FOURTH BYZANTINE ROSARY MYSTERY....The Meeting Of The Mother Of God And The Righteous Elizabeth

In the West we know this mystery as The Presentation. The East wants to put heavy emphasis on the fact that John The Baptist, like Mary, had a very righteous mother - observant of Israel's religion. The icon in our little book by Anthony Steblin shows John in Elizabeth's womb bowing to Jesus in Mary's womb, This, as Mary and Elizabeth greet each other. Elizabeth is forerunner to Mary, declaring her to be the Mother Of God just as John is the forerunner of Jesus, declaring him to be the Son Of God. We can see that the Holy Spirit is very happy with this witness on both of their parts, and is certainly the Author of it all. When Eastern Christians meet, one says , " Praised be Jesus Christ" ! The other answers, "Now and forever" ! In this way they bear witness by greeting Christ in each other. When I received the email confirming my Lestovka order from Russia, it began, "PRAISED BE JESUS CHRIST !" What might all of this mean for us in our attempt to be called Righteous by the Holy Spirit ?