The Feast of the Visitation
Meditation by Sr Roseann Reddy

This is a remarkable feast in its simplicity and beauty. A feast of great joy, a feast of faithfulness and wonder. It has much to teach us. We are so familiar with the main event, with the meeting of these two great women, that it can be easy to miss the array of other happenings surrounding that event, which are also worthy of our reflection.

Receivers of the Message

Zechariah and Our Blessed Lady are both good people, pleasing in God’s sight, and yet how different their response to the Lord’s message brought by the Angel Gabriel!

Our Lady’s question, But how can this come about, since I am a virgin? is one of enquiry. She believes and only seeks understanding. Gabriel’s reply, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow, is enough for her to be able to reply wholeheartedly and unconditionally, Let what you have said be done to me. Zechariah’s reply, on the other hand, lacks faith. How can I be sure of this? He does not really believe, and points out the reasons why: I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years. He wants proof. Despite his privileged position as high priest, despite his scrupulosity in observing all the commandments and observances of the Lord, and his worthiness in God’s sight, Zechariah nevertheless does not believe that his prayers have been answered, even when told so by an Angel. He lacks faith, at least initially, in the shock of the moment.

In both situations the Angel Gabriel appears without warning. Mary is greatly disturbed and Zechariah is overcome with fear. Gabriel tells both of them, Do not be afraid. We too are constantly counselled in the Scriptures and through the teachings of the Church to be not afraid and yet, like Zechariah, we let fear take over. We too want to be sure of things. We want to know what will happen to us, what people think of us, what we should do – and all without the hard work of discernment and trusting faith in the Lord. Fearing ultimate responsibility, we want someone else to blame for the choices we make.

Yet through the gift of our free will we are responsible for the decisions and actions of our life. Circumstances and pressures, both good and bad, may influence us but, in the end, we like Mary and Zechariah have our part to play. Often, through weakness rather than wickedness, we make the wrong choices. We choose self over God or others and that always leads us away from God and from the profound inner peace that only he can give.

The Response

Mary and Zechariah both make their response to the Angel Gabriel’s message. Mary’s response is immediate and positive. Let what you have said be done to me. And her fiat, her response, is quickly translated into action. Aware that her cousin Elizabeth has also been greatly honoured by God, she goes quickly to visit her, to share the good news – one woman with child to another.

In her joy and wonder, her first thoughts and actions are for another. She who has become the mother of the Son of God knows, with Gabriel, that nothing is impossible to God. Her cousin Elizabeth has also acknowledged the Lord’s gift of the life of her son: the Lord has done this for me. How right, how magnificent, that these two women should come together to share their joy, to support one another and to thank God.

Conversely, Zechariah’s response is to doubt and seek a sign, a confirmation – how can I be sure? And now it is the Angel Gabriel who responds quickly. Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened. Zechariah must now ponder all these things in the silence of his own heart.

Just for a moment, try to imagine what Zechariah must be going through. There he is, devoutly, taking his turn in the temple. We know he is overcome with fear at the sight of the Angel Gabriel. So many things are going through his mind: how am I going to explain this? What does this really mean? Why me? Can this really be happening? Can it really be true? A child, a much longed for son, an end to our shame and sorrow… No wonder Zechariah panics and asks for proof. The Angel Gabriel’s response in silencing Zechariah might seem harsh to us. He has so much to say, so much explaining to do. Yet the truth is, he is not ready to fully share this vision, this promise he has received, which surely makes silence the most fitting response. He is given the grace of time – time to think before he speaks. How many times could we do with that particular grace? The people in the temple know that something has happened. They realised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary – but his sudden lack of speech remains a mystery.

Human and Divine Cooperation

What is Elizabeth’s reaction when Zechariah signals to her what the Angel has said? How does she react on hearing the news that she will bear a son? Unlike Mary who conceives through the action and power of the Most High, Elizabeth conceives through the more conventional method. In their act of married love and openness to new life, they truly and knowingly live out the Trinitarian image of sacramental married life and love. Elizabeth, Zechariah and God are all intimately and completely involved in the creation of the child John and the couple’s act perfectly reflects the meaning of love and sex as designed by God: two people, male and female, working in cooperation with their human nature to bond in the act of married love yet fully aware of God’s life-giving presence not just among them, but present with them – and he is welcomed because these are God fearing people, worthy in the sight of God. The Angel Gabriel, God’s messenger, sends Zechariah home to make love with his wife Elizabeth, and in this event we find a perfect example of the beauty, dignity and majesty of the Church’s vision of love and sex.

Within its proper context, sex is a wholly good God-given gift and reality. The proper and natural context for sex is within a life-long committed relationship (marriage) between one man and one woman open to new life as a gift from God and as a co-operation with his will. The act should always be one of love and openness, towards each other and God. Into this context children will be born who are loved and cared for within a family. Since time began, man has formed family units and to date, despite its many problems, it is still the foundation of civilised society.

