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May 31 The Feast of the Visitation by irapuato 31.05.2012 The Feast of the VisitationMore
May 31 The Feast of the Visitation
by irapuato 31.05.2012 The Feast of the Visitation
Irapuato
Leap For Joy!
The Visitation, Pietro di Francesco degli Orioli (1458-1496), Pinacoteca, Siena, Italy. © La Collection / Domingie & Rabatti.
In the fifteenth century, the representation of the Visitation becomes much more than a simple pictorial narration of the Gospel of Luke (1: 39ff).
It serves as a window through which to contemplate the mystery of God who visits and redeems his people. On the …More
Leap For Joy!
The Visitation, Pietro di Francesco degli Orioli (1458-1496), Pinacoteca, Siena, Italy. © La Collection / Domingie & Rabatti.

In the fifteenth century, the representation of the Visitation becomes much more than a simple pictorial narration of the Gospel of Luke (1: 39ff).
It serves as a window through which to contemplate the mystery of God who visits and redeems his people. On the surface, the Visitation by Pietro Orioli depicts a touching family reunion, based on the apocryphal gospels. Here we see Zechariah and Elizabeth, first cousins of the Virgin Mary (Anne, the mother of Mary, had a sister, Esmeria, who was Elizabeth’s mother), who greet Mary of Nazareth in the courtyard of their home. Our Lady is accompanied by two of her sisters (or sisters-in-law), Mary Salome (blonde), wife of Zebedee, and Mary of Clopas (brunette).
All four women are visibly pregnant, with, respectively, John the Baptist, Jesus, James the Greater, and James “the brother of the Lord” (and first bishop of Jerusalem). However, as a clear sign that Mary’s pregnancy is incomparable to that of any other woman, the artist has clothed the Mother of God in an immaculate white dress, symbol of both the baptism she received in advance and her virginity. Beyond these anecdotal allusions, this family encounter conveys a profound symbolic meaning: the intertwined hands of Elizabeth, the elderly woman, and of Mary, younger than sin, enact the transition from the Chosen People to the Church, from the old Covenant to the new and eternal Covenant. At right in the painting, the Old Testament is represented by Zechariah the high priest, by Elizabeth who bears John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, and by a servant who personifies the Law that withdraws before the Word made flesh. At left, the New Testament is represented by the Virgin Mary. Present within the tabernacle of her womb, the Savior of the world announced by the prophets is authenticated by the leaping of John the Baptist. And here we see the two other Marys, pregnant with apostles, future pillars of the Church. They will remain standing, faithful, at the foot of the cross, and at the tomb they will be among the first witnesses to the Resurrection.

■ Pierre-Marie Dumont
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Irapuato
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The Virgin Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was first set in a place other than that of the birth of Saint John at the beginning of the 14th century: "Zechariah’s house is in the mountains of Judea.. In this place there are two churches… and between these churches flows a spring that is quite full of water. At the site of the first church, it is said, Elisabeth was greeted …More
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The Virgin Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was first set in a place other than that of the birth of Saint John at the beginning of the 14th century: "Zechariah’s house is in the mountains of Judea.. In this place there are two churches… and between these churches flows a spring that is quite full of water. At the site of the first church, it is said, Elisabeth was greeted by the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also said that the blessed John the Baptist was hidden there during the Slaughter of the Innocents. At the site of the second church, the blessed John the Baptist was born" (Brother Giovanni Fedanzola of Perugia, 1330).
Going beyond the gospel episode, the same church also conserves the memory of the hiding of Saint John the Baptist, taken up by the apocryphal protoevangelium of John (2nd century): "Beyond a small valley full of trees is the mountain toward which Elisabeth ran with her own son, saying "Mountain! Receive a mother and son!" And the mountain opened and offered them refuge. Herod’s soldiers who were following them reached that point and finding no one, returned, confused. Even today one can see the place where this happened, marked in the rock. Above it is a small church, under which is a little grotto and in front of its entrance another little church has been added. From this grotto flows a spring that quenched the thirst of Elizabeth and John while they were in the mountain,staying there, served by an angel, until the death of Herod." Relics of "earth from the grotto of Elizabeth and John" were conserved as early as the 7th century in Rome, in the Lateran treasury and elsewhere. A stone, exposed in the crypt, continues this tradition today.
One more comment from Irapuato
Irapuato
This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24).
Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible …More
This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24).
Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy—the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages.

It is helpful to recall that we do not have a journalist’s account of this meeting. Rather, Luke, speaking for the Church, gives a prayerful poet’s rendition of the scene. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary as “the mother of my Lord” can be viewed as the earliest Church’s devotion to Mary. As with all authentic devotion to Mary, Elizabeth’s (the Church’s) words first praise God for what God has done to Mary. Only secondly does she praise Mary for trusting God’s words.

Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here Mary herself (like the Church) traces all her greatness to God.

Comment:

One of the invocations in Mary’s litany is “Ark of the Covenant.” Like the Ark of the Covenant of old, Mary brings God’s presence into the lives of other people. As David danced before the Ark, John the Baptist leaps for joy. As the Ark helped to unite the 12 tribes of Israel by being placed in David’s capital, so Mary has the power to unite all Christians in her Son. At times, devotion to Mary may have occasioned some divisiveness, but we can hope that authentic devotion will lead all to Christ and therefore to one another.

Quote:

“Moved by charity, therefore, Mary goes to the house of her kinswoman.... While every word of Elizabeth’s is filled with meaning, her final words would seem to have a fundamental importance: ‘And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her from the Lord’ (Luke 1:45). These words can be linked with the title ‘full of grace’ of the angel’s greeting. Both of these texts reveal an essential Mariological content, namely the truth about Mary, who has become really present in the mystery of Christ precisely because she ‘has believed.’ The fullness of grace announced by the angel means the gift of God himself. Mary’s faith, proclaimed by Elizabeth at the visitation, indicates how the Virgin of Nazareth responded to this gift” (Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer, 12).
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