Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May 31, 2019
Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, when a newly-pregnant Mary travels to be with her shockingly pregnant older cousin, Elizabeth. Although a universal feast, it is certainly a feast for women to treasure.
The Gospel is replete with the quiet but powerful understandings women share with one another:
- the haste to support one another
- the blessing and bolstering of each other’s faith
- the shared joy to cause a baby’s leap in the womb
- the desire for mercy and justice for the suffering
- the “staying with” until need’s end
Of course, men too experience many of these holy sensibilities, but today most certainly invites women to celebrate the gifts of God within their bodies, minds and spirits.
Perhaps we might pray on these things while watching this movie clip of the imagined scene:
Music: Two selections for this wonderful Feastday:
Ave Maria (Schubert) sung in German, as Schubert wrote it, by the incomparable Marian Anderson
Magnificat (Bach) Imagine composing this powerful first movement based on only a single word: “Magnificat”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfJ4Sdy0JSU&feature=youtu.be
Lavish Mercy 