We often envy our neighbors, our relatives, or even our friends when they seem to be more blessed than we are. We may envy the material things that others have, and at times we may even think that God has blessed them with better health, nicer looks, or smarter children. Sometimes when I am hearing a confession, someone might say: I envy my sister's smart kids, my children don’t want to study, and they don’t want to come to church. I will often say that even though others might seem to be blessed more than us, we still have what some other people only dream about. Instead of being jealous, we need to be thankful for what we have. Today on the feast day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel reading presents us with two holy and beautiful women -- the Mother of God and her relative Elizabeth. They are both filled with joy for the blessing God bestowed upon them. They share that joy, they support each other, and there is no room for envy. Elizabeth could have thought -- why is Mary the Mother of God, but not me? Why did God choose her not me? Instead, Elizabeth said one of the most beautiful words of love and respect that we can find in the bible, and we repeat it now every day. She said: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” We need to ask God to remove any kind of envy from our hearts and replace it with joy when others are happy.
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