Visitation (EN)

Today we contemplate the visitation of Our Lady to her cousin St. Elizabeth. First of all, we must ask ourselves what prompted Mary to visit Elizabeth? Our Lady receives the news that she is the mother of Our Lord and what does she do about it? She leaves home to help a relative of hers, a friend. To answer this question we have to go back in the scriptures, specifically to the Annunciation.

In this episode we see Our Lady saying that she is Our Lord's slave. In some translations the word “servant” is also used. But Our Lord is more than that. Although she also serves Jesus, the key point of this episode is the realization that Our Lady did not belong to herself, but to God, to something greater than herself. A total surrender takes place.

But how does this visit relate to us? The answer lies in the Ark of the New Covenant that Our Lady represents. Like her, we too can carry Jesus, to serve Him, to give ourselves totally. As we look at the Visitation we can realize our papal role as Christians, to bring Christ to people and to be, like Mary, Arks of the New Covenant.