The Visitation, a matter of hope

We include this episode of the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth among the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. And indeed there is something mysterious about the way Elizabeth interpreted her baby’s leap in her womb. Most pregnant women experience their babies jumping in their wombs. Not all of them understand why.

This first encounter of Jesus and John while still in the wombs of their mothers symbolizes the continuity between the Old and the New Testaments. The last of the Old Testament and the first of the New recognize each other and rejoice in each other’s presence. The promises and the prophecies of old are already fulfilled. This is the core of the joy of this event. The four protagonists acknowledge it. John the Baptist leaps for joy. Elizabeth understands this joy and salutes Mary, and Mary exalts God and understands that all generations will call her blessed.

Promises are not only matters of the Old Testament. Every hope we harbor in our hearts appears to us in a way like a promise. We hope that this and that will be fulfilled. Our journey through life is marked by the frustrations and the fulfilment of these hopes.

We know that only God will fulfill the right hopes while clinging to our false hopes will lead to disappointments. Purifying our hopes is learning from Elizabeth and Mary, who recognized and rejoiced at the fulfilment of her right hopes.