10 Beautiful Things About the Visitation

Fr. Ed Broom

by Fr. Ed Broom on May 31, 2012 · 3 comments

Mary  is model, teacher, guide, inspiration, life, sweetness and hope to all to raise their eyes to her with love.  In the beautiful prayer of St. Bernard,  the Memorare, we pray with confidence: “Never was it known that anyone who had recourse to Mary was left unaided…”

May is the month of Mary and it concludes with one of the most beautiful Marian Feast days— the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth.  Many superb spiritual lessons can be learned from this Marian gem, which also is the 2nd Joyful Mystery. Let us descend into the “Spiritual mine” and grab on to the excellent treasures.

1.    CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ANNUNCIATION AND VISITATION.   The last part of the prior mystery— the Annunciation/Incarnation— ends with Mary’s “Fiat”— that is to say Mary’s “Yes” to God.  The exact words are: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.”   In that moment, one of the most sublime moments in the history of the world took place: the Incarnation of the Son of God.   That is to say, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, descended from His heavenly throne, and became Incarnate (man) in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary!     In rapt awe, we humbly adore this sublime mystery!

2.    COMMUNION AND FRATERNAL CHARITY.  Mary did not keep the “Gift” of Jesus to herself, but went in haste to share the gift to others. She started an 80 kilometer journey, travelling uphill to Ain Karim to visit her cousin Elizabeth to help her in her need.  Pope Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Exhortation “Sacramentum Caritatis” insists that Mass and Holy Communion must transform us into ardent missionaries, to bring the Good News of Jesus to the whole world.

3.     IN HASTE.  Mary did not procrastinate, put off, delay, make excuses, rationalize or justify postponing her trip; rather, she followed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and moved immediately.  Lesson! Upon receiving good inspirations from the Holy Spirit, we should be both docile and prompt and obedient to respond.

4.    TRAVEL WITH MARY AND TALK TO HER.  Enter into an Ignatian contemplative scene and imagine Mary travelling. Her joy, her quick pace, her awareness of Jesus within her, her determination to carry out God’s will despite the possible obstacles— all of these, made up the long trek to Ain Karim.  You can accompany Mary, admire her majesty, but also be inspired by her humility and simplicity; during this long journey with Mary, open up your heart and talk to her about what is going on in your life. Why not even tell her what is most heavy on your mind.  Mary is the best of listeners!

5.    EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION.  Remember!  The little Jesus is already present in the womb of Mary. Therefore, as you travel, remember that this indeed is a “Eucharistic Procession”  (a Corpus Christi procession).  Mary always wants to draw us closer to Jesus; her last words at the wedding Feast of Cana were:  “Do whatever He tells you!” Great advice!  Beg for the grace to have a greater faith, love and devotion towards the Eucharist!

6.    JOY!   This is the 2nd Joyful Mystery.  Being with Jesus and Mary is the true and authentic source of joy.  Mary’s canticle (Her Magnificat) emphasizes this truth: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices (finds joy) in God my Savior…” May we always seek joy in the authentic source: JESUS THE LORD!

7.    GREETING!   Most likely, Mary greeted Elizabeth with the typical Jewish greeting,  SHALOM— peace be with you!  Our homes, our families, our communities, our groups, our parishes, our activities, should be characterized by a “Shalom” atmosphere.   A warm, welcoming, and inviting milieu should be created. An essential note of apostolic effectiveness is that of creating a warm and welcoming environment. Mary teaches us this by her greeting!

8.     BABY JOHN LEAPS FOR JOY!  At the sound of Mary’s greeting the infant John in the womb of St. Elizabeth leaps for joy.  What is happening here?  Jesus, already even before being born, is acting as Redeemer, by freeing John His cousin and Precursor from the bond of Original Sin.  Message!  Contact with Jesus and Mary through prayer undoubtedly will serve as a powerful means to diminish the grip of sin upon us and to eventually shatter the binding force and slavery of sin.  Sin indeed is slavery and Jesus and Mary came to give us true freedom, the freedom of the sons and daughters of God!  “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

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Fr. Ed Broom

By Fr. Ed Broom

Father Ed Broom is an Oblate of the Virgin Mary. He blogs regularly at Fr. Broom's Blog.

Tagged as: Mary, The Visitation

  • George

    It is my conclusion, with some experience in Catholic education, that the biggest problem in Catholic education per se is the lack of mentoring given to the lay leaders who have inherited Catholic schools. Religious sisters, brothers, and priests have, for the most part, handed Catholic schools over to qualified lay leaders without mentoring or understanding of the philosophy or reason for the Catholic school. How is it essentially different from other schools and how will it be kept different? The answer is not the religion class, Cross on the wall, occasional Mass, and Christian service hours. Much less uniforms and fund-raisers. The school is no longer closed on “Holy Days.”
    I would benefit the information of a statistical study of how many lay presidents and principals and teachers in Catholic schools have a Catholic education. Far more difficult to document via survey is how that education has formed their understanding of the Catholic school and philosophy of education. I conjecture, and purely conjecture, that most Catholic school leaders, teachers, and volunteers have not “come through the ranks of Catholic education with an appreciation or understanding of Catholic education.” Educated lay men and women have presented themselves with resume and credential in-hand, credential under their belts, and the best of intentions in their wishes and have been hired. But they, in my experience, have not been mentored as they have become leaders of schools founded and formed by religious sisters, brothers, and priests.
    They have been given contracts and keys, they are given virtually free reign to govern the school as they were taught in, mostly secular, schools of education. Their biggest charge is to keep the school free from law-suits, sufficient in capital (by if necessary getting rid of old teachers who command high salaries and are teaching via old ides of educational methodology), winning in sports, with warm bodies in each classroom to balance the budget. Often and most often Catholic schools do not present the goal of the Catholic school; the formation of the next generation of Church as the Gospel is taught in every classroom giving life to and reason for each academic discipline and every activity. Every student ought to be able to say to each teacher: “But this isn’t the religion class!” Is such the case? Is it thought to be the outcome of Catholic education? Who has mentored the new generation of Catholic school leaders and educators and for what great good so that, at the end of the day, we can say: “Yes, the Catholic school system is still aiming at the Truth; The Love of Learning and the Desire for God the title of Jacques Leclercq’s master-piece?
    That, in my opinion is part of what is wrong with Catholic schools.

  • JimAroo

    Thank you for the inspiring article, Father Broom. I hope we we see more of you here and elsewhere on the internet.

  • Bra Cuba

    Truly
    beautiful! Thank you for being such a wonderful spiritual father. I recently read the Protoevangelium of James. Although
    not inspired writing, I found the
    work to be very moving and quite enlightening about Mary’s perpetual virginty
    and the birth of Jesus.