The Visitation

Jean Bourdichon, The Visitation
From the Grandes Herures d'Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), c. 1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, fol. 36v

“During those days 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.”

(Luke 1:39-45) Gospel for the Wednesday of the Fourth Week of vent, Weekday Cycle 1

 

Mary's journey to the home of her cousin, Elizabeth, figures largely in the story of the birth of Jesus.  It is sparked by Gabriel's response to Mary’s very sensible objection of her own virginity to his message about becoming a mother. 

“Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”  (Luke 1:34-37)

It is, apparently, in response to this miracle that Mary accepts what the angel has told her and says the fateful words: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”  (Luke 1:38)  It is at this point, with her acceptance, that is the moment of the Incarnation.

Mary’s first thought is about Elizabeth.  We may assume that, in addition to some concern about a late-life pregnancy for her cousin, Mary is also a bit desirous of proof of the things the angel had said to her.  Could it have been real?  Was it something she imagined?  Seeing Elizabeth, seeing her pregnant, could have been a key in her understanding of what had just happened to her.  For, if Elizabeth was in her sixth month, perhaps she really was carrying the Son of God herself. 

Consequently, Elizabeth’s reaction to Mary’s arrival held great importance for her.  Elizabeth’s joy and her words of ecstatic welcome suggested that Mary had not been having a dream, that the angel’s arrival and startling message were real, not a figment of her imagination.  It is, therefore, a very important moment in the story of Mary’s acceptance of her astonishing new role in life.  And it prompted from her the wonderful, exuberant canticle known as the Magnificat, recited daily during the Liturgy of the Hours at the Office of Vespers. 

“And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55)

The event of the Visitation was adopted as the second of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and, as such, has been meditated on by Catholics for centuries.

Artists have depicted the meeting many times in different ways.  There are several iconographic traditions about which I have written extensively.  For convenience, I have summarized them below, with links to the relevant articles.

The Visitation

·       The Joyful Mysteries, The Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation Part I – The Simple Greeting (click here)

·       The Joyful Mysteries, The Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation Part II – The Kneeling Elizabeth (click here)

·       The Joyful Mysteries, The Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation Part III – Acts of Blessing (click here)

·       The Joyful Mysteries, The Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation Part IV – Visible Babies (click here)

·       The Joyful Mysteries, The Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation Part V – The Magnificat (click here)

© M. Duffy, 2022

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.