I must admit that this feast of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth is one of my favorites because the all-girls Catholic High School that I attended in Chicago was named ‘Visitation’. As I think back on the spirit of that school, I know it was appropriately named because the Dominican Sisters who staffed the school, and who had a great influence on me, nurtured the generosity, care and concern for us young girls that Mary and Elizabeth clearly manifested in their relationship with one another.
Everything in this sacred visitation scene is motion and excitement: Mary’s haste, her greeting to Elizabeth, John’s leaping for joy, Elizabeth’s exclaiming with a loud cry, and Mary’s thanksgiving. For the first time in the Gospel of Luke, the Messiah is acknowledged and receives the title ‘Lord’.
For Mary, this meeting is a mission of mercy, and she wasted no time in getting there. Nothing stopped her, even though going on a long, tedious trip for an extended time probably meant making arrangements at her home and enduring lots of inconveniences on the journey itself. She thought only of the good she could affect, with God’s grace, for her beloved cousin, and this thought made the trip all worthwhile. Charity motivated her so she could offer her assistance and company during this anxious time for Elizabeth.
Finally, they greet each other. Here they were, two grateful women warmly embracing…
- one seemingly too old to have a child, a child who would become the last prophet of the Old Testament,
- the other woman seemingly not ready to have a child but who would bear the One who was Himself the beginning of the New Covenant.
Their greeting to one another is a dialog of holy words, words we still echo today: “Blessed are you among women”, says Elizabeth, and Mary responds with the beautiful words we know as the Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”. How joyous… how humble… how grateful.
May the ordinariness of this meeting and the greeting of these humble women inspire us. Mary brought the presence of Jesus to her cousin. When we show concern and compassion for others by our holy words and generous deeds, we, too, with God’s grace, bring joy to them as we share the loving presence of Jesus.
