Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
I think of the story of how David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The ark contained the word of God, inscribed on the two tablets of stone in the time of Moses. In our passage, Mary is pregnant with the Child Jesus, who is the Word of God.
Mary went in haste, in haste, not because she was escaping from somewhere, but in her joy and to share her joy. He two mothers meet, Elizabeth and Mary, and they speak to each other, their two unborn sons interact. The story is more a story about Jesus, the Word of God visiting John the Baptist. It is also a classic story about Mary, how se comes to bring the Christ to others.
Our Hispanic brothers and sisters celebrate this day the anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Tepeyak near Mexico City in 1531. She came, dressed aa an Aztec goddess, but her attitude is one of reverence for the One in her womb. She is dressed in such a way that the indigenous people would know she was pregnant. As with our Gospel story, she brings the Word of God with her as she spreads joy to the people.
All of us are called to nurture others into greater goodness. Whether we be men or women, we must meld in ourselves the strength and the power to nurture others. We must go with joy, as did the Ark of the Covenant in David’s day, as did Mary in the journey Zechariah’s house, as the Woman of Guadalupe did five centuries ago.