VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TO HER COUSIN ELIZABETH (Lk 1:39-45)

LK 1: 39-45

VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TO HER COUSIN ELIZABETH

Today’s Gospel was taken from Luke (1: 39-45). It is about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. The priest’s sermon in the Mass that I attended this afternoon has highlighted the mention about ‘Mary leaving in haste to meet her cousin, Elizabeth.’ The homily asked: ‘why did Mary have to leave in haste?’

Perhaps, one important conjecture that we could make as to why Mary had to see her cousin, Elizabeth, and she would even have to leave in haste, is to say that Mary perhaps, at this time, was also searching for a kind of explanation or meaning about her situation. We have of course heard of Mary’s fiat when she told the angel Gabriel, “Let it be done unto me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), but just like any normal person, she was also perhaps looking for a logical explanation about her situation. Why was she chosen? Why would she have to be pregnant when she had not known any man (Lk 1:34)?

One thing perhaps that we could learn from Mary’s predicament at this time is the fact that doubts do not necessarily equal to unbelief. In Mary’s case, it was quite clear, when she raised the question in verse 34, she already had the faith that moved her to pronounce the fiat in verse 38. Mary was and is always faithful. But, her faith does not also mean that she will not seek an explanation on was said to her by the Angel. Faith in this case does not take away the need to grapple with reason.

In the annunciation, Mary has given us an important lesson in faith. When we believe, it does not mean that we could no longer ask questions, and that we could no longer doubt. Sometimes, it is precisely our belief that may make us raise the questions and entertain some doubts. But the questioning and doubt of a believer is always one that leads to deeper faith, and not one that leads to faith’s abandonment. Such is Mary’s example in the annunciation.

The same perhaps can be said about the visitation. Mary is ‘leaving in haste.’ But why? Here we could see that the visitation account is a sequel of the annunciation. Even the questions of Mary revisit her at this moment. This could perhaps allow us to see why she needed to see Elizabeth. She needs to find answers for some of her questions, and Elizabeth is perhaps one of the best persons to go to.

Having conceived John at an age when Elizabeth thought that she could no longer get pregnant should not have also surprised Mary because that is basically the very same condition that she is in at the time of the visitation. The visit is an expression of trust, it’s an expression of a search, it speaks of a pilgrimage where the faithful engages himself in a pilgrimage towards the truth of the matter.

The visitation then also teaches us a thing or two. It first reminds us that we have many companions in our journey. There are many things in our life that may be difficult to explain. There could be many things in our life that is hard to bear, and some of them even would seem to be illogical. Mary’s gesture in her visit to Elizabeth invites us to trust others in our pilgrimage. Our stories may be personal, and could be owned by no one else but ourselves, but there are also stories in other peoples’ lives that are analogical to our own. In such case, it would be our conversations that will help us find the answers to some if not many of our questions. Though we might need to be cautious, we do not have to be afraid about mentioning our dilemmas to others.

Mary’s leaving in haste may have told us of the urgency of the search for explanations and answers. But, precisely, it is the act of ‘leaving’ that allows her ‘to arrive’ at Elizabeth’s house, and thereby bring the grace of Christ to Elizabeth while in return being bestowed with the kind of assurance that a co-pilgrim like Elizabeth could provide. Mary is inviting all of us to ‘leave’ or to ‘abandon’ many things in our life; where such ‘leaving’ becomes pre-requisite for our openness to other. We need not to be afraid to be exposed to vulnerabilities and uncertainties. What we need is to be reminded always that those deficiencies may not forever become a weakness. Our lack and deficiencies could sometimes be needed and are therefore instrumental in our journey to be able to commune with others, and therefore render ourselves open to the wisdom that only our co-pilgrims could provide.