The Visitation
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The Proto-Pentecost
The Visitation, the second joyful mystery, is sometimes called the first Pentecost.
Remember what happens at Pentecost? Mary is there, the Holy Spirit is there, and the two of them together bring Jesus into the souls of the disciples gathered in the Upper Room.
That’s what happens at the Visitation: Mary and the Holy Spirit come to the house of Zachariah and when Mary and the Holy Spirit come to Elizabeth and John, John dances and Elizabeth sings with joy because Jesus, the Savior of the World has come to them.
At the Visitation, we see Mary in all her splendor. Elizabeth blesses her, acknowledging her as the “Mother of My Lord”.
Isn’t it tragic how many Christians refuse to bless Mary? Isn’t it sad how many fail to recognize Her as the Mother of the Lord, as the one who is blessed by her faith?
Even when Jesus was still in the womb, the first ones to receive Him responded by praising His Mother. And shall we do less than that?
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The Joy of Mary
The Mother of God is very often depicted as the Mater dolorosa, the sorrowful mother. We think of her in the pieta’, or at the foot of the cross, we see images of her with her heart pierced by thorns.
But we mustn’t forget that here, in the Magnificat, where we hear more words from Mary than in any other place in Scripture, what she expresses is not sorrow, not broken grief, but pure, heavenly joy.
“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 remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
So what can Mary, here at the visitation, tell us about joy?
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Mary’s Joy in Her Humility
One of the primary foundations for Mary’s joy is her littleness. She is the queen of heaven and earth, she is the mother of God, she is the most perfect of all created persons. Yet, how does she think of herself? As a humble handmaid. As a lowly servant. And when you know you are small, you can’t help but be astonished and grateful for all the great things the Lord does for you.
Let’s put it another way. You can’t be happy if you take yourself too seriously, if you don’t take yourself lightly.
Mary teaches us humility. Humility has two parts. Firstly, God the divine King of the universe has made us his sons and daughters. Humility is to live with the strength, confidence and dignity of a son or daughter of God. Secondly, apart from God we are nothing. We have limitations. We cannot be perfect. We need others. But God loves me, and He has done great things for me, and if He wants, He can even do great things through me!”
Well, that’s pretty exciting. That’s pretty great. That should make you happy. That should make you rejoice in the Lord.
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Mary’s Thoughtfulness for Someone Else
Why did the Visitation happen in the first place?
Because, if you remember, when Gabriel was telling Mary that she was going to be the Mother of the Messiah, he also mentioned that Elizabeth was pregnant. So what does Mary do? What’s her first impulse? To figure out how she’s going to navigate her own situation? To start nesting, or arranging things for her own new and all-important child?
Actually, no. She is so excited about the wonderful blessing God has done for her cousin Elizabeth, that she rushes off to visit her.
That’s the second great secret to joy, to be thrilled when something good happens for somebody else.
If you love someone else, then your capacity for joy gets bigger because you can delight not only in the good things that happen to you, but the good things that happen to them.
Can we do that? Can we stop comparing our situation with other peoples, stop seeing our goods as somehow in competition with each other? Can we try to be as happy for someone else as we are for ourselves?
Then we’ll know how to be happy like Mary.
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Mary’s Appreciation for God’s surprising deeds
Most importantly, Mary rejoices in the Lord and in the Great Things He Has Done. How does she do that? By paying attention to how surprising God’s goodness is.
God defies human logic, human expectations.
He pulls down the mighty, he raises up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Those who were self-satisfied now realize they’re missing everything, and those who were longing for more, who felt their faults and their defects, those are the ones who are going to find happiness.
God turns the world on its head. God comes down to earth, man rises up to heaven. Everything goes topsy-turvy. He’s a good God, He’s an exciting God. He keeps you guessing, but it’s always a brilliant, beautiful production.
If you meditate, if you pray, if you “ponder in your heart” like Mary did, you will see the surprising goodness of God in the Scriptures, in history, in the Church, in your life, in the lives of your friends and family, and you will rejoice in the Lord. For the Almighty has done great things for all of us. And holy is His name.