The Drop in Visitor; 

Our Blessed Mother Visiting Her Cousin Elizabeth

It is the first Sunday of Advent and as my family prayed the Rosary this afternoon, I had a lot to meditate on.  Thanks Giving week was filled with visitors.

VisitationMariotto Albertinelli
1503 - Oil on wood, 232 x 146 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

The picture  is lovely.  Elizabeth is so grateful for, and to the Mother
of God.

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

Mural in Conception Abbey, Missouri

HereElizabeth And Zacheriah greet Our Blessed Mother at the door.  The joy and surprise of the unexpected visit was what I want to relish.  I wonder why St. Joseph is in the picture, unless it is to forshadow the Nativity, maybe it is to remind the viewer that God the Son, and his announcer John the Baptist had fathers in their lives.  Albeit, Joseph a foster Father.

In this beautiful painting, Food;Hospitality, almost takes center stage,  Her surprise is seen on her face, I can't tell if Elizabeth is even looking at Mary here, maybe she is experiencing the child leaping in her womb, or maybe she is getting an inner locution that tells her the reason why her baby is jumping for joy.    Her hands up in the air are an expresion of surprise and wonder; Openness to The Epiphany.

Back to our family Rosary, when the 2nd Joyful Mystery is prayed, the virtue prayed for is Zeal for Souls.  Mary had been told that she is to be "The Virgin" that is to incarnate The Messiah and give birth to him.  The other news was that her aging cousin is to give birth to a son as well.  Mary's care and concern for Elizabeth compelled Mary to travel a distance, probably on foot, in the first three months of her own pregnancy, to care for this aging cousin. Zeal.

The obvious Openness to Human Life; that begins in the womb is the first lovely meditation.  These women say a resounding "Yes" to the image of God, that humanity is.  And Mary says yes to The Holy Trinity, when asked to become the Mother of God.

I heard of a written discourse between a young woman and her male friend.  The point of their discussion was that the world would be changed if married couples were to acknowledge and rejoice in the fact that each "conjugal act of Marriage had the awesome potential to change the Universe."  This couple has been formed in JP II's Theology of the Body.  Appreciating how God made us to reproduce His image gives us joy, and in the act of Thanksgiving/Appreciating, God,  increases our Faith Hope and Love. Not for the Holy Trinity alone, for one another as well. I am not referring to the appreciation that pays lip service, but the appreciation that is both an invitation and a song of praise: 
"God, you know the past the present and the future.  You know who needs to be in my life, who will form me to be more like you, I trust you, so BRING IT ON!"  

Today, so few of us are schooled in that kind of appreciation.   The very antithesis of the above "God,...bring it on." is ...  artificial birth control; in all its forms.   Society believes they have a right to  control  who they can invite into or out of their lives.  That false sense of control extends into the everyday meeting of others.   Had Elizabeth and Mary believed that to be so, there would be no reason for a "Visitation".   

Elizabeth  waits for, not only her own child, but more importantly, the Messiah.  She is open, she is old and in need of assistance, but she too is a hostess.  She opens her heart and home to let Mary; the Mother of God, in to care for her!  And she is aware of all that that act of love implies.  Giving, and receiving.  As Fr. Adrian van Kaam has articulated, "form donation/form reception."

An art form has been lost and I am not refering to the technical expertise in the above paintings.  But the deeper message that "leaps" out of the event of the visitation.  : ) Being open to the image of God begins with our attitude toward our own created bodies and extends out to how we view others coming to visit us in all our own "formative phases" of becoming more like Jesus.  Many of us can not identify with Mary as she drops in on her cousin.  We can't imagine ourselves doing that to any of our friends.  And how 'bout being receptive to a visit?  The Art of dropping in, and hosting the drop in, is rarely seen.  I am not talking about hanging with friends all day in a codependent way, where two homes; that of the visitor and that of the home dropped in on,  are left a wreck.   In the days of awaiting in the season of Advent, I hope to expand on this.   But for now, I want to think about who I allow to be "Jesus" for me?