May 31
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
art by Rev. Kirsten Kohr of Geneva, Ohio Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This feast commemorates the visit of the Blessed Virgin to her cousin Elizabeth, recorded in the Gospel according to Luke (1:39-56).
Elizabeth, who was then pregnant with John the Baptist, greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary broke into the song of praise and thanksgiving which we call the Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”
In this scene, the unborn John the Baptist, the prophet who was to prepare the way of the Lord, rejoices in the presence of him whose coming he is later to herald publicly to all Israel, for the Gospel records that when Mary’s greeting came to her kinswoman’s ears, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy.
Excerpted directly from “Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022,” p. 250-251.
