Viriditas: Soul Greening
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Reflecting on the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, there are two women who stand before us in the scriptural readings, Elizabeth and Mary, who are conscious of being filled with God’s blessings and goodness to them. In the Holy Land, in the Church of the Visitation, there stands a memorial depicting two pregnant women happily greeting each other.
The dictionary defines the word pregnant as “containing an unborn young within the body.” Elizabeth and Mary, both pregnant in the Gospel, easily fall into this category. But if you read the dictionary further, pregnant also has two other meanings. It also means “rich in meaning or rich in implication.” The third meaning of pregnant is “containing a seed for future events.”
The Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is not as long as a pregnancy. It is only a day, not nine months. But the feast is one of pregnancy, not only today, but year-round and all throughout our lives.
We are all called to be pregnant in a way that people would see us and experience Christ’s rich presence through us. That people who see us will be encouraged to hope in the future because we have become lights and signposts for them. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is pregnant in this sense as well.
The visitation of our Blessed Mother to her cousin Elizabeth is an invitation for us to rediscover the value of other people in our lives. We need other people because individual joys shared with others is a double joy. Once authentic joy is shared it becomes contagious until everyone has the benefit of sharing. This is evidenced through history as we continue to benefit from Mary and Elizabeth’s “yes” to God’s invitation.
As they needed each other, we also need other people to validate our achievements. We need other people to say to us, “Yes, it is real!” Or, “Yes, it is true! You are not dreaming; it is not an illusion.” It is otherwise lonely to achieve something and not be able to share it and receive affirmation.
Although modern means of communication enable us to see each other and talk to each other, still nothing can substitute for the physical presence of loved ones. The Gospel on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary reminds us of that. Indeed, what better gift can we give to one another than to live out our lives by visiting and being with our community, whether it be of family, religious life, the parish community or other; by welcoming the stranger; by sharing Jesus with our brothers and sisters.
The best gift we can give to one another is to give the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Let us make the most of our visits with each other bringing forth good seeds for the future. Let us share the richness of God’s life within us as the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Mary and Elizabeth remind us to do.
Father Efren Tomas is a priest of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette. He is from Cabatuan, Isabela in the Philippines. He is 42 years professed and 38 years a priest. In 2013, he became the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Waipahu where he continues to minister today.
