Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May 31, 2021
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 572
Reading I
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
OR:
Brothers and sisters:
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;
do not be wise in your own estimation.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6) Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
Reflection: A JOYFUL EVENT OF TWO BLESSED PEOPLE
The second Joyful mystery invites us to reflect on the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Whenever we visit our relatives, we make sure that we take some time to prepare for the visit. We buy some presents for the hosts. Most of our visits are planned well in advance, our itineraries are confirmed, so that our visits are fruitful. There will always be some plan 'b' that might be implemented. The feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth certainly was not a planned visit. The visit was in relation to Mary's desire to share the good news that she received from the angel Gabriel. Apart from two cousins exchange pleasantries, the feast of the Visitation points to the encounter of two male babies in the womb of Elizabeth and Mary. John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ leaps for joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, unable to contain the joy of meeting the Lord in the womb of Mary. The encounter of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth assumes more importance with the Song of Mary, the Magnificat. This hymn of Mary is a ground-breaking invitation and an accolade that proclaims the greatness of God. The words of Mary were unconventional for those times as the language engages words of warfare. This is a deconstruction of the world order and to usher in the Reign of God. To accomplish such task, God chose Mary to be the Mother of Jesus. To this end, the feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth already foreshadows the mighty works of God to be done in Jesus Christ.