How does On Care for Our Common Home challenge me, in light of today’s Gospel, where “Elizabeth, #filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice” after recognizing the Spirit’s limitless possibilities within creation, to discern how to respond to situations—such as a diocesan podcast promoting a teen event scheduled against the bishop’s wishes—in a way that upholds both faith and respect for authority❓
Reading I
The question invites me to reflect on how I am “filled” with the Spirit’s guidance to discern and act faithfully in the situations I face. In today’s Gospel, Elizabeth’s joyful exclamation reveals her openness to the Spirit’s work within her. Similarly, On Care for Our Common Home challenges me to approach creation and relationships with humility and trust in God’s providence, recognizing that the Spirit fills the universe with possibilities to guide us in such a way that “He shall be peace.“
Responsorial Psalm
At times, I feel torn between loyalty to authority and the desire to respond to the needs of my community, such as the teen event mentioned in the podcast. Being “filled” with the Spirit requires me to pause and seek God’s face in prayer and discernment, ensuring my actions align with both faith and obedience as reflected in the psalm prayer, “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.“
Reading II
Discerning the Spirit’s will means moving beyond surface reactions to consider the deeper implications of my choices. Am I “filled” with a desire to glorify God in everything I do, or do I let my personal preferences overshadow my call to serve in truth❓ Like Christ’s own example, I must embrace a spirit of obedience, saying, “Behold, I come to do your will, O God.“
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia, Mary’s response to Gabriel inspires me to reflect on how I respond to God’s call. Her humility and readiness to serve remind me to be “filled” with a willingness to align my will with God’s, even in challenging circumstances with the same response as Mary, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
“…distractions that normally fill their…”
8:41
“…mean we just fill their schedule with so…”
11:09
“…in the past that that close to filling…”
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
“And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me❓
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Can it be said that, in writing this reflection, I am saying “Yes” to God’s will in both faith and obedience, and, like Elizabeth, have been…
“…filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, …“❓
The Spirit of God has filled the universe with possibilities and therefore, from the very heart of things, something new can always emerge: “Nature is nothing other than a certain kind of art, namely God’s art, impressed upon things, whereby those things are moved to a determinate end.
From paragraph 80 of ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME