ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED


THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP 

Zeph 3:14-18; Isa 12; Lk 1:39-56

The Most Blessed of all women

We celebrate the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. The Church celebrates the glories of the Blessed Virgin Mary at every turn to recommend her to us as our mother and to urge our veneration and imitation of her numerous virtues. The gospel reading presents her swift and joyful response to heavenly tidings. The Blessed Virgin Mary does not just meditate on the word of God, but she acts on the word at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The preceding event of the Annunciation by the archangel Gabriel left her brimming over with joy and heavenly grace. Thus, full of grace and joy, she thought of someone to share the plenitude of grace with; she moved swiftly to the hill country of Judah to share her grace and joy with her old cousin who, according to the archangel Gabriel, was also a recipient of the God’s special favour. The scripture has the documentation of this encounter because of its importance for our better understanding of divine actions and knowledge of the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her swift and hurried ascent to the hill country of Judah was not to show off in any way what God has done for her; No, but to rejoice with Elizabeth over her good fortune: conception of a baby in her old age.

Like Sarah and other women who enjoyed similar favour from God, it is obvious that Elizabeth was hiding her good fortune in her house, ashamed to appear in public. It was already six months since she conceived, and Mary heard nothing about it until the archangel revealed it to her to re-enforce her faith, it would seem. But, on a deeper consideration, the revelation was to stage the encounter between the two women as recorded in the gospel. “She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” We are celebrating this event that is of great importance to us, for it reveals and confirms the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in human salvation. The Maiden and her Son restored the lost grace to us men. The Law and the prophets completed their prefiguration in the presence of Mary and her Son, and the new dispensation of grace came into operation, witnessed by John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth. The joyful leap of the child in the womb and Elizabeth’s filling with grace were indicators of the fullness of grace that characterises the Blessed Virgin Mary, as revealed by archangel Gabriel’s greeting. Mary had the fullness of grace even before the conception of the Word in her womb. We are to be with her always to enjoy the fullness of grace furnished by the incarnation of the Eternal Word.

This singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary is expressed by Elizabeth under the influence of the Holy Spirit. “She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” Among all women Mary is blessed the most because she carried our Lord in her womb; she gave him a body offered or sacrificed for our redemption. For this, we owe her a debt of gratitude. Above all, we are to consider the great work God accomplished in her for our salvation. God indeed is great in her, as the prophet Zephaniah announced long before it happened: “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.” The appearance of the Woman and her Son is a sure sign that the enemies are driven away from this enclosure, for God created the enmity from the beginning. Mary herself recognised the great work God had accomplished in her and praised God for it. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.” We keep contemplating these great things to praise God for the salvation he has granted us.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, who, while the Blessed Virgin Mary was carrying your Son in her womb, inspired her to visit Elizabeth, grant us, we pray, that, faithful to the promptings of the Spirit, we may magnify your greatness with the Virgin Mary at all times.


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