December
21
Luke 1: 39-44
”When Elizabeth heard
Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb.."
.
Yesterday’s gospel was about the annunciation.
Today, we have the visitation. Annunciation and
visitation are two important events in the life of Mary. These are the first
two mysteries we try to meditate on every time we pray the joyful mysteries of
the holy rosary. Chronologically, let us try to follow the footsteps of Mary as she follows the mysterious
path of the Incarnation. With today's visitation account, we see her setting out for the town in the Hills of Judah.
1. “Joy unshared is joy incomplete,” goes
an old wisdom. Joy must have been the overwhelming feeling of Mary when the
message of the Incarnation was announced to her. She took the angel’s salutation to her literally, and responded to it
completely. Rejoice! And Mary indeed rejoiced. But what would this joy mean were she just to keep it to
herself? She must share it to somebody. And that somebody must be the right
person who would understand, her or support her, or at least, listen to her.
That somebody was no other than her own kinswoman,
Elizabeth.
"When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the
baby leapt in her womb.” Mary was not in
vain. Even her simple greeting was enough for Elizabeth to rejoice. And not
only Elizabeth. Even that little life in her womb leapt for joy, too. Thus, "Elizabeth
was filled with Holy Spirit and,
giving a loud cry, said, ‘You are most
blessed among women..."
The joy that Mary brings has a tremendous impact
in the house of Zechariah. To Elizabeth, Mary's presence gives her mixed
feelings of reactions. But, the overwhelming
feeling that sums it all is the feeling of joy. Like Mary's reaction after the
angel's visit to her, Elizabeth is also filled
with joy upon Mary's visit unto her. Like Mary's, it is joy amidst wonder and
surprise. Like Mary's, it is joy amidst the feeling of unworthiness and
lowliness. But above all, like Mary's, such kind of joy
is a holy joy. It comes from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit filling
her very self. In fact, because of this,
Elizabeth could not help but outburst in a loud cry of praise.
2. But if ever both
Mary and Elizabeth should leap up for joy, it is because they have all the reason
to rejoice. Both of them receive heaven's
blessings beyond their wild imagining. And not only simple blessings do they receive. Their blessings are
edifying and saving. Look Elizabeth is barren and Mary is a virgin. But both of
them shall bear an offspring. So, for Elizabeth's part, she is now saved from
curse of heaven and from the condemning eyes of Jewish society. She even shares
the vocation of Sarah, Hannah and the barren wife of Manoa. And for Mary's part, she now becomes the fulfillment of
that solitary role of Isaiah’s virgin who
shall conceive and bear a son (cf Is 7:14).
The annunciation,
therefore, connects itself with the visitation. Mary had no difficult time to find her own ally,
the angel Gabriel himself uttered the name: Elizabeth.
But the messenger pointed Elizabeth to her not only as an ally but also as a sign
that the message was true. That Mary was to
conceive and bear a son is indeed going to happen to her because Elizabeth who was thought sterile is also in such
a situation. This is enough a reason for
Mary to visit Elizabeth. This is enough a reason for
both of them to rejoice.
3. Indeed, joy is no
complete when unshared. This is something spontaneous:
We need no one to tell us that we must do it, nor do we need someone to teach
us how to do it. Real joy naturally overflows to others,
for real joy is nothing else but the abundance of grace in the heart. Thus, no one can ever contain it all
by himself; no one can ever be that selfish as to deny it from others. For such
reason, it is redemptive by nature. In many ways, it is salvific. It saves man
from the slavery of selfishness, greed, envy, and all other forms of sin and malice. It
saves him from the false belief that salvation is attained through total
isolation, self-inflicted punishment and self-imposed sadness.
The visitation is a
perfect paradigm of shared happiness and joy. Mary shares her joy; Elizabeth
receives that joy. Joy offered and joy accepted is joy completed. But if ever
Mary and Elizabeth are able to experience
the joy of sharing joy itself it is because the Almighty has done great things unto them.