It would seem that this feast of the Visitation would be
more appropriate in the season of Advent.
In fact, during advent we do hear the reading of visitation. The joy of expectancy, the joy of experiencing
what God is doing in our midst, the joy of bringing Christ to others as Mary,
with Christ, literally inside of her, brings the good news of the Saviors coming
to Elizabeth, whose child leaps for joy in her womb, these are typically themes
for the season of Advent, where we celebrate tidings of comfort and joy.
But on this this final day of May, the month dedicated to
our Blessed Mother, we honor Mary by this joyful feast of her visitation to her
kinswoman Elizabeth, conscious that joyfulness, cheerfulness, should permeate
the life of a Christian throughout the whole year.“Shout for joy, O
daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O
daughter Jerusalem!”.
The truth that “true joy is the surest sign of the presence
of God in the soul” has been testified by the Saints up and down the centuries,
particularly by the blessed Mother.
If you want to attract family members back to the Church,
show them that joy can be found here. If
you want to win converts for Christ, show them that joy comes from knowing and
following him, by having his life within you.
If you want to bring joy to the heartbroken, don’t just give them words
of kindness, give them Christ.
Saint Luke tells us that John “lept for joy in his mother’s
womb”. Luke’s Gospel uses that phrase
“leap for joy” one other time, in Luke’s version of the beatitudes. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people hate
you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on
account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and
leap for joy on that day! Behold, your
reward will be great in heaven”.
We know that the same child who leapt for joy in his
mother’s womb, John the Baptism, would be killed for spreading the word about Jesus,
and that his reward was heaven.
Even in the face of persecution and martyrdom the Christian
is able to rejoice because inextinguishable life is already inside him.
We honor the blessed Mother today, knowing that she will
help us come to know the joy of being Christian, when we, like her live lives
of self-forgetful charity. Countless
saints have discovered the secret to authentic joy, in becoming like Mary,
bringing Christ to others while serving them in their needs, for the glory of
God and salvation of souls.
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