Today’s Gospel: Luke 1:39-56 – Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today ends the month of Our Lady with an often underappreciated Marian feast: the Visitation. After the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel, the gospel today tells us that Mary left “in haste” to go visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with St. John the Baptist.
Two common Eastern Orthodox titles of Mary are Theotokos and Christotokos. The titles mean “one who birthed Christ” or “Christ-bearer.” I love that second translation. The first thing St. Luke tells us Mary did after conceiving Jesus was to bring Him to St. Elizabeth. Even before He was born, Mary wanted to share the joy of the Incarnation.
Mary was likely in her first trimester – a time of nausea and exhaustion for most mothers. But that didn’t stop her from being completely selfless and sharing Christ with those she loved.
Hopefully this month, we all learned more about Mary and were able to draw closer to her. After all, she is the first, and most perfect, disciple. It is impossible to fail by following her example.
But we don’t follow her example because she is some sort of Wonder Woman-style superhero. She didn’t save people from burning buildings or fight heroically in wars. She simply did the small selfless things every day. Today’s feast shows her having every right to lay around and feel miserable (that’s what I tended to do in the first trimester), but instead, she “bears Christ” – “in haste”, no less – to the world.
Even before Jesus was born, Mary had to share the joy of the Incarnation. By @hillyanne_t
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Ponder:
How can I imitate Mary and “bear Christ” to my family and friends today?
Pray:
Mother of God, bearer of Christ to the world, help us follow your example of selflessness. Help us say “yes” in every way that God calls us to bring Christ into our lives and the lives of those around us.
Copyright 2018 Hilary Thompson
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