Today we celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the gospel for today’s Mass (Luke 1:39-56) we hear of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth while they were both with child.
We hear the witness of both Elizabeth and the child in her womb – John the Baptist – the first to testify to Jesus. Upon Mary’s greeting, John stirs. Elizabeth proclaims Mary as “blessed’’ and goes on to attribute that blessedness to Mary’s great faith and trust in God.
And then of course we hear Mary’s “song of love” – her Magnificat – a prayer that demonstrates how, through grace, Mary’s faith acquires – as Pope John Paul II says – “a new consciousness and a new expression”.
In this great prayer, Mary joyfully and confidently praises God’s holiness, God’s faithfulness, and God’s saving power. Mary testifies to how God, in his great mercy, has raised her out of her lowliness to new heights.
In this great prayer, Mary embodies the lowly – all the “nobodies” of the world. Mary helps us to know that we are somebody simply because we are loved by God. Mary gives us confidence that God has only good things in mind for us, and that God can raise us up when we are down. Mary shows us that if we can abandon ourselves to God, we too can experience a joy, a peace, and a contentment that only God can provide.
And of course Mary’s prayer also reminds us that we are called to extend ourselves to others, as Mary did for Elizabeth. We are called to help raise others out of their lowly conditions, to respond to others in need, to put others before ourselves.
And, to do this, we look to imitate Mary’s selflessness and her humility – a humility founded on Mary’s recognition, and our recognition of who we truly are – God’s creation, sustained by God’s love and mercy, and endowed with God’s goodness.
And we know that Mary didn’t visit just to assist Elizabeth in her pregnancy. There was another purpose for the visit. Mary came to spread the good news. In some respects Mary was the first to evangelize Jesus in this encounter with her cousin and the baby John.
And of course, we are called to do the same, to spread the good news. Like Mary, we don’t simply receive and hold onto what God reveals to us, what God bestows upon us. We communicate what God reveals to us to others. We give what God bestows upon us to others. We share our gifts, just like Mary shared the greatest gift of all – Jesus – with all of us.