Just Normal People
May 31: Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I always like the Visitation, because it’s such a nice, normal thing to read about. So often, Biblical figures can seem so distant in both time and behavior. They walk and talk with God, they wrestle angels, they have visions of the future.
Mary visiting Elizabeth? That’s just something close cousins1 would do, anytime, anywhere.
It helps to remind us that, as much as we’re talking about holy and blessed people, they’re still people. They’re like us, which means we can be like them.
Reading 1
Zep 3:14-18a
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
Zephaniah is mostly a downer, prophesying the coming destruction of Israel. But towards the end of the book, the prophet foresees the restoration of the nation.
Of course, this is another one of those prophesies we can see as pointing towards Jesus. He is the King of Israel in their midst, the reason why Elizabeth shouts for joy.
Responsorial Psalm
Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
This is a rare song from Isaiah, who wasn’t exactly known for being upbeat. But like Zephaniah, prophesying tragedy is never the end.
There will be a time when the Holy One of Israel will be in their midst. Which, agian, is exactly what Elizabeth anticipates.
Alleluia
See Lk 1:45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remember Elizabeth’s husband didn’t believe that God would give them a child (John the Baptist), so God struck him mute. Mary believed, and was blessed for it.
Gospel
Lk 1:39-56
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Elizabeth goes on about how great Mary must be, being worthy of the honor of carrying the Christ. (You’ll probably recognize her first line from the Hail Mary.) Mary instead takes the opportunity to turn that around and praise God, in a prayer we now call the Magnificat.
So while it’s admirable that Isaiah and Zephaniah try to find a positive spin on their foreboding prophesies, Mary takes something positive (her and Elizabeth’s pregnancies), and still remembers to thank God. Instead of going from bad to good, she’s going from good to great!
It’s one thing to ask God for help and deliverance when things are bad; it’s another to remember to thank Him when things are going well. Mary does—she knows who really deserves the credit for the great things in her life.
Or whatever their exact relationship is, we don’t really know.