The World's First Love by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Part 7.

CHAPTER 3. The Song of the Woman: The Visitation

One of the most beautiful moments in history was that when pregnancy met pregnancy when child-bearers became the first heralds of the King of Kings. All pagan religions begin with the teachings of adults, but Christianity begins with the birth of a Child. From that day to this, Christians have ever been the defenders of the family and the love of generation. If we ever sat down to write out what we would expect the Infinite God to do, certainly the last thing we would expect would be to see Him imprisoned in a carnal ciborium for nine months; and the next to last thing we would expect is that the "greatest man ever born of woman" while yet in his mother's womb, would salute the yet imprisoned God-man. But this is precisely what took place in the Visitation.

At the Annunciation the archangel told Mary that her cousin, Elizabeth, was about to become the mother of John the Baptist. Mary was then a young girl, but her cousin was "advanced in years," that is, quite beyond the normal age of conceiving. "See, moreover, how it fares with thy cousin Elizabeth; she is old, yet she too has conceived a son; she who was reproached with barrenness is now in her sixth month, to prove that nothing is impossible with God. And Mary said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done unto me according to thy word.' And with that the angel left her." (Luke 1:36-38)

The birth of Christ is without regard to man; the birth of John the Baptist is without regard to age! "Nothing is impossible with God." The Scripture continues the story: "In the days that followed, Mary rose up and went with all haste to a city of Juda, in the hill country where Zachary dwelt; and entering in she gave Elizabeth greeting. No sooner had Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, than the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Ghost; so that she cried out with a loud voice, "Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. How have I deserved to be thus visited by the mother of my Lord? Why, as soon as ever the voice of thy greeting sounded in my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed art thou for thy believing; the message that was brought to thee from the Lord shall have fulfillment." (Luke 1:39-45)

Mary "went with all haste"; she is always in a hurry to do good. With deliberate speed she becomes the first nurse of Christian civilization. The woman hastens to meet a woman. They serve best their neighbor who bear the Christ within their hearts and souls. Bearing in herself the Secret of Salvation, Mary journeys five days from Nazareth to the city of Hebron where, according to tradition, rested the ashes of the founders of the people of God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The terraced-fields of Juda
pregnant with seed
called out to her
as she passed,
praising the Child
she was yet to bear,
invoking His Blessing
on their expectancy.

(Calvin Le Compte, I Sing of a Maiden, Macmillan, 1949)

"She gave Elizabeth greeting"; springtime served the autumn. She, who is to bear Him Who will say: "I came not to be ministered unto but to minister" now ministers unto her cousin who bears only His trumpet and His voice in the wilderness. Nothing so provokes the service of the needy as the consciousness of one's own unworthiness when visited by the grace of God, The handmaid of the Lord becomes the handmaid of Elizabeth.

On hearing the woman's greeting, the child whom Elizabeth bore within her "leaped in her womb." The Old Testament is here meeting the New Testament; the shadows dissolve with joy before the substance. All the longings and expectations of thousands of years as to Him Who would be the Saviour are now fulfilled in this one ecstatic moment when John the Baptist greets Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Mary is present at three births: at the birth of John the Baptist, at the birth of her own Divine Son, and at the "birth" of John, the Evangelist, at the foot of the Cross, as the Master saluted him: "Behold thy mother!" Mary, the Woman, presided at the three great moments of life: at a birth on the occasion of the Visitation, at a marriage at the Marriage Feast of Cana, and at a Death, or surrender of Life, at the Crucifixion of her Divine Son.

"The child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Ghost." A Pentecost came before Pentecost. The physical body of Christ within Mary now fills John the Baptist with the Spirit of Christ; thirty-three years later the Mystical Body of Christ, His Church, will be filled with the Holy Spirit, as Mary, too, will be in the midst of the Apostles abiding in prayer. John is sanctified by Jesus. So Jesus is not as John - not man alone, but God, as well.

Vessel of Honour - MARY'S VISITATION

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth." (Luke, i, 39, 40.)

SCARCELY had the most Holy Virgin learned from the mouth of the Angel Gabriel that her cousin Elizabeth was already for six months with child, than, prompted by the Holy Spirit, she started on her journey to go and see her, in order to assist and alleviate her by her presence.

