In the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, the last day of May, which is a Marian month, is marked as the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Having been told by Archangel Gabriel of surprise
pregnancy of her older cousin, Elizabeth, in addition to her virgin pregnancy
with the Son of Almighty God (Luke 1:26-38), Mary left Nazareth and went to
visit her in haste (Luke 1:39-40). The path she took to the house of Zechariah
was rather rough and dangerous. She
could have been injured for going so fast on a rough path on rocky
terrain. Robbers and wild animals could
have attacked her on the way. But,
apparently, such risks did not discourage her from visiting Elizabeth, soon
after learning her pregnancy at an advanced age. May must have been so excited
about her older cousin’s totally unexpected pregnancy and extremely happy for
her to leave Nazareth in Galilee promptly to see her in Judea.
Do you feel Mary’s joyful excitement and growing hope
for Elizabeth?
Imagine, if you had someone like Elizabeth among your
relatives, a woman of advanced age, who had been infertile for years and
believed to never conceive, became pregnant. She lived so far from where you
live. Wouldn’t you be so excited and go
to see her, no matter how expensive the trip might be and difficult it would to
book a flight?
But let us make sure that we keep our focus on Christ
in sharing the joy of Mary and Elizabeth in celebrating the feast of the
Visitation, which is reflected in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary,
following the First Joyful Mystery, the
Annunciation, followed by the Third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity of the Lord.
The main character in the Gospel narrative of the
Visitation (Luke 1:39-56) is Jesus, who is the incarnated Christ, in Mary’s
womb. It is not Mary.
Remember, Mary could not have been known to us unless
she assented to be God’s handmaid (Luke 1:38), as the Theotokos, carrying
the incarnated God (i.e. John 1:1, 14) in her, giving birth to him (Luke 2:7),
and remaining to serve as his mother.
When Mary arrived at the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah,
her husband, Elizabeth said to Mary:
Most blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your
greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you
who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled
(Luke 1:42-45).
It is important to note that Elizabeth clearly
recognized the incarnated Christ inside Mary’s womb, calling Mary the mother
of my Lord (Luke 1:43). She did not see him in her eyes. So how did she
know?
Remember, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, she was able to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb. And so was the growing
baby inside her womb, the future John the Baptist (Luke 1:41, 44).
Yes, Elizabeth was so happy that Mary visited her and
her baby inside her womb, coming all the way from Nazareth. But her joy was
made so special because Mary brought Christ to her, carrying him in her womb.
This is why she said, “How does this happen to me, that the mother of my
Lord should come to me?”(Luke 1:43). It is Christ, indeed, who made Mary’s visit
to Elizabeth and the future John the Baptist inside her womb specially blessed.
Elizabeth also recognized Mary as the most blessed,
among all women on earth, for the blessed fruit of her womb, the incarnated
Christ (Luke 1:41) – for being the Theotokos.
It is, indeed, because of Christ, brought by Mary to
Elizabeth that Mary and Elizabeth share special joy together.
Then, Mary sung her canticle, joyfully proclaiming the greatness of God (Luke 1:46-55), known as Magnificat (“Magnificat anima mea Dominum”, which literally means, “My soul magnifies the Lord”(Luke 1:46)).
Why did Mary exalt the Lord? Why her did soul magnified the Lord?
It is for what he had done to her, who regarded
herself as his lowly handmaid (Luke 1:48; cf. 1:38), and to Israel. Mary was
filled with great joy because the Lord chose and blessed her to be his
handmaid, to which she had consented (Luke 1:26-38), to bring justice and mercy
to the world through Israel.
Again, Christ is the focus, throughout this joyful
canticle of hers, Magnificat.
In fact, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is a great model
for pastoral care ministry, especially, bringing Christ in the Sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist, secured in pyxes, for pastoral visit to those who would not be
able to receive the Eucharist at Mass, for their infirmities. The pyxes that
visiting pastoral ministers carry are like the womb of Mary, the mobile
tabernacle, more like the Ark of the Covenant.
Bringing Christ to those who are in need is not
limited to bringing him in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is also bringing
Christ in the Word (i.e. Revelation 19:13;
cf. John 1:1, 14). Going on apostolic mission to evangelize and
catechize, bringing Christ through the Word of God, to all the ends of the
earth, is a great form of visitation that we can model after Mary’s visitation
to Elizabeth.
Yes, Mary visited Elizabeth, and these women shared
joy. It is, indeed, Christ, whom Mary brought, to make this joy so blessed. It
is, in fact, Christ, who visited Elizabeth and the future John the Baptist in
her womb, being carried by the blessed tabernacle in Mary’s body, her womb. After all, Mary ministered to Elizabeth and the future John the Baptist, by bringing Christ in her womb, when she visited Elizabeth.
Having been filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost,
let the Holy Spirit empower and drive us to bring Christ to those who are in
need, physically, mentally, and spiritually, especially women, whose pregnancies are at risk and threatened by a thought of abortion, even to the ends of the earth! This is, indeed, an act of love, which Christ has commanded us to practice (John 13:34).
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