The Second Joyful Mystery – The Visitation

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechari′ah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be)^a) a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

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The fruit of this mystery is LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

Talk about love of neighbor right? I thought the 3.5 hour drive to see my girlfriend was a lot. Mary after having the birth of the Second Person of the Trinity made flesh through HER was foretold by the angel Gabriel, she gets up and goes to the hill country of Judea. Now, according to a quick Google search, would have taken at least 4 to 5 days of travel if she went by foot. I cannot imagine upping and going on a 4-5+ day trip, on foot, ONE WAY, while PREGNANT!!! Of course she may have travelled as part of a caravan or by donkey or something, Scripture does not actually tell us how she went to see Elizabeth. Either way, this was not just a simple walk to the other side of town to see her cousin.

I want to kind of switch focus here a little bit and put another passage side by side Mary’s visit to Elizabeth…

And David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David; but David took it aside to the house of O′bed-e′dom the Gittite. ¹¹ And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of O′bed-e′dom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed O′bed-e′dom and all his household.

¹² And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of O′bed-e′dom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of O′bed-e′dom to the city of David with rejoicing; ¹³ and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. ¹⁴ And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn.

Then after this stay over in Obed-edom (in the hill country of Judea), it is taken to the city of David (Bethelehem).

In our passage today,

• Mary travels to the hill country of Judea
• the pre-born John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb before Mary.
• Elizabeth exclaims with a loud cry “Blessed are you among women” just like how the House of O’bed-edom is blessed because of the Ark
• Mary stays at Elizabeth’s house in the hill country for 3 months

When biblical language is so strongly paralleled like this, it is never on accident!

What is contained in the ark of the covenant?

the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

What was inside Mary’s womb?

• Jesus was the Word of God made flesh (tables of the covenant)
• Jesus is the Bread of Life that has come down from Heaven (manna)
• Jesus is the True and Eternal High Priest (Aaron’s rod)

This is why we give Mary the title, “The Ark of the New Covenant” she literally contains in her body the New Covenant just as the Ark of the Old Covenant contained the Old Covenant. Another thing to note from this typology, is that the Ark was built with acacia wood, which is resistant to rot and weathering. So, if the Ark of the Old Covenant was “incorruptible”, from the elements, why should the Ark of the New Covenant be corrupted by sin?

Also, we read in the Annunciation the Angel Gabriel said to Mary…

“Hail Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.”

In the Visitation, Elizabeth tells Mary…

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

As the saying goes, “Bad Mariology, leads to bad Christology.” I just laugh when Protestants say the Hail Mary isn’t found in the Bible.

Let us pray:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, through the Incarnation, you have fulfilled the Ark of the Old Covenant in Your handmaid, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Inspire in us the joy of receiving Your Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord into our hearts through the Sacraments. We ask that through the example of the Blessed Virgin, You teach us to have a heart of servitude towards others. As Mary prepares for the coming of Jesus into the world as a baby, help us to prepare not only for the coming of Jesus in the Incarnation, but when He comes again in glory to judge the living and dead.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
Who order all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in your ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.