We may suppose that Mary was accompanied in this journey by St. Joseph, to whom she had truly been united by the bonds of matrimony before the Annunciation. This holy pair, recking of nought but the impulse of their charitable hearts, left their own home and hastened whither the Spirit of God summoned them. Thus did Mary begin her mission of Mediatrix between Jesus Christ and mankind, by bearing to Elizabeth and John the Forerunner, the graces which the Saviour held in reserve for these two saintly personages.

Admire, O my soul, the promptitude of Mary's correspondence with the motion of the Holy Spirit. Consider her eagerness in following the inspirations from on High, despite the fatigues and inconveniences of a long journey. Oh, how Elizabeth, seized with amazement at the sight of such charity, had reason to cry out: '^Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my God should come to me?" (Luke, i, 43.)

The joy of Elizabeth and the exultation of John are a striking proof of the copious blessings which Mary's visit brought to the soul of the Precursor and that of his mother. The Holy Virgin showed herself, on this occasion, to be that which in truth she is end always will be to the end of time, the treasure-house, and dispenser of heavenly graces.

Holy Scripture teaches us that when the Ark of the Covenant entered into the house of Obededom, God blessed that house and all that was therein. (l Par. xiii, 14.) In like manner scarcely had the Immaculate Virgin entered into the house of Elizabeth, than the Holy Ghost began to diffuse His choicest graces upon the members of that privileged family: St. John was cleansed of original sin, his mother received an increase of grace, and Zachary was enriched, though somewhat later, with the gift of prophecy.

We may with reason then liken Mary to a field, wherein a costly treasure lies hid. (Matt, xiii, 44.) This treasure is none other than Jesus Christ, the Author of all good, who became incarnate in the most pure womb of the Virgin, and who never ceases tor dwell in her by the plenitude of His grace. Therefore, it is true to say that "all grace of the way and of the truth" (Ecclus. xxiv, 25.) is found in Mary.

If, then, we would possess divine grace, if we would surely find Jesus, it is through Mary that we must seek Him, for it is written of the Wise Kings that they found the Messias promised by the prophets, nowhere else than in the arms of His Blessed Mother: "They found the Child with Mary, His Mother." (Matt, ii, 11.)

The Angel had saluted Mary as full of grace; now it is St. Elizabeth who sounds the praises of the Mother of God: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (Luke, i, 42.) Earth and heaven unite their voices to proclaim Mary blessed, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men, for it is through her that all grace and blessing come to us.

It was at this moment that Mary sung her beautiful canticle, the "Magnificat," the first recorded in the pages of the New Testament. The Virgin-prophetess gave free vent to her sentiments of gratitude and love toward the Lord God Almighty, who had been pleased to accomplish in and by her such marvelous works.,

Contemplate, O my soul, the admirable sentiments which breathe through this sublime canticle; see how Mary abandoned herself without reserve to the will of the Most High, humbly acknowledging her own nothingness. Thus, she became more and more dear to the heart of God, whose predilection is for the humble and lowly.

Example - St. Frances Fremiot De Chantal

St. Frances Fremiot de Chantal, being a widow consecrated her time to works of piety and mercy, in all things seeking only the glory of God. When her spiritual director, St. Francis de Sales, told her that it was the will of God that, leaving the world, she should consecrate herself to Him, she received this command as coming from God Himself. So great was her fortitude in carrying out this design, that she did not hesitate, in leaving her home, to pass over the body of her son, who failing in his entreaty to her to change her resolution, had flung himself across the threshold.

Ketiring from the world with some of her companions, she placed herself under the direction of St. Francis de Sales and founded a new Congregation, to which that holy Bishop gave the name of the "Visitation." The beginning of this new foundation was very difficult, because the Sisters were extremely poor and sometimes even in heed of their daily bread.

Moreover, outward enemies continually threatened the existence of the convent. But, trusting in God and encouraged by the charity of St. Francis, the Sisters bore all this cheerfully, serving their heavenly Spouse with great devotion. To the cultivation of such beautiful Christian virtues as charity, humility, simplicity and patience, they united a tender devotion to Our Lady, in order to arrive at a more perfect union with God, who is the end of all things.

