Walking The Longest Mile

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 forever."



Today is the feast of the Visitation. Mary has just conceived Jesus and instead of doing what most women of the time would do, such as resting and remaining at home, Mary set off in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth.   This was not a simple walk around the corner.  From Nazareth to Hebron is eighty-one miles as the crow flies, about one-hundred to 0ne-hundred-twenty miles by road since Mary could not fly like a crow!  So, her visit to Elizabeth was an act of great charity. She went and stayed, most scholars say until John the Baptist was born and then she returned to Nazareth after being gone for three months, arriving back, three months pregnant. This would cause some concern for her fiance Joseph but that will come later.  

When Mary arrived, John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth's womb or as some translations have it, he danced in her womb because he could tell that the Son of God being carried in the womb of Mary was close by.  There is no record stating that the met again until John was baptizing at the Jordan. 

Then Mary, after exchanging greeting with Elizabeth who wonders aloud why she is graced by the presence of the Mother of My Lord, gives us a look at her ultimate humility when she proclaims: 

"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 forever."

Yes, my Protestant friends, Mary rejoices in God her Savior. You read that right.  So how can Mary be immaculately conceived if she herself states that God is her savior?  Well, God was her savior.  By special favor, God the Father who does not live in time applied the merits of the death of Jesus to Mary at the moment she was conceived in her mother's womb.  He carried her over the pit we fell into because of the original sin of Adam.  So, yes, Mary indeed was saved by God and in that respect, she is like you and me.  The fact that original sin never touched her soul meant that her whole being was turned towards God and while she still had the great gift of free will, her desire was to always be in sync with the will of God and she would do whatever He wanted.

We see clearly that Mary was the first Christian. She believed from the start that the baby she was carrying was the Messiah, the promised one of God and her excited proclamation gives notice to the world that God was keeping His covenant, that the savior was at hand.  Through it all, Mary was forever humble.  Her words are not recorded fully in Scripture, but what she does say is telling.  No matter what words come out of her mouth, they always point to Jesus and never to herself.  This is how we know that she is the first Christian, the first convert to the new covenant.  Praise you, Mother Mary, look down on us with love and place into our hearts a burning love for Jesus that is so strong that we feel the pain of every sin and the complete joy of our return to Him.  Praise you God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit for giving us a mother so true, so beautiful in spirit, and so holy and humble.  Make us like her in her joy of serving the one True God Amen. 

The poor souls in purgatory need help.  Remember, purgatory is real and you might have friends or relatives that are there right at this very moment.  They wait for your prayers.  Do not abandon them at the edge of the grave.  Prayer and sacrifice will help them more than you know.  Remember too that as they are today you might be tomorrow.