Mary the first missionary

I am visiting my siblings in Hong Kong. My two daughters and their partners are also vacationing here at the same time. Between the walking tour in the City Central and the long hilly hike from Mui Wo to Discovery Bay we were able to piece together the old and the new Hong Kong. My sister had her second hip replaced and is recovering well after the surgery. Praise God!

I went to Mass this morning at the Epiphany Catholic Church in Mui Wo. It was a tiny parish on Lantau Island. The two priests of East Indian origin were fluent in both Cantonese and English. It was very welcoming. The homily this morning was very interesting and uplifting. Firstly, the priest talked of the three annunciations - that of Zachariah, St. Joseph, and then the Blessed Mary (all three links are worth the read!). Then Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. It's possible that the visit was prompted by the need to validate what the angel had spoken, but much more likely her long distance visit was out of compassion to help Elizabeth who was then 6 months pregnant. Two pregnancies of miraculous proportion, the teenager, still a virgin, visited a woman who was way passed the age of child bearing, The Blessed Mary, immediately after hearing the Good News went and shared it (literally bearing Jesus in her womb - the Word made flesh), with someone. Thar's why she was the first missionary. I did a quick google search and found these devotional links:

• Mary the first missionary.
 A Rosary meditation on the Visitation of Our Lady to St Elizabeth
• Jesus’ First Missionary – Mary
• Like Mary, the first Missionary

She was also referred to as the First Disciple - http://www.catholic.org/mary/firstd.php

I am writing this blog during the one-hour ferry from Mui Wo to Central Hong Kong. The scenery is spectacular:

I feel so blessed to be reminded where I have come and the glorious future yet awaiting me. I will learn from my Blessed Mother to share the Good News of Jesus to everyone I meet, especially today as I meet with so many of my siblings and their children, and even grand children. I have been praying for them daily but now I can share with them face to face. Oh may the Name of Jesus be lifted high today!