Memory of the Saints and the Prophets
Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 1,39-56
Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.' And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him. He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love -according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever. Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Mary's visitation to Elizabeth. It is the meeting between two women, one young and the other advanced in age. It is a simple scene that shows what should always happen when Christians meet: to feel the joy of being part of God's family. Christians live by meeting, by relationships, and by friendship. The evangelist reports this episode to underline the spiritual relationship between Jesus and the Baptist while they are still in the womb of their respective mothers. The evangelist writes that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. She immediately understands the mystery that dwells in the womb of her very young cousin, Mary of Nazareth. And Elizabet praises her faith: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Mary for her part shows us what every believer is called to do: to visit and bring Jesus to all. Mary could not keep the Son given to her for herself. She had to communicate his birth to everyone, starting with her elderly cousin who had been blessed by God. Hence Mary's haste. Jesus who is born is a hope for everyone, for every man and woman, a hope that cannot be hidden, it must be announced to everyone, especially to those who do not seem to have much hope any more, to those who are sick, those who are alone, those who are old and live in a thousand difficulties. Elizabeth's exultation is the same exultation experienced by the elderly, the weak, the lonely, every time they are visited. We could say that Christianity is to visit with one another and taking care one of the other. It is the work of the Spirit, the joy that springs forth in the encounter between believers. After the tragic event of the pandemic who forced us to an unnatural but necessary isolation, we better understand how the encounter is vital and how this feast of the visitation is timely, a feast that sees a young woman leaving from afar to go and visit an older pregnant woman who was therefore twice more in need of help and company. Thus both entered the larger plan Elizabeth tells Mary that she is blessed because she has believed the words that God' larger plan of salvation that He was weaving in humanity to save them.