9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
from an evil conscience. . . . Let us hold fast the confession of our hope” (Heb 10:22 f.), that
we may receive the promise of the inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Prayer
O almighty and everlasting God, who didst appoint Thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer
of the world, and hast willed to be appeased by His blood; grant unto us, we beseech Thee, so
to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and by its power be so defended
against the evils of this life, that we may enjoy its everlasting fruit in heaven. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
July 2, The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The feast of the birth of St. John, the octave of which is celebrated on July 1, is immediately
followed by that of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. In confirmation of the assertion that
“no word is impossible with God,” the angel assures the Virgin at Nazareth: “Behold thy cousin
Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her”
(Lk 1:36). Mary understands. Although she has just conceived the Son of God, although her
soul is sunk in contemplation of the mystery of the Son whom she is to bear, she hurries across
the mountains to her cousin Elizabeth to offer her services for the last three months of her
confinement. Her first act after having conceived the Son of God is to go forth into the world on
a mission of mercy, to be of service to Elizabeth and John, to place herself at the service of man.
The Gospel relates the event as follows: “At that time Mary, rising up, went into the hill country
with haste to 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 [ John the Baptist]. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and she cried 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 has rejoiced in God
my Savior” (Gospel). Mary is the mother of Christ, the vessel that produced the Savior. She
brings the Lord and, with Him, salvation to the house of Zachary. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy
Spirit at her approach. John is cleansed from Original Sin in his mother’s womb; Christ brings
salvation to all men through the instrumentality of His mother. Mary on her part, blessed as
she is by the Lord and elect above all men, places herself at the disposal of the Lord who works
through her. Were it left to her she would doubtless have preferred to remain in her house at
Nazareth, in silence and isolation, absorbed in the contemplation of the Son whom she bore. But
the news of her cousin’s condition hardly reaches her before she arises and, forgetting herself,
hastens to the call of grace. In imitation of her example we should never neglect the needs of
our neighbor, but should hasten to perform whatever charity, justice, or politeness demands.
The Epistle gives us the meaning of this event related in the Gospel. John the Baptist is a
type of mankind and of the Church. Christ is the bridegroom of our soul, who comes to us
through His holy mother. Mary is the intermediary who brings the bridegroom to us, and the
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