A Tale of Two Unlikely Mothers: What The Visitation Reveals About Trust, Faith, and Sacrifice

My name is the visitation. That is the truth I took away from going to a religious vocations fair at Franciscan in the Spring of 2022 or 2023. And on every May 31 the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation where Mary, the Blessed Mother, visits her cousin, Elizabeth. Any Christian likely knows this event comes directly after the Annunciation so Mary is now pregnant. Both of these stories are unconventional to say the least yet each teaches a very important lesson about living your life with and for the Lord. So let's dive in.

Let's first look at the beginning of the story for Elizabeth. Her and Zachariah, though faithful, "they had not child., because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years" (Lk 1:7). This is very telling for this implies that this couple was elderly (potentially). The statement that Elizabeth was barren raises some interesting questions. It seems to imply, not just when she was old, but for the entirety of the marriage so perhaps a vast majority of her adult life. The bible doesn't directly say the reason for her infertility though I wonder if it could have been something like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or Endometriosis or any other condition in women which may lead to infertility. This can not be confirmed obviously, cause the Bible rarely names specific diseases (those like leprosy being an exception it appears). But regardless of the origins of her infertility, Elizabeth would not have ever been expected to get pregnant, especially as she'd elderly. yet, one day Zachariah goes into the Temple to go into the Holy of Holies, and is visited by the Angel Gabriel, after which he finds himself mute. What a surprise it must have been for Elizabeth when she found herself pregnant sometime shortly after this event ? The bible even says "for five months she hid herself saying, 'Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men'"(Lk. 1:25). It may feel strange at first that she hid, but Elizabeth's hiding doesn't seem to be from fear, but perhaps from a recognition of the strangeness of being older and pregnant, modesty perhaps made her withhold going out in public. Now, on to the story many know just as well, if not better, that of Mary, the Blessed Mother.

While Elizabeth was past childbearing years, Mary was in the midst of her own childbearing yeas, likely at the beginning of them. Betrothed to Joseph, Mary is, like Zachariah visited by the Angel Gabriel and informed of an impending miraculous pregnancy, but this time it will be Mary's own not someone else's. Now, Zachariah approached the news of Elizabeth's impeding miraculous pregnancy with very obvious skepticism (see Lk 1: 18), Mary responds with what may be called confusion, but curiosity, She asks '"How will this be, since I do not know man?''(Lk1:34). Now, slight aside, here it should be mentioned, the Catholic understanding of this verse is that Mary was a virgin before and after Jesus' birth, and even in Catholic tradition it has been noted Mary was a temple virgin and had taken a vow of chastity. Of course, then it is revealed that the Holy Spirit will cause this pregnancy to take place and then we see that the Angel Gabriel informs Mary of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Then comes the Visitation. Mary goes directly to visit Elizabeth, though it is not specified whether Joseph joined in this journey or if he too was at the house of Elizabeth and Zachariah. The only events that are mentioned in the Bible of Mary's time with her cousin, are the greeting and then the birth of John (though it is not directly specified that Mary was there the day John was born, one could presume it was after John's birth she left, not before). What great courage Mary had at returning to her own village, to Nazareth, whilst 3 months pregnant for it was certainly presumed she had committed adultery when she returned? It is even verified that this was the presumption (see Mt 1:18-19). Yet, her faith prevailed.

Mary and Elizabeth, the two unlikeliest of mothers, became the two most pivotal mothers in all of salvation history. The one, the mother of God, and of the savior, and the other the mother of the prophet whom announced the time of redemption and the presence of the savior. Elizabeth stayed faithful despite what was very much a cross, it would not be surprising given some other gospel stories, if she had to deal with others whispering about whose sins were being paid for by her lack of a child. Yet, it seems she still trusted the Lord was doing good in her life. The miraculous pregnancy must have been the most daunting thing for her, and she honored such a great gift, in a way that our world today would be perplexed by, she hid. What those five months were like, the bible does not report, but one can think there may have been much thanksgiving as well as much processing of such an unexplainable occurrence. What a great sacrifice too, though to be tended to by the one who was carrying the savior, even for a short time during your pregnancy. Elizabeth, perhaps wished to be of service to Mary, though she was incapable, for good reason, of doing so.

On to Mary, what a great sacrifice, though it may not have felt like one, for Mary to go so quickly to Elizabeth's side. She herself, must have known that in going away for three months there would be now way of avoiding the truth of her own pregnancy on her return. Not only that, but even if she experienced not pregnancy symptoms, traveling whilst pregnant couldn't have been easy. When Elizabeth greeted her, she immediately turned her joy toward God, thanking him for this miraculous event. She trusted in the Lord that what the Angel Gabriel was true. It's that kind of faith, trust, and sacrifice to some degree, I wish to emulate,

While I could try to unpack that, I won't here. Yet, I know that the Visitation has much to teach me and I will be forever thankful to that nun (whose name I really wish I could remember) for pointing out that my name is indeed the Visitation. Well Happy (soon-to-be) Feast of the Visitation!