The Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady | Tuesday 31 May 2022

Today is Tuesday the 31st of May, the feast of the Visitation of Our Lady.

Audrey Assad sings, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’. As you listen, ask yourself what you would like to bring to the Lord as an offering today in prayer…
Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning
Our song shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons
Blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity
Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty
Oh thy works shall praise Thy name
In earth and sky and sea
Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons
Blessed Trinity
Oh God in three persons
Blessed Trinity!


Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 1: 39-56
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

Two women, friends, cousins, one young, one elderly, each carrying in her womb a miracle. Visit the scene in your imagination. Allow yourself to be part of the joy. Where are you in the scene? Who are you?
Elizabeth is “filled with the Holy Spirit” as she calls out her blessing to Mary. It’s a spontaneous cry of joy. Her words seem to tumble out. Mary, in her turn, expresses a sense of wonder, a desire to worship God, a desire that seems to come from the very depths of her being: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Stay with that sense of wonder for a moment.

Two women, filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Ponder on these instances of God’s Spirit as you hear the passage again.
You might want to ask God for a renewed sense of awe and wonder in your own life, or for a discovery of joy deep down within you. Let that conversation take place with God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.