The
Visitation
Feast
day: 31 May
A young girl was travelling along the wild
tracts of a hilly country. She was hastening to a certain town named Ain Karim,
and carrying in her bosom a burden so precious, that if certain people knew of
it she would pay for it with her life. That was two thousand years ago.
Nobody need think twice to know who this young
girl was. The Virgin Mary of Nazareth who was on her way to her cousin
Elizabeth. The precious burden she was bearing was the Son of God himself -
bearing him in her womb. Braving hardship and danger she sped on her way,
because above the awareness of danger and hardship was a nobler consciousness,
that of love and service.
“And there entering in she gave Elizabeth
greeting.” Mary opened her lips and greeted Elizabeth. There is nothing special
about the fact of greeting. It is something that is so ordinary, that everybody
takes it for granted. So, if it is so normal, why does the evangelist Luke make
special mention of it? The Gospels, as you know, are very concise accounts of
Our Lord’s life and usually you should not expect to find household details
mentioned therein. And so, why mention a simple affair as “and there entering
in she gave Elizabeth greeting?” We have the answer from the lips of Elizabeth
herself. She told our Blessed Mother, “As soon as the voice of your greeting
sounded in my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy!” And the evangelist
adds, “And Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, Mary’s
word of greeting was no ordinary salutation. When your friend greets you it gives you some
happiness, but it does not bring about your sanctification and salvation. But
with Mary it was different: as soon as she opened her mouth, John the Baptist
was sanctified and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary’s words were
like the words of Baptism. Mary’s word was like a sacrament simply because
Jesus was acting through her. He was waiting for Mary to utter her words to
exercise his saving action on others. It seemed he could hardly wait.
If it were not for the presence of Jesus the
words of our Blessed Lady would have had no effect. It would have been only a
friendly social gesture. But Jesus
waited for her to speak for him to act. He willed to act through her, or rather
together with her, resulting in the sanctifying of Elizabeth and the child she
was carrying. It looked like the Saviour couldn’t wait. Already present in the
womb, Jesus meant salvation, strength and mercy. During the three years of his
public life, Our Lord Jesus walked through the flood of physical pain and moral
shame, healing them all with a word, with a touch, with an act of his will.
Then
the young Mary sang her great canticle of joy and self-knowledge in God: “My
soul glorifies the Lord...the Almighty works marvels for me...all generations
will call me blessed...” Mary was not able to respond this way at the
Annunciation when the angel greeted her with, “Hail, full of grace.” But the
elderly Elizabeth’s words of delighted recognition, namely, “Blessed are you
among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb,” prompted Mary’s “Magnificat”. It seems that such a deep
and joyful realisation can be the fruit of a simple good deed or generous word
spoken to someone in need. Again and again, to our astonishment we discover
that it is in the poor, in those who need our help, that the Lord is waiting to
fill us with the joyful fact that we are blessed and healed. Like Mary, then,
according to the prophet Isaiah, we shall experience enlightenment of some kind
but also “our wound will quickly be healed over” (Isaiah 58, 6 – 8).
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