Dear brothers and sisters,
I warmly greet you and I am addressing you to encourage and uplift you. I very much desire that during this culminating Advent time, we all learn to draw joy and hope from our Christian faith together.
As you know, the core of our faith is God's love, which is most beautifully expressed in the fact that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). No matter what difficult trials we may experience, no matter how heavy the cross we may bear, this – God's love for us – is the source of our great hope. Let us try and convince ourselves that even in our difficult times, it is worth drawing from this source continually. The Lord wants to build on our generosity.
Experts say that one of the greatest violinists of all time is the American of Austrian descent, Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962). In the winter of 1932, this world-famous violinist was performing in a theater in Dublin, Ireland. After a successful concert, the satisfied artist left the theater through a side entrance to be driven to his hotel by the prepared car. Just as he was getting into the car, his keen ears caught the beautiful sound of a violin. Someone was playing beautifully on the sidewalk in front of the building where the artist had just performed. Moved by the echoes of beautiful, pure sounds, Fritz Kreisler wanted to see who was playing so excellently. When he approached closer, it turned out to be a poor Irish girl named Lillian Mack, who was playing the violin for small coins on the street to earn a living. Fritz Kreisler was thrilled by her pure playing. He was delighted to see how selflessly the girl shared her great talent with passersby. Her astonishingly beautiful performance, offered as a gift to others, captured his heart. He decided to help the poor, but generously serving girl. Shortly thereafter, Lillian Mack had a signed advantageous contract for regular performances at the Royal Theatre.
The world-renowned and famous artist generously uplifted the talent and selfless giving of the simple Irish girl. He enabled her to receive a great and honorable role. He allowed her to spread joy. Since then, Lillian Mack has served many, as she started bringing joy to a large number of people through beautiful music.
Something similar, but on a much larger scale, within the dimension of God's "history of salvation," happened in Palestine 2000 years ago. Almighty God, the greatest Artist and Creator of the entire universe, chose a poor Israelite girl, the Virgin Mary, whose heart was pure, beautiful, and desired to serve others. That is why God chose her among all women on earth to become the mother of his Son, Jesus.
At the moment of the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel said to Mary: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you... You will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" (Lk 1:28, 31-32). Mary generously responded to this unexpected call because her heart was pure and desired to serve: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). With this generous consent, a unique divine plan was realized, and Mary herself became a blessed woman and a great blessing for the whole world. We heard this in today’s Gospel as well. Elizabeth, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, joyfully says to Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
When we carefully read God's word, it clearly shows that the Lord in His eternal plan decided that not only our temporary, physical life would have a mother, thus having a maternal aspect, but also our supernatural, spiritual life would have a mother, with a maternal character – "to be for others" and "to live for others." That is why from eternity, he chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son – and he gave her to us from the cross as our spiritual mother. Mary as a mother was needed for Christ to become one of us. To have our human body, our entire nature. Without her, Christ would not have been born and would not have had any human traits, body, or blood. Jesus Christ needed a mother to incarnate as God, to be rocked, nourished, and raised, to have his tearful eyes wiped. So that Jesus could also say the most beautiful word in the world "mama." The Virgin Mary is a successful and attractive model of both physical and spiritual motherhood.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Advent season is the anticipation of the coming of Christ the Lord, as our Savior and Helper. At the same time, it is also a time of preparation to recognize and receive this Savior into our lives. How can we do that? How can we best prepare for the Lord’s coming?
The most beautiful example of Advent preparation is the Virgin Mary and her generous willingness to serve others. From the moment of conception, Mary not only completely surrendered to God, but she also tirelessly collaborated with him. This became her service. Mary's carrying of Jesus under her heart was her life’s Advent. In this Advent, this immediate preparation for the birth of Jesus, for his physical coming into the world, Mary generously responded to every current situation and to all that God placed in her life. We see her willingness to serve in today’s Gospel as well. Despite being in a blessed state herself, Mary comes to her elder relative Elizabeth to selflessly help her.
Let us be encouraged by the actions of the Virgin Mary. Let us open our eyes and recognize who around me needs my attention, my time, and how I can appropriately help them. The Lord gives us life and health; he bestows upon us moral freedom; he surrounds us with various talents; he envelops us with good people and friends; he revives our faith; he grants us the necessary graces in the sacraments and in prayer so that we can live rightly and happily, and he even promises us eternal life. These are just some of the gifts that we constantly receive from God. How do we respond to them?
Thanks to Mary's generous response, "Let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38), God enriched the world with the gift of his only Son. Through our responsible use of the gifts that God bestows upon us, multiplying them and sharing them with others, God wants to continue to enrich the world with his grace and joy. It is indeed true that the Lord wants to build on our generosity, willingness, and service. Never against our will. God wants to offer greater attention to a son or daughter through us; he wants to comfort a troubled wife or husband through us; he wants to do good to a needy person in our vicinity through us... God, who loves us without limits, wants to enrich the world today – through each one of us – with his holiness, love, and kindness.
Let us cooperate with God as joyfully and fruitfully as the Virgin Mary does. Then we will indeed prepare our hearts for the miracle of God's birth. And not only that. The Holy Year 2025 is approaching, during which God will show his goodness and mercy to the whole world in an extraordinary way. If we stand before the Lord with a generous willingness to serve, following the example of the Virgin Mary, God can use us too, so that we can also be joyful instruments of the Lord's mercy.
I wish you grace-filled and peaceful Christmas from the bottom of my heart and bless you
Mons. Marián Chovanec, bishop of Banská Bystrica
