Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord, you remained faithful when the disciples...
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ARTIST: Joan Cole
ARTWORK NARRATIVE:
Elizabeth was a descendant in the priestly line of Aaron. She and her husband, Zachariah, a Temple priest, lived an upright and blameless life in one of the hill-towns of Judea. The great disappointment in their lives was that although they had prayed fervently for a child, Elizabeth had reached an advanced age without ever having conceived.
What a miracle it was, then, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared separately to Elizabeth and Zachary informing them that she would bear a son. This boy, to be called John, would be the forerunner of the messiah.
Elizabeth was related to the Virgin Mary, and although we do not know their exact relationship, apocryphal writings suggest their mothers were sisters and consequently that they were first cousins. When Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she had been chosen to be mother of the messiah, he also told her that Elizabeth was expecting a child. He further stated that with God, nothing is impossible.
Mary, eager to share in Elizabeth’s happiness and to relate her own good news, traveled from Galilee to visit her. Upon arriving, Mary greeted her kinswoman who was now six months pregnant. The moment she spoke, John leapt with joy in Elizabeth’s womb, thus acknowledging the presence of Christ. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, responded to Mary with the words, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Her feast day is November 5.
The name Elizabeth, which has been borne by several saints, means in Hebrew "worshiper of God." All that we know of Elizabeth, wife of Zachary and mother of John the Baptist, is to be found in the book of Luke. A descendant of the priestly line of Aaron, she was a kinswoman"how close we are not told"of the Virgin Mary. According to the Gospel, Elizabeth had lived a blameless life with her husband in one of the hill-towns of Judea. Having reached an advanced age with her prayers for a son unanswered, she thought that her barrenness was a reproach. One day, while Zachary was serving in the temple, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right of the altar, and announced that a son would be born to Elizabeth. It was in the sixth month of her pregnancy that the Virgin Mary came to visit her"a touching and beautiful scene pictured by many great artists. The Angel Gabriel, having lately announced to Mary the destiny that awaited her, also told her that her kinswoman Elizabeth was with child. The Virgin Mary, eager to share in Elizabeth's happiness and to confide that she too would bear a child, traveled down the dusty road from Nazareth. On Mary's arrival, she was amazed when Elizabeth, having foreseen knowledge, greeted her as "mother of my Lord." Elizabeth's salutation was in these words: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished." The Gospel story tells us further that at Elizabeth's delivery her friends and neighbors rejoiced with her, and when the child was brought to be circumcised, they were going to call him after his father Zachary, but his mother said, "His name shall be John."
Celebration of Feast Day is November 5.
