Saints for today, May 31: The Visitation of the Virgin Mary

Every May 31, the Church celebrates the feast of the “Visitation of the Virgin Mary” to Saint Elizabeth, her cousin, who was also in a state of good hope.

This celebration closes the month of May, dedicated to our Mother in Heaven. It is, therefore, a beautiful detail provided by the Church to crown the exercises of piety or the expressions of love that we have been carrying out throughout the month.

During May we have accompanied the Virgin in the joyful days of Easter; We have celebrated her in the Advocation of the Virgin of Fátima and, recently, we have been next to her celebrating Pentecost. Although, perhaps, it is better to say that it was She who was by our side all the time, educating us in the faith. Each prayer of the Rosary, each Litany to the Virgin, each prayer of her in front of her holy image has been an important gesture so that we love her more, know her better and keep her more in mind for the rest of the year.

May God grant us the gift of loving Mary as Jesus loved her!

Knowing our Mother

The feast of the Visitation is essentially an invitation from the Lord to contemplate the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, who came out to meet Elizabeth to put herself at her service – remember that Elizabeth was pregnant and an older woman.

At the same time, it is a renewed opportunity to consider the call to live ‘generous love’ – love that springs from within us when Jesus dwells within us. Mary on the way to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth is clear evidence that the Mother of God never closed in on herself but that she was always sensitive and attentive to the needs of others. She set out to serve in the household chores without showing off anything; María comes with simplicity, moved by love for her cousin.

Mary comes to visit your heart

According to the Gospel story, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the Mother of Jesus, Redeemer of the world. He would later reveal to her that her cousin Isabel was pregnant despite her age. God worked with greatness before everyone and aroused the loving response of the human being: the Virgin came out of her to help her pregnant relative, the one who would be the mother of John the Baptist, and stayed with her for a period of three months. .

This kind gesture reminds us that Mary, as the mother that she is, loves each one with a particular love. On the other hand, she evokes the commission that she will receive on Calvary (cf. Jn 19, 26-27) by which we know that she will never abandon any of her children.

In this way, the maiden chosen by God has become a perfect example of how we too should go out to meet our neighbors: carrying Jesus in our hearts.

Let us not lose hope, on the contrary: the first one who wants to help us have Jesus within is the Virgin. Call her without hesitation! Receive it at your home! A mother like Ella should never refuse.

Mary, teacher of prayer

Just as Our Lady invites us to serve, she also invites us to pray. Two important prayers emerge from the texts corresponding to the episode of the Visitation: the second part of the Hail Mary and the song of the Magnificat.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, “the child jumped in her womb. Then Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed with a loud voice: ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But how is it possible that the mother of my Lord comes to visit me? For as soon as I heard your greeting, the child leaped for joy in my womb’” (see Luke 1:39-56).

Mary, servant of the Lord, responds by praising God for his wonders: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, because he has seen the humiliation of his slave…” (Lk 1, 47-48).

‘Channel of Grace’

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, regarding the passages considered, pointed out that “from then on Mary was constituted as an ‘immense channel’ through which the goodness of God sends towards us the most admirable quantities of graces, favors and blessings.”

Gospel of the day (Lk 1, 39-56)

In those days, Mary hurried to a town in the mountains of Judea and, entering the house of Zechariah, greeted Elizabeth. As soon as she heard Mary’s greeting, the creature jumped into her womb.

Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and raising her voice, she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to see me? As soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child jumped for joy in my womb. Blessed are you who have believed, because what was announced to you from the Lord will be fulfilled.”

Then Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit is filled with joy in God, my savior,
because he set his eyes on the humility of his slave.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,
because he who can do everything has done great things for me.
Holy is his name
and his mercy reaches from generation to generation
to those who fear it.

He has made the power of his arm felt:
scattered the haughty in heart,
dethroned the potentates
and exalted the humble.
He filled the hungry with good things
and the rich he sent away with nothing.

Remembering his mercy,
He came to the aid of Israel, his servant,
As I had promised our parents,
to Abraham and his descendants,
forever”.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned home.

…

If you want to delve deeper into the meaning of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, we recommend this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Visitacion_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary.

More information: