The Visitation

After hearing and responding to the Archangel's invitation to cooperate with God's Plan for the Coming of the Messiah, Mary immediately made ready to pay a visit to her cousin Elizabeth. The news that Elizabeth's barrenness was over brought Mary joy and she had to go to share it in person. What a lovely scene unfolds when they encounter one another! We are not told of Elizabeth's own experience of Heavenly messengers--all Luke tells about is her husband Zechariah's encounter in the Temple. But somehow she already knew about Mary and the Gift, the Presence of the Lord, secretly within her. The moment the voice of Mary reached her ears, the joy burst forth and the infant in the womb could be in that instant exactly who he was created to be, the precursor to the Bridegroom, leaping in joy.

Here it is the priesthood and the voice of prophecy, leaping in joy before the Ark of the Covenant and the Son of David Who is the Son of the Most High Present in that Ark. The Visitation highlights the wonderful Mystery of fulfillment of hopes and dreams and longings too deep for words, and the intuition of Truth deeper than awareness that has the power to remove all reproach. Elizabeth's acknowledgment of Mary's role and her blessed response to the Promise elicits from Mary a prayer of praise that highlights God's gift of Salvation. Her song is still sung each evening by the Church at prayer.

Visiting with those who have experienced the touch of God in their lives is a joy that I experience daily as a priest in a parish. Today, I visited with children in our elementary school who had witnessed the Baptism of a Second Grader at their School Mass yesterday morning. Everyone was so moved by the experience and the children were full of insights and questions. They all saw that something very special had happened to all of them as the Sacrament took place in their hearing. The young man who was baptized told our Religious Ed Director that he has he has been wanting to be baptized "for years." The fact that it worked out to happen in the presence of his classmates and of the whole School was a gift to all of us. The Second Grade teacher said, "They'll never forget it!"

When we begin to realize the power of the Sacraments and the joys that are ours in the sharing of the action of God's Spirit, we are renewed in hope. The burdens and struggles we face are lessened by the fact of our oneness in joy. God is with us. He has a Plan. Our "Yes" has already been said. Now we await the unfolding of the Mystery. God is worthy of our trust. We are blessed.

With Mary and Elizabeth, we can already taste the joy of Salvation. May our hearts be lifted by a proclamation of praise and a discovery that we are not alone.