This article was originally shared with our email subscribers as part of the Marian Mondays Series, a weekly reflection on the mysteries of the rosary by Jonathan Conrad, owner and founder of The Catholic Woodworker.
When we meditate on The Visitation, we have the opportunity to revisit this Scripture passage from Luke 1:39-43:
“During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’
Reading this makes me wonder how it was possible for Mary, newly pregnant, dirt poor, and with many well-founded worries of her own to put aside her own concerns and act in the service of others. How did she remain so strong in the face of so many possible fears and anxieties?
And I think the answer has everything to do with Mary’s relationship with God. She’d developed a prayer life and knew God intimately way before the moment of her fiat came to pass.
And I’d bet that she was pretty good at taking care of her own needs so she was able to be fully present for others when they needed her too. All in all, it must’ve taken a ton of personal work for Mary to be in the right head space to be able to say “yes” to the Holy Spirit and then travel through dangerous hill country to help Elizabeth right afterwards.
Of course, this all makes me pause to think about my own life by comparison. What would it look like if I was a little bit less anxious? Or if I wasn’t so distracted and worried about all my stuff all the time?
I sometimes feel anxious about my business, for example. When this happens I can spend days frantically stressing about an outcome even when it’s already out of my control.
And when I'm in this anxious state, I don’t even notice when my son comes into my office to tell me something. My first thought at that moment is, "Can't you go somewhere else...talk to someone else. I can't handle you right now...I'm too busy...I'm too preoccupied."
Sometimes it’s even worse and I don't even notice him at all. Either way, the opportunity to delight in my son's presence and offer him my undivided attention is lost.
This contrast between me and Mary really makes me reflect on how I can continue to develop my prayer life more so that I can be fully present for the people in my life in the way God wants me to be.
Because how wonderful would it be to be like Mary and go out into the hill country of my own life and minister to others filled with the Holy Spirit.
That’s what we’re called to do at the end of each mass after all: to bring Jesus, who we receive in the Eucharist, into the world.
Through the Holy Spirit, we all can carry Jesus with us just like Mary did. And we’re all called to bring His joy into the world (and to say “no” to those distractions, worries, and concerns that separate us from Him).
This is certainly something I’ll be keeping with me as I pray and go to mass this week. And I hope that you find it useful too.
Read the next reflection in this series on The Birth of Jesus.
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