“Three months Mary abode in Zachary s house, and all that time the flame of communicating love abode there too, burning ever more brightly within her. What a privilege for the house of Zachary! We read in Sacred History that once “the Ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obededom and all his household.” (2 Kings vi. 11.)
What then must have been the blessings bestowed on Zachary’s household, while Mary the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ abode there! ‘ Foederis area, ora pro nobis.’ Pray that we too may get the blessings of those who receive thee as their constant guest.” From Mater Christi : meditations on Our Lady (1920). Mother St. Paul
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“Our Lady stayed with Elizabeth until John was born; that is the point of the ‘three months’; the gospel account is surely Mary’s personal recital. There were no maternity wards in those days, and Mary assisted at the birth of Elizabeth’s son.” From The Gospel Story by Ronald Knox and Ronald Cox, Sheed and Ward, 1958
What I love about this painting (see below) is that Mary is holding John the Baptist right after his birth. Of course, Jesus is also present at this birth in his mother’s womb.
The Birth of St. John the Baptist, Andrea di Nerio, c. 1350
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