The Joyful Mysteries
Wednesday 13th May 2020
Second Joyful Mystery: The Visitation
‘Mary set out at that
time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of
Judah...Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her
womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and
said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?’
(Lk 1: 39-45)
I think we are all very familiar
with the famous portrait of Henry VIII painted by Holbein the younger. The
phrase, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, is very true;
Especially, when we look at Henry!
Here stands a man who wants to be seen as no mere mortal. From the fine fur
lined coat to the opulent jewel encrusted chains and garter, Henry proudly,
loudly and unabashedly proclaims ‘I am King!’. His stance is strong, his facial
expression is confident and smug, and the blatant revealing of the dagger is
menacing. There is no trace of humility anywhere on this canvas. What makes
this Tudor king more exacerbating is that when Holbein painted the ‘cocky
monarch’ between 1536-1537, Henry had committed numerous crimes against God and
his fellow man! This painting portrays an ego bursting with self-assertion at
the achievements of the ‘I’ and ‘Me’ and all at the cost of the ‘other’.
What would a portrait of Our Lady
look like? What would be the expression on her face? How would she be dressed?
What position would she have taken for the artist at her sitting? Though we
have no such portrait in paint or oils we can still see Our Mother very clearly
in the words of Scripture. Every page and word rather than brushstroke or
etching, paints the image of Mary who is the model of faith for us to aspire
and emulate.
Today’s mystery of the Visitation
paints a portrait of humility, a virtue that Jesus taught us all to embrace.
‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles
himself will be exalted.’ (Lk 14:11). We see our Lady as the very
embodiment of humility in this mystery, not by words but by actions. Actions
that speak louder than words! Humility is that virtue which recognises our total
dependence upon God. No matter our skills, gifts and talents all of these are
from God. No matter our personal achievements and the blessings we have, all
these are from God.
St. John Vianney described humility
perfectly when he wrote:
‘Who can contemplate the
immensity of a God without humbling himself into the dust at the thought that
God created heaven out of nothing, and that with one word he could turn heaven
and earth into nothing again? A God who is so great, and whose power is
boundless; a God filled with every perfection; a God with his never-ending
eternity, his great justice, his providence, who rules everything so wisely,
and looks after everything with such care, and we a mere nothing!’
There is a medieval spiritual
classic, still in print today, known as the ‘The Imitation of Christ’ by
Thomas á Kempis. Again, the virtue of humility is described in regards to our
relationships with others.
‘Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you
be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in
your good deeds, for God’s judgements differ from those of men and what pleases
them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so
that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone
else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble
live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and
frequent anger.’
The portrait of Mary in this Joyful
Mystery paints a thousand words. She has been chosen to be the Mother of God.
The Saviour and Messiah will be born to her. Of all women she is the most
blessed. Of all mothers blessed is the fruit of her womb. Of all women she is
the one chosen by God and full of His grace. Yet the first thing she does after
having this wonderful blessing from God is to go out and serve.
Mary’s actions after the
Annunciation are not to boast or makes demands on others because of her status
and unique privilege. She makes the arduous journey to serve Elizabeth. The
Mother of God walks miles and miles to care for her cousin who is expecting her
own new born. Mary comes to Elizabeth’s home not as a visiting monarch but as a
humble and lowly handmaid.
It is after this action of humble
service that we then hear Mary’s words which embody the virtue of humility. Her
prayer, found in Luke’s Gospel, is called the Magnificat.
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid...’ (Lk 1:46-48)
Our Lady acknowledges that she is
poor when she refers to herself as ‘his lowly handmaid’. She is poor because
she brought nothing into the world. Her life, her faith, her blessings and her
hopes are all from God and God alone. Mary joyfully proclaims her poverty
because through it God had made her rich and bountiful. In her nothingness she
has everything. In her poverty she has had no distractions or false gods and
therefore has been able to see clearly the hand of God in her life. Everything
received freely and lavishly from the Lord, Mary has welcomed and given joyful
praise, a praise that naturally flows into humble actions and thankful deeds.
First Single Bead: Our
Father
Let us pray during this mystery that
we may embrace the virtue of humility which is always the first stage of the
spiritual life.
Ten Beads: Hail Mary for
each one
As we contemplate the humble service
of Mary, the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, to her cousin Elizabeth let us
ask ourselves some questions. Are we humble? Do we recognise that everything we
have is from God? If we were to have our portrait painted what would it say to
the viewer? Is this the true image we wish to leave the world or do we need to
humbly start a new canvas and begin again? What is our Magnificat? What are we
thankful to God for? Are we selective and prejudice in the people we choose to
serve? Does service depend on how much effort it involves for us
personally?
Single Bead: Glory be
As we pray the Glory Be today, let
it be a prayer of thanks to God the Holy Trinity for his saving love and mercy.
In the Fatima Prayer may it be an act of love for others and we remember that
today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Tomorrow we will meditate on the third Joyful Mystery, The
Nativity.
God Bless and keep praying. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Fr. O’Brien