Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I love reading the parts of the gospel where people meet Jesus and they "just know" that he is the one they've been looking for. Maybe that's because for most people in the Bible, as well as in our contemporary world, seeing Jesus for who he really is, is pretty complicated. The Pharisees and Sadducees sure don't recognize him; even his own disciples have a hard time seeing him sometimes. But in today's gospel lesson (Luke 1:39-56), Elizabeth, and her unborn baby, John the Baptist "just know" that this is Jesus.
The great benefit of "just knowing" in this kind of way is that you can relax a bit and be joyful, even when others might wonder why on earth you would be full of joy. Mary, pregnant, nearly divorced by her husband and sent away to Elizabeth for a few months (perhaps to let the problem of her pregnancy die down a bit back home?) is not anxious about the situation. As for Elizabeth - I imagine her to be a bit like one of my aunts, an older kinswoman on the verge of scolding Mary for screwing up, getting pregnant and ruining her life. Except that John leaps in her womb and that changes the whole situation. Thus, the great joy of the gospel passage is mirrored by the Old Testament text that can be read at today's mass (Zephaniah 3:14-18a).
Have you ever "just known" that God was present and at work in your life? Has that brought you grace and joy? I remember being in Rome on this date six years ago; Joel and I were visiting St. Peter's Basilica just as the museum was about to close. We left the museum and immediately noticed that a long line was forming outside the gates. The guards were shooing all the museum and basilica visitors away but that line still stood there. So we decided to join in; we waited for two hours, and kept wondering if we ought to leave but felt compelled to stay. We did not know Italian or any of the other languages that were being spoken so couldn't figure out what was going to take place.
Eventually the crowd moved; we all received candles and rosary cards. We (about five thousand of us) processed through the Vatican Gardens, saying the Rosary and meditating on the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. It was a grace-filled event in so many ways: we met many wonderful people from all over; we had a chance to see the Vatican Gardens; we ended up at the Grotto, where Pope Benedict XVI offered a blessing to all of those gathered. God graced us with this event; we were truly blessed to be part of the Church Universal on this day six years ago.
On this day, is God acting in your life in ways that you "just know" but perhaps you've been ignoring? Are there some joyful things you haven't yet celebrated in your life? Let us take today to celebrate the joy of God's presence in your life.
- Jana M. Bennett