The First Visitation

"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..."
Luke 1:41-42a

     Tonight, we celebrate the first Visitation of the year. It is an exciting time for all! Although, I must admit one thing that some may not know...that God has truly blessed us. (1) God has given us the opportunity to gather on a Friday night to praise Him rather than glorifying the things of this world, (2) It being the month of Mary, we have an opportunity to follow Her example, and (3) we remember the Visitation, the second Joyful Mystery, where Elizabeth proclaims the Hail Mary for the first time and we learn to praise God through that proclamation.

     But we should go back to the passion of our Lord, where He gave ALL of Himself to us. He gave us all of His mind in the Agony in the Garden, his humanity in the Scourging at the Pillar as if he were an animal. He gave us his humility and denial of earthly crowns through His crowning of thorns, all of His patient endurace in the Carrying of His Cross, and ultimately his life on the cross through the Crucifixion. But before He could leave this earth, before He could give His entire heart to us, before He could say "it is finished," He had one thing left to give to us--His Mother. It is only in giving us His Mother ("Son, behold your mother. Mother, behold your son.") that Jesus could truly give us His whole heart, for their Hearts are so intimately connected. By why did He choose His Mother to be the last gift to us before His last breath?

     I believe we must go back to the beginning of the story. In the Annunciation, (where the angel Gabriel greets Mary, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!") Mary teaches us how to accept the Lord's Will in humility, to say "yes" to all--the glory, the suffering. And then, in the Visitation, we see Elizabeth honor our Lady with the must beautiful greeting ("Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!"). And Mary's only reaction is to praise God for his faithfulness to Her and His people. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior."

     Thus, we can see Jesus giving Mary to us to teach us how to praise God. That in the moment we feel the leap of Jesus within our Hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit, we should automatically give complete praise to God. And so, in every age that we pray the Hail Mary, Mary is teaching us how to praise God as she did. For this reason, we end every decade of the rosary with the Glory Be--"Glory be to the FATHER, and to the SON, and to the HOLY SPIRIT, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen." In every moment, Mary is the portal to which we receive Christ's love.
     So tonight, as we approach the Lord in Holy Adoration during The Visitation, we are asking Mary to teach us how to praise Her Son. May all of heaven join in with us this night as we seek to worship God with all that is within us. And may you join us as well in giving your life to the Lord.

Please see yesterday's blog for more information on the Visitation tonight.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Posted by: Jared R.