It is such a sadness and loss that the power of God manifested in fruitful sexual intimacy is so seldom realised or acknowledged within marriage today. The joy of Zechariah and Elizabeth is alien to many. Whether acknowledged or respected, God is still present, in every act of love and in the creation of every new life. To know this and truly accept it brings untold joy and dignity to human relationships. Responding with heart, mind, soul and body to the Divine Life within us will always bring grace, fulfilment and peace, for God’s true living presence in our lives always adds and never detracts.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are rewarded for their faithfulness and trust and, through their active participation in the human act of love, a son is born. And when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy. Mary too conceives a son but, as a virgin, she co-operates directly with the will of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. The conception of her child is not driven by her nature or by any need for human affection. She acts wholly and unconditionally as a willing participant in God’s saving plan for the world. In her, Creator and creature meet and a new chapter begins in the history of the world.

First Encounters in the Human Domain

The Incarnation is breathtaking – God becomes man. Through the co-operation of a young girl who said yes to God and yes to the life of the child within her, the world will never be the same again.

And so to the actual Visitation. Mary and Elizabeth, two great women of faith, come together and already the attention shifts away from them as they recognise first of all their own children: the Saviour of the world and his greatest prophet. Two unborn children at the heart of history. They are present although unseen. The unborn child John becomes the first person after Mary to recognise the presence of Christ in the world, and he leapt for joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims one of the greatest prayers of all time, the Hail Mary. Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And Mary rejoices with wonder and awe at her motherhood.

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.
Holy in his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendents for ever.

So powerful, so magnificent, is Mary’s Magnificat that every day throughout the world it forms part of the Evening Prayer of countless bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay people. That way, we too may exult in God who loved us so much he sent his only Son for our salvation.

Emmanuel – God is with us

We may rightly assume that two pregnant women spending three months together and sharing such joy are not short of conversation!

Surely they must discuss Zechariah and Joseph. What has happened to Zechariah in the temple? What will become of him? What will Mary say to Joseph her betrothed? Will he still marry her? Will she be left alone and pregnant? What about their families and neighbours? How do you cope with the whole neighbourhood talking about you?

What will their futures hold? They know the natural anxieties of women due to give birth; the pressures of youth and of age; the reaction of husbands, family and community – but whatever they discuss, we can be sure of their absolute trust in God. He who has worked such miracles in these two humble and faithful women will keep them safe and guide them in their dealings with their men folk and families. And so they trust.

Despite every forthcoming heartache and sorrow, and knowing that the children they now carry inside them will suffer in this life, they nevertheless trust and rejoice in the fact that they will be with their children forever in eternity. Happy are they who believe! Their faith gives them courage, their courage gives them strength and their strength gives them the ability to love and to accept without question the will of God.

From the heart and mouth of Zechariah filled with the Holy Spirit we receive the other great canticle of the Office of the Church, the Benedictus, said every day at Morning Prayer. Zechariah, who was struck dumb by the power of God, regains his speech. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. And the Angel Gabriel’s words are now heeded unconditionally – and you must name him John. The naming of a child is such an important historical, cultural and family moment, so the people are all astonished, firstly that Elizabeth should speak up and, secondly, that Zechariah should confirm her demand that the child be named John.

He who knows first hand that the Lord keeps his promises thanks God for remembering his promise to his people and then, turning his attention to his newborn son, proclaims, And you, little child, you shall be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him. Zechariah acknowledges the Lord as the child Mary carries in her womb and understands that his son John is not the Messiah, despite the dramatic foretelling of his birth. He knows that his son’s task is to prepare the way.

During his imposed silence, Zechariah must have come even closer to God, reflecting ever more deeply on God’s will. For when the time comes, he is able to prophesy that John will prepare the way for the Lord by giving his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. The faith Zechariah lacked when the Angel Gabriel first appeared to him is now restored abundantly. He is now doubly rewarded for his faith: physically, in the return of his voice, and spiritually, by being filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaiming his prophetic canticle.

Called to Life

The events surrounding this great feast of the Visitation are only a part of the story of the history of mankind and the world. To understand the whole story we must go back to the beginning to ask the fundamental questions that have always stirred the human heart: what is it all about? Why am I here? Who am I? What is the real meaning of my life?

The simple answer is that each one of us is a precious child of God, made in his image and likeness. Each of us, like Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah and John the Baptist has been given a specific vocation that only we can fulfil. The first vocation of every human being, however, is to know, love and serve God; to recognise and acknowledge that we are creature and not Creator. We exist through no action of our own, but through the action of our parents who in co-operation with God and human nature, conceived us. Thus every moment of our existence happens at the will of God. We have no control over the beginning of our earthly life and, unless we commit suicide, we have no control over its end.

Where we can and must exercise our freedom is in that period after conception and before death. Christ said “I have come that you may life and life abundantly.” Our greatest challenge and joy is to grasp life in its fullness and live it abundantly but we will never be able to do that unless we acknowledge our Life-Giver – the power, control and direction behind all that has been, is and ever shall be, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

As we meditate upon the true meaning of this simple act of kindness in the Visitation, we see reflected the essence of the great commandment of God. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: you must love your neighbour as yourself.” We would do well to visit these words more often.

Visitation – Mary's Soul Proclaims God's Greatness
St. Bede the Venerable