Great was the profit that the Religious derived from this last practice. St. Frances herself reached such a stage of perfection, that she wished to make a vow of doing in everything that which was most perfect. So holy a life could not but draw down on the new Congregation the blessing of Heaven. Indeed, the number of Sisters became so great, that the Saint was invited to found another convent. The holy Foundress zealously applied herself to this work and notwithstanding many obstacles, she saw her efforts crowned with success.

She died a holy death at Moulins on the thirteenth of December, 1641. Under the guidance of Mary, the Congregation of the Visitation soon flourished in the Church, and sent forth to heaven many holy souls, among whom must be mentioned St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom Our Lord deigned to reveal how pleasing to Him is the devotion to His most Sacred Heart.

Prayer

O Mary, chosen vessel of honor, treasuress of heavenly graces, deign to visit my soul, bringing with thee Jesus, thy only and true Son, Grant that by His help, I may calm the tumult of my passions, and that all the powers of my soul may breathe forth the fragrance of the most excellent virtues. Amen.

The Lily Of Israel By The Abbe Gerbet. Part 9.

CHAPTER VII. THE VISITATION

AFTER passing some days in serene joyfulness, Mary called to mind the words which the angel had uttered regarding her cousin Elizabeth. Taking with her the old servant and a young girl, she entrusted her dwelling to the care of a poor widow in the neighborhood, and set out on her journey to the mountains of Judea, where lived, not far from Jericho, the priest Zachary and his wife—those dear friends and relatives who had been so kind to Mary when she served the Lord of hosts in the Temple.

She wished to congratulate her beloved cousin on the wonder which had been wrought in her—for no one knew better than Mary how deeply Elizabeth had suffered over this most poignant grief. And perhaps she longed, with all the love and ardor of her pure young heart, to acquaint Elizabeth with the marvel of the angel's tidings, which filled every moment of her day with heavenly peace.

The journey was a long one, but it was made in the midst of the splendor of nature. It was springtime in a land that knows but a brief winter, and wherever Mary passed, the flowers seemed to raise their fragrant heads to salute her; the acacia showered down its sweetest-smelling blossoms; the balsam shed abroad its perfume; the willow waved its bright green branches; the almond-tree cast leaves of white and red upon her; the birds sang more melodiously, and fluttered above her on graceful wings; the beasts of the forest forsook their retreats and ventured forth to see her pass. The River Jordan, along whose flowery banks lay part of her journey, threw a silvery stream of sparkling crystal over its pebbly shores, and murmured musically among the reeds. One might imagine that this historic stream already desired to know Him who was to render its waters forever sacred. The whole earth seemed moved to salute the King of glory, who had come to deliver it. And men felt His presence according to the purity of their souls. Some prostrated themselves almost involuntarily before Mary. A great many looked at the little party with indifference, while others experienced a sensation that was kin to fear. For while the King of glory, concealed and hidden, was coming for the salvation of many, He was also set for the destruction of others in Israel.

At length Mary, having passed Daberath, the fertile valley of Jezreel, Archelais, and the torrent of Phasaelis with its limpid waters, perceived, after seven days' travel, the hospitable roofs of Hebron, and the termination of her journey. Alighting from Eleabthona, the gentle and docile ass which had carried her so faithfully, she went to the spring to lave her feet, hands, and face, dispatching her old servant meanwhile that he might inform Elizabeth of her approach. Following him almost at once, she arrived before her cousin had had time to come to meet her. Entering, Mary saluted her with the customary expression:

"May the peace of the Lord descend upon thee and upon thy dwelling!"

At the sound of these words, uttered in a voice trembling with emotion, Elizabeth was almost overcome, and her unborn infant leaped as if in ecstasy. Inspired by the Holy Ghost, the mother of the Forerunner of our blessed Lord, exclaimed:

"Mary, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!" Humbly prostrating herself, she added, in quivering tones: "Oh, whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (St. Luke i, 43.)

Mary wished to reply, but the raptures of joy and gratitude which she had kept confined within her heart until now found an outlet; she stood in the presence of one prepared to understand, to share her sublime enthusiasm.

