FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF
MARY
Zephaniah, Chapter 3, Verse 15-16
15 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. 16 On that day, it shall be said to
Jerusalem: Do not FEAR, Zion, do not
be discouraged!
Zephaniah like many prophets
closes by offering the Israelites a plan for repentance that invites the people
to walk in it. He navigates the path back to God, outlining it this way.[1]
1. Wait for
God to remove the cancerous
population. (vv. 8-11)
2. Trust God
to restore a remnant of humble,
obedient men and women. (vv. 12-13)
3. Look to
God and rejoice that he has taken
away your guilt. (vv. 14-15)
4. Hope in
God to renew your peace and strength
(vv. 16-17)
5. Allow God
to recover the appointed feasts and
the lost people (vv. 18-20)
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary[2]
THIS[3] day is
called the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because on it Mary visited
her cousin Elizabeth, whom, as the angel had told her, God had blessed with a
son in her old age.
In the Introit of the Mass
the Church sings: “Hail, holy parent, who didst bring forth the King Who rules
heaven and earth forever. My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak of my
works for the King.”
Prayer. Vouchsafe, O Lord, we beseech Thee, unto us Thy
servants the gift of Thy heavenly grace, that, as in the childbirth of the
Blessed Virgin our salvation began, so from the votive solemnity of her
visitation we may obtain an increase of peace. Amen.
EPISTLE. Cant. ii. 8-14.
Behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. My
beloved is like a roe or a young hart; be hold he standeth behind our wall,
looking through the windows, looking through the lattices. Behold my beloved
speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and
come. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have
appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is
heard in our land: the fig-tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in
flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come: my
dove in the cliffs of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, show me thy
face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face
comely.
GOSPEL. Luke i. 39-47.
At that time: Mary rising up
went into the hill-country with haste, into a city of Juda: and she entered
into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that
when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she cried out with a loud voice
and said : Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold,
as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my
womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those
things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. And Mary said:
My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
1. As
soon as Mary heard that Elizabeth was with child, she hastened to her. The
alacrity of the Blessed Virgin teaches us that we should take part with
gladness in the happiness of our fellowmen, and quickly make ourselves ready to
discharge our duties, sacrificing for that object, if necessary, even our own
much-loved retirement, our devotions and other exercises of piety.
2. Mary
visited her cousin out of real love, not out of unmeaning ceremony. Would that
her example was followed in our visits!
3. By the
visit of the Blessed Virgin John was sanctified in his mother’s womb, and
Elizabeth, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, knew, by the miraculous movements of
her child, that Mary was the Mother of the Lord. Such effects did this visit
produce. What would Jesus effect in us if we received Him with due preparation!
EXPLANATION OF THE CANTICLE “MAGNIFICATE” or “MY SOUL DOST MAGNIFY THE
LORD.”
In this hymn Mary with joy
praises God, the Lord, that He has regarded her humility, and made her to be
the Mother of His only-begotten Son, wherefore she should be called blessed by
all generations; and she declares the truths and mysteries which the
incarnation brought to light. The mercy of God, namely, reaches from generation
to generation to them that fear Him. He scatters the thoughts of the proud, and
puts down from their seats the mighty; but He exalts the humble. He fills those
who hunger for justice with good things, but those who think themselves rich He
sends away empty. He receives all true Israelites, and performs in them the
promises which He gave to the fathers. This hymn is repeated by the Church
every day at Vespers, in praise of the work of redemption, begun by the
incarnation of the Son of God in Mary. Would that every Christian, since he
becomes one only by Christ being, as it were, born in him, might share those
feelings which the Blessed Virgin and Mother has expressed in this hymn of
praise, and, with the Church, daily praise God for the mystery of the incarnation!
Aspiration. O Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who didst descend from the highest heavens
to the womb of the Virgin Mary, didst therein rest for nine months, and with
her didst condescend to visit and sanctify St. John, grant that we, by the
practice of good works, particularly of humility, may become partakers of the
fruits of Thy incarnation.
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Daily
Devotions
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] John Maxwell, The John Maxwell Leadership
Bible.
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitation_(Christianity)
(note: In Christianity, the Visitation
is the visit of St. Mary, who was pregnant
with Jesus, to St. Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, as recorded in
the Gospel
of Luke,
Luke 1:39–56. It is also the
name of a Christian feast
day
commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in Western
Christianity
(2 July in calendars of the 1263–1969 period, and
in the modern regional calendar of some countries whose bishops' conferences
wanted to retain the original date, notably Germany and Slovakia) and 30 March in Eastern
Christianity.
[3] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
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