The Visitation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Luke 1:39-56

THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE FIRST ULTRASOUND IN NEW TESTAMENT POSSIBLE

Happy Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most of us know today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke  (Luke 1:39-56).  After hearing the news from the angel that she would give birth to the Messiah, Mary traveled “in haste” from Nazareth to the house of her cousin Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, which was in a village in the hill country of Judea. When Mary arrived, she found her elderly cousin also pregnant.

There are so many moments in this passage about which I could write.  Elizabeth was thought barren, but was now carrying John the Baptist.  And Mary, in the midst of a very interesting marital situation, has a heavenly messenger tell her she’s carrying the Son of God.  Both of these women were in the middle of truly miraculous pregnancies, having had remarkable and world-changing encounters with God. 

At their encounter, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does it happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” Mary’s response is equally amazing, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” which we now pray as the Magnificat.

But there’s something else in this passage… something that hit me like a ton of bricks.  at the very moment Mary’s greeting was heard – John leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.
I think that 1st Peter 1:8 explains it pretty well…”Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him
and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”Even before his birth, John the Baptist was pointing the way to Christ.

What then is my mission in this life? What is the purpose of bring alive? What is it that God has been calling me to grow into?How can I help others to see God’s presence in their own lives? Who have you been Christ to today?
Who has been Christ to you today?
How have I failed in these?

Mary brought Christ to Elizabeth and John.  She brought Christ to the world.  And Elizabeth and John recognized Christ within Mary. We are all called to be like Mary and bring Christ to our world, and to be like John the Baptist and point the way to the Saving Lord.  In all we do, and all we experience, God is there, and we are called to see Him, to announce Him.

Fr Joseph Osho