And Mary said:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord: "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. "Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

"For He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His name.

"And His mercy is from generation unto generation, to them that fear Him.

"He hath showed might in His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

"He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.

"He hath received Israel, His servant, being mindful of His mercy.

"As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever." (St. Luke i, 46-55.)

"Glory be to God, now and forever!" repeated, in low tones, the servants of Elizabeth and Zachary —for all had knelt in silent prayer while the Virgin's sweet voice sang the holy canticle.

Thus was homage paid to the Son of God.

Zachary had joined them also, and knelt with the others, in spite of his priestly dignity. He, too, felt the presence of the hidden Saviour. But his lips gave forth no sound, for his tongue was silenced, and was to continue so until the birth of the child promised to his old age. He saluted Mary, and then made a sign to Elizabeth to explain to her the cause of his dumbness. Elizabeth did so, adding:

"Ah, Mary, you are happy in believing what has been revealed to you by God. For the Lord is inviolable in His promises, and His servants must not transgress or doubt without being prepared for punishment."

She put her arm about her young cousin affectionately, and drew her aside. Seating themselves, one listened eagerly to the other, for God's favors had filled them with gratitude, and no words could express the purity of their emotion. Elizabeth had much to ask about Mary's absent husband, of his disposition, of his confidence in his chaste spouse, for she was older than Mary in years and experience.

Mary, holy and innocent, with perfect faith in Him who was preparing such great things within her, was neither disturbed nor uneasy. Her soul soared above all earthly considerations. The world could not trouble her, and even Elizabeth, knowing from past experience her attitude toward life, seemed to realize that Mary's vision was not confined to earthly objects, but that the veil that hangs between them and Eternity had been torn aside for her. She appeared to possess superhuman enlightenment. If so, it was never revealed—yet how could it be supposed, indeed, that she, in whom such miracles were wrought, should be endowed only with these faculties which are the common lot?

One evening, when she was praying on the housetop where it was her custom to repair at the same hour every day, Elizabeth approached her, and seated herself without speaking. The Virgin seemed lost in contemplation.

The dwelling of Zachary, situated at the foot of the hills, overlooked the then rich and shady valley of the Jordan. It was an Eastern night, so beautiful, so clear, so transparent, that one might imagine himself surrounded by a world of crystal. The nightingale, hidden under a rose of Jericho, was singing; scores of other songsters repeated their long, brilliant, harmonious cadences, which echo endlessly multiplied. The willows, bordering a rippling rivulet flowing across the meadow, were agitated by gentle breezes, while the waters of the river, swollen by a recent storm, extended through the plain, and reflected the starry sky like an immense and brilliant mirror. In the distance Mount Gilead was covered with white vapors, pierced by the splendors of the moon, so that they resembled floating clouds. Mary was accustomed to all this beauty—or, rather, she appeared to see a more wondrous spectacle, to hear far more glorious sounds.

Elizabeth watched her in silence for some time. Then she placed her hand over that of her young cousin.

"Mary," she murmured, gently. The Virgin turned her eyes toward her and a little smile hovered about her lips. She did not speak. "I am uneasy about Zachary," said Elizabeth, in a low tone. "The Feast of Tabernacles is approaching and he is in torment, fearing that he will not be able to discharge his priestly duties."

Her voice trembled with anxiety. Mary pressed her hand gently, and the smile did not leave her lips.

"Dear cousin," she said, "let us put our confidence in God. He has decided all—He is the Master of our destiny."

The words fell on Elizabeth's heart like soothing balsam on a wound. And, on the morrow, at the dawning, the Virgin and all who were within hastened to Elizabeth's side. They found her with her son and her husband, Zachary, and both wife and husband were gazing rapturously at the tiny face of their new-born babe.

"And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had showed great mercy toward her and they congratulated with her." (St. Luke 1,58.)

Eight days later, when the child was to be given his name, they would have bestowed upon him that of Zachary, making signs to his father how he would have him called. Demanding a writing-table, he wrote, saying:

"John is his name." (Ibid., 63.)

At which, his tongue being loosened, he gave vent to his song of thanksgiving.

"Thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.

"To give knowledge of salvation to His people: unto the remission of their sins.

"To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace." (St. Luke i, 76, 77, 79) 

Full of joy Zachary fell upon his knees, and took his child in his arms, marveling at the miracle that had been wrought. Still kneeling, he held him forth to Mary and to the infant God—that God whose Precursor he was to be. Mary clasped the child to her bosom and kissed him, and held him close against her loving heart. She blessed him with happiness, for she knew how his life was to be bound to that of her divine Son; she blessed him with sorrow, for she knew the pain and cruelty that would mark his earthly existence.

At last, having passed seven days in partaking of the holy rapture of her relatives, she returned once more to Nazareth, and the flowery roads seemed to gain in fragrance and beauty beneath her feet.

The History Of The Blessed Virgin, Translated From The French By The Very Rev. F. C. Husenbeth, D.D., V.G. Part 28.

Chapter 9.

The Visitation. Part 2.

In these excursions in the country, she sometimes rested by the side of a gushing fountain, the foam and noise of which she loved : this spring, called Nephtoa in the time of Josue, bears to this day the name of "Mary." 1

At the back of the elegant villa of the Hebrew priest extended one of those gardens called a paradise by the Persians, the mode of laying out which had been borrowed by the captives of Israel from the nations of Cyrus and Semiramis: there were seen the finest trees of Palestine; and the groups of flowers scattered irregularly about the open spaces, the sweet perfume of the orange-trees, the streams of water which ran beneath the low bending branches of the willows, made its shades very charming. There the sweet converse of Mary made Elizabeth forget her fears for an event, the hope of which overpowered her with joy, but which her advanced age might render fatal. How religious must have been the conversation of these two women! The one young, artless, and ignorant of evil as Eve when she came forth from the hands of the Lord; the other full of days, and rich in long experience of the things of life; both deeply pious, and objects of the complacency of Jehovah; the one bearing in her womb, so long barren, a son who was to be "a prophet, and more than a prophet;" the other, the blessed germ of the Most High, the chief and liberator of Israel.

In the fine summer evenings, when the white light of the moon shone on the foliage, there was brought out beneath a large fig-tree, or under the green leafy branches of a thick vine, 2 the repast of the opulent family: the lamb fed in the deep valleys in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, the kid of the aromatic mountains of Bethar, clean birds netted by the Israelite fowler, shell-fish caught by the fishermen of Sidon, milk, butter, and cheese, honeycombs; and then, in baskets of palm-leaves, pomegranates, figs, grapes from Galilee, with dates from Jericho, 3 which even figured on the table of Caesar; there were also seen apricots from Armenia, plums from Damascus, pistachio nuts from Aleppo, water-melons from the banks of the Nile, and that sweet cane from the marshes of Egypt, which Herodotus speaks of as an exquisite eatable; lastly, the golden wine of Libanus, and the perfumed wine of Cyprus, which the steward kept in stone jars, 4 circulated in rich cups. Mary, temperate as ever in the midst of this abundance, was content with a little fruit and a cup of pure water. Frugality with her was no forced virtue, or an abstinence merely of circumstance; it was a virtue by choice. 5

Some writers, to extol the humility of the Blessed Virgin, that she rendered to Elizabeth the offices of a servant, and almost of a slave.

This is an evident inconsistency : Elizabeth would never have allowed a woman whom she herself had proclaimed the Mother of her Lord, and whom she had highly extolled above all the daughters of Sion, to lower herself in such manner before her. The holy spouse of Zachary 6 could not have wanted servants or slaves. By the consent of Christians and Jews, this family was distinguished, and the illustrious birth of St. John Baptist even cast something like discredit upon that of Jesus Christ, born of parents much less distinguished, and leading in poverty the common life of the people.

The attentions, therefore, which the amiable and gentle Virgin profusely paid to Elizabeth had nothing in them painful or servile ; they were those delicate and forecasting attentions with which she would have waited upon her own mother, if heaven had spared her to her ; and no doubt she often imagined that she beheld again the authors of her days in that affectionate, devout, and venerable pair, who loved her with parental affection, and who showed towards her from first interview, when her greatness was so marvellously revealed, a sentiment of admiration mingled with respect, which Mary humbly endeavoured to prevent, but which she did not succeed in destroying.

