Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 31, 2024
“Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
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 and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.”
Initially proclaimed in 1389 by Pope Urban VI, today’s Marian Feast of the Visitation was ultimately moved from July 2 to May 31 in 1969 to better align with the unfolding of the gospel narrative. Today, we read Luke’s account of Mary’s mission of loving service.
Having learned that she would become the Theotokos, the God-bearer, young Mary set out in haste to see and help care for her kinswoman, Elizabeth. Contemporary iconographer James Janknegt’s golden-hued take on “The Visitation,” painted in 2008, incarnates the moment Elizabeth felt the child within her womb jump with Spirit-filled exaltation.
Janknegt depicts both expectant mothers embracing, but the children we see in their wombs are grown men. We meet John the Baptist, indeed jumping for joy, but in the way that we will come to know him in scripture: clothed in camel hair and preparing the way for the Messiah. In Mary’s womb, we witness Jesus, our Prince of Peace. He dons a crown, his hand extended in greeting of peace.
Gazing at and praying with Janknegt’s icon offers a sacramental way to fully understand the profound truth of Mary’s “Magnificat.” Our Lady’s hymn of praise is born anew in our hearts, challenging us to proclaim in our own ways the tremendous blessings God has poured into our lives.
On this day, I celebrate the greatest of my personal blessings: the anniversary of my marriage to Greg. When we processed down the aisle of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 1986 and offered our sacramental vows, we could never have imagined how God would pour so many graces into our hearts. My daily walk with my best friend invites me to serve him and to be served by him just as Mary accompanied Elizabeth with love, charity, and hope.
As Mary and Elizabeth were, we are all richly blessed. Such blessings invite us to draw ever closer to God, one another, and the world around us with a love that is ever-tender, strong, and true.
Prayer
Blessed and praiseworthy are you, O God. In your divine wisdom, you raised the Immaculate Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body, and soul to the glory of heaven. May we, too, find our eternal home in your kingdom with you, your Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.