Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

01Jun
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
  and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
  and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
  from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
  he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
  and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
  and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
  in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
  to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
-Luke 1:46-55


Today we observe the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A few months before these events, Mary had received a visit from the Angel Gabriel who had some astonishing news for her. Although just a young girl, she would conceive a child who would be called Son of God! What follows are among the most beautiful words we hear spoken in all of Scripture. Mary’s Magnificat. Mary rejoices that God is using what is obscure and lowly, namely her, to fulfill the promises made to Israel and her ancestors generations before. The powerful and the arrogant will be overthrown, not by violent rebellion, but through the coming of God in the weakness of a child. The signature of God’s mighty acts are the dramatic reversals whereby the proud are scattered “in the imagination of their hearts,” the powerful are cast down, the hungry are “filled with good things, and the rich are sent away empty.” 


Just before I began to write this, I had been reading the news on my phone. Doom scrolling it’s called these days. I know I shouldn’t look, but I do, and when I do, I find a news cycle filled with the predations of the arrogant and the powerful and the corrupt, those who seek to project strength through acts of violence and domination, those who have only contempt for the poor and the weak and the frightened. I felt discouraged. So I was in a pretty poor frame of mind when I sat down to write. And then I opened the Magnificat. Mary---anonymous and of no account, beneath the contempt of the elites of her day---this most unlikely young girl had been chosen by God to bear the savior of the world. As I read and reread and reread, Mary’s joy became infectious. Mary’s hope became my hope. The Great Reversal is unfolding in God’s good time. The arrogant will be humbled so they might draw closer to God. The violent will turn towards peace. The selfish will share their abundance with those who have less. That’s my prayer, anyway. And you know what? I have my role to play in the drama of the Great Reversal and so do you. May Mary’s hope be our hope, and may she be our inspiration and our companion on the Way. 


Musical Reflection - Let It Be - The Beatles


Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hope

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