It is easy to understand, say the fathers, how many blessings were drawn down by the visit of Mary upon the priestly family who had given her so affectionate a reception. If the Lord blessed Obededom, and all that belonged to him, even so far as to make the holy king David jealous, for having had the ark of the covenant in his house for three months, what graces must have been drawn down upon Zachary and all belonging to him by the three months' abode of Her of whom the ark of the covenant was but the figure, though so holy and awful! " The purity in which St. John always lived," says St. Ambrose," was an effect of that unction and that grace infused into his soul by the presence of the Virgin."

We know not precisely whether the Mother of God assisted at the lying-in of Elizabeth. Origen, St Ambrose, and other grave authors, ancient as well as modern, declare for the affirmative, and this opinion is very probable; for it would have been at least very extraordinary, after having spent so long a time with her relation, if Mary had abruptly left her in the hour of danger, and without any reasonable motive for so unseasonable and precipitate a departure. Custom required that all the matrons of the family should assemble round the new mother to rejoice with her in her happiness ; the gospel informs us that they were not wanting to Elizabeth on this solemn occasion, and that the birth of St. John Baptist drew a large concourse of kinsfolk and friends to the house of his father. It is alleged that virgins were not generally found at these sort of gatherings, and this we can conceive ; but Mary was married, which required of her those duties which became her, and which-she could not omit without violating usages received from the time of the patriarchs. Some argue with as little reason, from the retired habits of the Virgin, to the conclusion that even the noise of the festivities which celebrated the birth of the precursor of Jesus Christ put her to flight like a young dove suddenly alarmed. Mary was quite able to reconcile her small inclination for the world with that exquisite sense of propriety attributed to her by the fathers, and her tender solicitude for her mother's niece; she must have remained beneath the roof of the priest until Elizabeth was out of danger: and then, escaping from that admiration which she never failed to excite, she left the mountains of Judea, after embracing and blessing the new Elias. 7

A religious author observes that the blessed daughter of Joachim had hastened with all diligence to visit her cousin, but that she departed slowly, and as if with regret, from those cool valleys, the oaks of which had afforded shelter to angels; 8 perchance, like the sea-bird, she had a presentiment of storms.

1 This fountain has so great an abundance of water that it irrigates the whole valley and renders it productive. Tradition relates that Mary sometimes came thither; it bore the name of Nephtoa in the time of Josue; it now bear that of the Fountain of the Virgin.

2 The Hebrews were fond of taking their meals in gardens, under trees, and in arbours; for it is natural, in hot countries, to seek air and coolness.—(Fleury, Moeurs des Israel., § xvii.)

3 The dates of Syria and Judea are yellow and black, round, like apples, and very sweet. Pliny reckons forty-nine kinds of dates.

4 The Jews established in the Yemen still make use of these jars.— (See Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie.)

5 Her abstinence did not appear to be a fast: it was rather a custom, as it were, not to make use of food.—(F. Valverde, Vie de J. Christ, t i. p. 6.)

6 Zachary was descended from Abia, father of the eighth priestly family. These ancient families were rare, several of them having settled in Persia after the captivity. Elizabeth was descended from Aaron and from David. The Jews reckoned John the Baptist far above Jesus, because he had passed his life in the desert, and was the son of a chief priest. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, born of a poor woman, appeared to them as one of the common people.—(S. Joan. Chrysost. in Matt., Serm. 12.) The Mussulmans have retained a high idea of St. John Baptist, whom they call Jahia ben Zacharia (John, the son of Zachary). Saadi, in his Gulistan, makes mention of the sepulchre of St. John Baptist, venerated in the mosque of Damascus; he said some prayers there, and records those of a king of the Arabs, who came thither on a pilgrimage. "The Caliph Abdalmalek wanted to purchase this church out of the hands of the Christians," says D'Herbelot, " and it was only after their refusal of four thousand dinars, or gold pistoles, which he had offered them, that he took possession of it by force."—(Bibliotheque Orientale, t. ii.)

