Feast of the Visitation

Today we celebrate a very special moment in the history of the church – when the Blessed Mother visits her cousin Elizabeth. You might say there is nothing particularly special about a visit that a woman makes to another woman. Most women love to visit and talk, have a cup of coffee and brag on their children, their houses, and their appearance, not to mention what they might say about their husbands. But the feast of the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 by Blessed Pope Paul VI, in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (June 24.)
Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama, as recorded in the Gospel of St Luke, chapter 1:39-45, are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy—the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages. Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here, Mary herself traces all her greatness to God, a prayer that is recited daily in the Evening Prayers priests recite in the Breviary.

This feast gives us the opportunity to review the spirit of visits we make to each other. How welcoming are we when people visit us? How kind and gracious are we when we visit other people, whether they are family or friends? How much of an opportunity we take to speak about our faith and our values when friends visit us? And with the explosion of social media in our lives, it is good to communicate the way we used to, sitting down, face to face over a cup of coffee, recollecting past experiences and family stories. I am sure that Mary and Elizabeth had a great time talking and chatting about their lives, their unborn babies and plans they had for them, Jesus and John the Baptist respectively.