When the Angel left her, Mary's thoughts seem to have been fixed, not, as we should have expected, on the part of the heavenly message which concerned herself, but on what had been incidentally revealed to her about her cousin Elizabeth. What a total oblivion of self there is in Mary and what charity! She picks out just the little bit of the message that concerns somebody else, decides that it is not for nothing that she has been told this—it may be that her cousin has need of her; and so, instead of giving herself up to dwelling on the great things that have been said and done to her, she rises up in those days and goes into the hill country, with haste, to pay a visit of charity. And she takes Jesus with her.
Mary is my model, and I can surely find some lessons to study here. One is that charity passes before everything, even sometimes before spiritual exercises and contemplation and meditation, going to Mass and Benediction. I see too that though I must be ever mindful of God's benefits, I need not dwell too much—if at all—on the interior graces He has given to my soul; on any words of praise—though they may have come almost directly from Himself; on any piece of work that He has effected through my instrumentality. It is far more wholesome to be rising up to go to the next duty, starting forth into the hill country of difficulties, if need be, and thus taking my thoughts off myself by doing something for somebody else. I shall not, by thus acting, lose any of the graces or any of the sweetness, for I shall take Jesus with me, and together we shall face the difficulties of the next bit of life's journey.
Point II.—Mary's Salutation
She saluted Elizabeth. We are not told what this salutation was, but we know that words were spoken, because Elizabeth heard them. "The voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears," she says. It was probably just the form of salutation customary among the Jews: "The Lord is with you!" But what a different meaning the words have on Mary's lips! She, the Mother of the Word Incarnate, has brought Him with her to the house of Zachary. The Lord Himself is indeed there in a way that He has never been before. John the Baptist, yet unborn, understands the salutation, and leaps to adore his God; and at that moment Jesus, Whose work on earth has already begun, cleanses His Forerunner from the stain of original sin. Elizabeth also understands in what sense the words are spoken; for the Holy Ghost, Who has been doing great things for her too, has communicated to her the heavenly secret about the Mother and the Child. She is expectant and ready for her Visitors, and when Mary gives her wondrous salutation: "The Lord is with you," filled with the Holy Ghost she answers: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb"; and then she thinks of the great honour which God is showing to her home by permitting Mary with her Child to visit it. "Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" Next she tells Mary of the joy that has been caused within her, and adds: "Blessed art thou that hast believed, for all that the Lord hath spoken about the Child will now be accomplished."
Thus Mary receives the blessed assurance that all is true—not that she doubted, and not that she needed any confirmation, but it must, nevertheless, have been a comfort to her to hear herself called "The Mother of my Lord," and that by one who had not heard the news from any human lips.
It was because Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Ghost" that she saw all so clearly and believed that Mary was indeed the Mother of God. It is a truth which many people in the twentieth century have not yet grasped. The reason is that they have not yet grasped the meaning of the Incarnation.
"Nos cum prole pia benedicat Virgo Maria." ("May Mary the Virgin bless us with her Holy Child.")
Point III.—Mary's Third Word
St Bernardine describes this third word as a "flame of communicating love" (flamma amoris communicantis.) No sooner has Mary become "the Mother of fair love" than she wants to communicate that love to others—not to communicate her secret—no, of that she does not speak—but to let the flame of love, which is burning within her, reach others also. So it is not Mary only, but Jesus within her, Who "makes haste" to go into the "hill country." He is in a hurry to begin His work. It is Jesus, Divine Love, Who enters into the house of Zachary and salutes Elizabeth. It is the Heart of Jesus, burning already with love for sinners, which speaks to the heart of John. It is because God, Who for love of us men became incarnate, is communicating that love to her, that Elizabeth is able to grasp so clearly the mysteries by which she is surrounded. Ah, yes, Mary's third word is indeed one of communicating love, because she communicates to all around her, Jesus, Who is love.
O Mother of fair love, why do the poor banished children of Eve so continually turn to thee? Is it not just because of this flame of communicating love? Is it not because they know that to go to Mary is to go to Jesus; that when they appeal to the heart of Mary it is the Heart of Jesus which answers through her; that her chief work is to communicate His love to them?