Fourth Sunday of Advent

And so, we come to the final Sunday before Christmas – the 4th Sunday of Advent. Final preparations for the birth of Jesus. Today’s short gospel, relating Mary’s 130km journey to visit Elizabeth (same name as different versions of Isobel), invites us to reflect a bit deeper on life. On the human level we have two women who are expecting babies having a perfectly natural meeting – but then the presence of the Holy Spirit points out to us that God is there too. Not just two women, but two babies and two worlds are meeting – and that will change the course of history. As we approach Christmas may we treat all our encounters with our brothers and sisters with reverence – we never know what is really happening. Something new could be born.