Sunday 19 December

4th Sunday of Advent

Micah 5:1-4; Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-44

Blessed are you among women

Elizabeth is not the first person to pronounce this particular blessing. Israelites prayed it over Jael in the time of the Judges. Joakim prayed it over Judith when Assyria was the dominant Middle Eastern power. Both these women slew enemy generals by a blow to the head. Our Lady deserves the same blessing because she gave us the Saviour who crushed the head of a far worse foe. As John reminds us in his first letter, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.