7 Those theologians who have embraced the contrary opinion to that of Origen and St. Ambrose, dwell upon that passage of St. Luke which does not speak of the accouchement of Elizabeth till after having brought the Blessed Virgin back into Galilee. It seemed to us that this deserved consideration: we therefore attentively examined the gospel of this evangelist; this minute examination convinced us that this reason is not conclusive; for it is the custom of St. Luke to make transpositions of this kind, and we can quote two others of the same nature. For example, after having followed up the preaching of St. John Baptist, and announced his imprisonment, St. Luke speaks, in the following verse, of the baptism of Jesus Christ, of the priority of which to the prison of the precursor, and his tragical death, there can be no doubt. When relating the adoration of the shepherds, St. Luke expatiates on the marvellous accounts which they gave of their journey to the cave of Bethlehem, and of the astonishment which these recitals caused; after which, taking us back without any transition to the interrupted scene of the adoration, he speaks of their departure from the stable. This is what makes us adopt the doctrine of St. Ambrose the probability of which strikes us at first sight. F. Valverde, who studied the holy fathers deeply, is equally of opinion that the Blessed Virgin did not leave her relations till she had embraced and blessed the precursor of the Messias.

8 In the vale of Mambre, which is only six furlongs from Hebron, there was still shown in the time of St. Jerom, a tree of enormous growth, beneath which it was said that Abraham had received the visit of the three angels who announced to him the birth of Isaac.

The History Of The Blessed Virgin, Translated From The French By The Very Rev. F. C. Husenbeth, D.D., V.G. Part 27.

Chapter 9.

The Visitation. Part 1.

Meanwhile Mary, informed by the angel of the pregnancy of Elizabeth, resolved to go and offer her affectionate congratulations to her venerable relative. It was not, as heretics have dared to say, that the Virgin wanted ocular demonstration of the reality of this event, which was out of the ordinary laws of nature ; she knew that nothing is impossible to God, and, moreover, could not suppose that a messenger of heaven would bring her from the Most High words of deception and falsehood. She west, not to be made sure, but because she was sure ; she went with haste, because charity, says St. Ambrose, admits neither delays nor hindrances; and besides, good and kind as she was during her whole life, she longed to carry to relations whose protection had surrounded her childhood, and who had long looked upon her as their daughter, some little of that sanctification and those heavenly graces which flowed in her soul as inexhaustible springs of living water, from the time that she bore in her chaste womb the Creator of the world.

With the consent of St. Joseph, whose simple but elevated soul was in unison with her own, and who had but one heart and will with her, Mary left Nazareth in the season of roses, and went towards the mountains of Judea, where Zachary dwelt. The Scripture, which neglects details, and takes up the leading points of events, does not say whether the Virgin had any companions in this journey ; some authors have thence inferred that she performed it alone, which is not at all likely. In fact, the distance from Nazareth to the town of Aim 1  is five days' march; part of Galilee, the hostile Samaria, and almost all the territory of Juda had to be passed through. Now the country is rugged with mountains, intersected by torrents, and interspersed with deserts. 2 The roads, which the Romans repaired at a later period, full of holes made by the heavy footsteps of camels, and covered with loose stones, threatened the traveller at every step with a fatal fall. When the evening came on, one must sleep in some caravansary, where nothing was to be found but a small place without provisions, and furnished with a plain rush mat 3 for the primitive hospitality had marked by its gradual decrease the different phases of advanced civilisation among the Hebrews. In such a state of things is it to be presumed that a man full of days and experience, like Joseph, would willingly have exposed a young wife—beautiful, delicate, brought up retired from the world, and confiding as innocence itself—to dangers of all sorts, to every kind of inconvenience which a solitary journey presented ? Such an assertion contradicts the history of the people of God, and the manners of Asia; 4 —a Jewish woman would never have trusted herself, without a respectable escort, such a distance from her house.

