden.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550