From: Luke 1:39-47
The Visitation
[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country,
to a city of Judah, [40] and she entered the house of Zechariah and
greeted Elizabeth. [41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit [42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And why is this
granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For
behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in
my womb leaped for joy. [45] And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
[46] And Mary said,
"My Soul magnifies the Lord,
[47] And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour[."]
Commentary:
39-56. We contemplate this episode of our Lady's visit to her cousin
St. Elizabeth in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: "Joyfully
keep Joseph and Mary company...and you will hear the traditions of
the House of David.... We walk in haste towards the mountains, to
a town of the tribe of Judah (Luke 1:39).
"We arrive. It is the house where John the Baptist is to be born. Eliza-
beth gratefully hails the Mother of her Redeemer: Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I
be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? (Luke 1:42-43).
"The unborn Baptist quivers...(Luke 1:41). Mary's humility pours forth
in the "Magnificat".... And you and I, who are proud--who were proud
-- promise to be humble" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary").
39. On learning from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth is soon
to give birth and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity hastens
to her aid. She has no regard for the difficulties this involves. Although
we do not know where exactly Elizabeth was living (it is now thought
to be Ain Karim), it certainly meant a journey into the hillcountry which
at that time would have taken four days.
>From Mary's visit to Elizabeth Christians should learn to be caring peo-
ple. "If we have this filial contact with Mary, we won't be able to think
just about ourselves and our problems. Selfish personal problems will
find no place in our mind" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 145).
42. St. Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same
words as the archangel "to show that she should be honored by angels
and by men and why she should indeed be revered above all other wo-
men" ("In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
When we say the "Hail Mary" we repeat these divine greetings, "re-
joicing with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the
Lord, thanking Him for having given us Jesus Christ through Mary"
("St. Pius X Catechism", 333).
43. Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit to call Mary "the mother of
my Lord", thereby showing that Mary is the Mother of God.
44. Although he was conceived in sin--original sin--like other men, St.
John the Baptist was born sinless because he was sanctified in his
mother's womb by the presence of Jesus Christ (then in Mary's womb)
and of the Blessed Virgin. On receiving this grace of God St. John
rejoices by leaping with joy in his mother's womb--thereby fulfilling
the archangel's prophecy (cf. Luke 1:15).
St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: "See how
new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb
but hespeaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes
himself heard by his actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but he
points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as
Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait
for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his
mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the
Savior is about to come" ("Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio").
45. Joining the chorus of all future generations, Elizabeth, moved by
the Holy Spirit, declares the Lord's Mother to be blessed and praises
her faith. No one ever had faith to compare with Mary's; she is the
model of the attitude a creature should have towards its Creator --
complete submission, total attachment. Through her faith, Mary is
the instrument chosen by God to bring about the Redemption; as
Mediatrix of all graces, she is associated with the redemptive work
of her Son: "This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of
salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal concep-
tion up to His death; first when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit
Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in the
promise of salvation and the Precursor leaps with joy in the womb
of his mother [...]. The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage
of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the
cross, where she stood (cf. John 19:25), in keeping with the Divine
Plan, enduring with her only-begotten Son the intensity of His suf-
fering, associating herself with His sacrifice in her mother's heart,
and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which was
born of her" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 57f).
The new Latin text gives a literal rendering of the original Greek when
it says "quae credidit" (RSV "she who has believed") as opposed to
the Vulgate "quae credidisti" ("you who have believed") which gave
more of the sense than a literal rendering.
46-47. "The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are peace and joy. And the
Blessed Virgin had received within herself all the grace of the Holy
Spirit" (St Basil, In Psalmos homiliae, on Ps 32). Mary's soul overflows
in the words of the Magnificat. God's favours cause every humble soul
to feel joy and gratitude. In the case of the Blessed Virgin God has be-
stowed more on her than on any other creature. "Virgin Mother of God,
he whom the heavens cannot contain, on becoming man, enclosed
himself within your womb" (Roman Missal, Antiphon of the common
of the Mass for feasts of our Lady). The humble Virgin of Nazareth is
going to be the Mother of God; the Creator's omnipotence has never
before manifested itself in as complete a way as this.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.