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TRIVIA ANSWER: the Visitation During May, the month dedicated to Mary, we celebrate the feast of the Visitation commemorating the visit that Mary, pregnant with her son Jesus, made to her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. From Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary when she opened the door of her house, we can surmise that she did not feel Mary was “interrupting” her day, but rather was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected visit. (See Luke 1:41-45.) This story prompts me to reflect on how I respond to interruptions in my life. Is it possible that what I consider an interruption in my well-planned day might really be a divine visitation? Mary’s response to her cousin’s greeting is what we have come to know as the hymn called the Magnificat. (See Luke 1:46-55.) In it Mary expresses the many “reversals” that God works in people’s lives often to their surprise, e.g., putting down the mighty and lifting up the humble. When you think of Mary, you probably see in your mind a young mother holding her baby in a very peaceful setting. But do you ever picture Mary also as a pregnant teenager, an unwed mother, a political refugee, the mother of a nonviolent political prisoner, the first disciple, the mother of a condemned man, a widow, the mother of an executed criminal? Mary’s heart was pierced by a sword many times. She had to trust all that God promised to the lowly would actually become a reality in some unforeseen way. Let us pray that like Mary, we too will entrust our lives to God and act justly, helping all peoples of the world to experience the great “reversals” that God promises. May we share in Mary’s wisdom, boldness and faith in order to do this.
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