If St. Joseph, as F. Croiset thinks, could not accompany Mary, it is probable that the Mother of God joined some of her relations who were led by their piety to the holy city, with their husbands, or their servants, and that thence she pursued her journey under some safe protection. We always find her travelling thus in the midst of her own relatives, whether she goes to Jerusalem for the great solemnities, or follows the preachings of Jesus with the holy women at a much more advanced period of her life. " Though she could have had no better guardian than herself, 11 says St. Ambrose, " she never appeared abroad without being faithfully escorted." 5

When she arrived at the priestly city where the Levite and his happy wife dwelt, Mary was directed to their well-known house without allowing herself any time to rest. Elizabeth, informed by one of her slaves of the unexpected visit of her cousin, came to meet her with great signs of joy.

Seeing her approach, the young Virgin bowed, and laying her hand on her heart, said, " Peace be with thee," hastening to be the first to offer a salutation. 6 Elizabeth stepped back a little: the animated and friendly expression of her countenance had given place to profound respect; her features gradually brightened; it was evident that something unusual and prodigious was passing within her. The simple formulary of politeness which the Virgin had pronounced in her low and mild voice had overpowered her relation. All at once, the spirit of prophecy descended upon Elizabeth, and she cried out, " Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me," she added, " 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."

The answer of Mary was the sublime, unpremeditated effusion of the Magnificat, the first canticle of the New Testament, and the finest in the sacred Scriptures :—

"My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

"Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

"For he that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is his name.

"And his mercy is from generation to generations to them that fear him.

"He hath showed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

"He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

"He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.

"He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy.

"As he spoke to. our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever."

Thus did the Virgin discern at once, by a supernatural light, those ancient prophecies and their perfect accomplishment, herself being a thousand times more enlightened and more privileged than all the prophets put together. " In this celebrated interview, and in this admirable conversation," says St. Ambrose, " Mary and Elizabeth both prophesied by the Holy Ghost, with whom they were filled, and by the merits of their infants."

The virgin sojourned three months in the country of the heathens, and spent this long visit at a short distance from the city of Ain, in the hollow of a shady and fertile valley, where Zachary had his country house. 7 It was then that the daughter of David, herself also a prophetess, and endowed with genius equal to that of the illustrious head of her race, could contemplate at leisure the starry heavens, the sonorous forests, and the vast sea, which, at the horizon rolled its waves, whether loud or peaceful, on the blue resounding shores of Syria. The Blessed Virgin did not look with indifference upon these magnificent scenes of creation. All the works of nature spoke to her of their great Author, and came gently to warm her soul after charming her eyes. The plain which vanished from her sight beyond the mountains of Arabia, the bine vaulted sky which is spread like a tent above the habitations of men, gave her some idea of the immensity of God the Creator; the golden harvests, the savoury fruits, the cool mountain spring, proclaimed to her his providence; the voice of the tempests, his power; the regular order of the heavens, his wisdom; and the care which He takes of the birds of heaven and the insects of the earth, his goodness.

1 Zachary lived at A in, or Aen, two leagues to the south of Jerusalem. St. Helen had a church built on the site of his house.

2 Although Judea was much more populous then than now, there still remained districts so barren as to be incapable of cultivation. The gospel makes mention of deserts but a short distance from towns where Jesus Christ went to pray.

3 "There is no inn in any part of Syria and Palestine," says M. de Volney, "but the towns and most of the villages have a large building called Kervanserai, which serves as a shelter for all travellers. These receptacles, always placed outside the walls of towns, are composed of four arcades, which enclose a square court which serves as a place for the beasts: there are in these places neither provisions nor furniture.''

4 No one travels alone in Syria; the people only go in troops and caravans; they have to wait till several travellers want to proceed to the same place. These precautions are necessary in countries exposed to the Arabs, like Syria and Palestine.—(Volney, Voyage en Syrie.)

5 St. Amb., de Virginibus, liv. ii.

6 This salutation, which Jesus Christ often used, is still that of all the East. When the Orientals meet, after the ordinary salutation, " Peace he with you (salem alaicom)" they lay their hand on their heart. This salutation was in use in the time of Abraham.—(Savary, Noto sur le c. ii. du Koran.)

7 This country house was at a short distance from Ain, in a pleasant and fertile valley, which serves now as a garden to the village of Saint John. There had been built in this place, in honour of the Visitation, a. church, which, in our days, is no more than a heap of ruins.