Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - With the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary we concluded the month of May, a Marian month par excellence. In this salvific event, which we frequently contemplate in the recitation of the Holy Rosary, we are amazed at the working of the Holy Spirit so powerfully present in the heart of Mary, who seems to want to pour out into Elizabeth and her child (John).
The actions, the words, the concrete event, everything speaks of this extraordinary working of the sanctifying Spirit of Jesus who, through Mary, 'descends' upon all to whom She is sent.
It is typical of Mary, as Montfort reminds us, to draw upon hearts consecrated to Our Lady a special coming of the Holy Spirit and His gifts. Elisabeth is the first to be visited by this grace, with a concrete experience; not only Elisabeth but also the child still “hidden” in her womb, John the Baptist, experience this power of Jesus' Spirit of through the closeness of Mary. He goes to them through Mary's Immaculate Heart.
What a great mystery this is! Our Lady, driven by the Holy Spirit, with Whom she has a wedding bond, opens the way for hearts to reach Jesus. Her maternal mediation, as the Servant of God John Paul II used to say, is just as visible and tangible in the mystery of the Visitation as in that of Cana.
Elisabeth is inspired and exclaims: “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” (Lk 1, 43). Her exclamation which was “loud” Luke tells us, rises from the heart like a stream of pure clear water from a mountain source; John the Baptists makes it his won and leaps for joy: “ Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy ” (Lk 1, 44). How can we not long to be visited by Mary! So great is the Gift she carries and so full the joy which invades the souls who allow themselves to be reached by this Mother!
The Holy Spirit is Mary's secret, the extraordinary power of her countless “visitations” through the history of salvation starting with that first Visitation at Ain Karim! This was recalled by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI on the feast of the Visitation who told the Church and the world who Mary is: “The Holy Spirit, who made the Son of God present in the flesh of Mary, dilates her heart to the dimensions of that of God and leads her on the path of charity... Jesus had just begun to take form in the womb of Mary but His Spirit had already filled her Heart, so the Mother begins to follow her divine Son: on the road from Galilee to Judea it is Jesus who ‘leads' Mary, filling her with generous impetus to go to others in need, with the courage to overlook her own legitimate needs, difficulties, the danger for her life. It is Jesus who helps her overcome everything letting herself be led by the faith which operates through charity (cfr Gal 5,6)” (Benedict XVI, 31 May 2007).
It is wonderful to listen to what the Supreme Pontiff says about Mary: “the Holy Spirit dilates her heart to the dimensions of that of God ”! Here we grasp that exclamation of awe and joy for the wonders worked by God in Mary, which poured into that of Elisabeth and continues to pour into the hearts of believers in Christ.
The Holy Spirit wishes to place on all lips and all hearts the joyous testimony of those who know they are always accompanied by Our Lady on the path traced for us by the Lord Jesus. If we desire Mary's presence in our life and we invoke her with all our heart, we too will experience the joy of being visited by the Son of God who allows himself be carried to us, then and now, by the only Immaculate Heart, that of His Mother. Precisely because the Immaculate Heart of Mary does not “interfere” with or jeopardise the working of her Son, indeed she supports every action of his, even the most imperceptible, in order to bring to us Salvation. It is always the “breath” of the Holy Spirit which guides Mary, and the Church, Elisabeth and John in the first place, has experienced this for centuries.
With Saint Bernard we confidently turn to Mary with the famous Memorare prayer which Blessed Teresa of Calcutta used to recite nine time to obtain special graces: “Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help or sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to Thee do we come, before thee we kneel, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in Thy clemency, hear and answer me. Amen”. (Agenzia Fides 6/6/2007 - righe 57, parole 820)
