HOMILY II. ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED MARY.
LUKE I. At that time, Mary arose and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth, etc.
The reading which we have heard from the holy Gospel proclaims to us the venerable beginnings of our redemption, and commends to us always the salutary remedies of imitable humility. For since the human race, touched by the pestilence of pride, had perished, it was fitting that immediately the first times of incipient salvation should foretell the medicine of humility by which it would be healed. And because through the recklessness of the deceived woman death had entered into the world, it was suitable that, as a sign of returning life, women should anticipate one another with the services of devoted humility and piety. Therefore, the blessed Mother of God shows us the path to the loftiness of the heavenly homeland by the example of humility, no less venerable for religion than for chastity. Indeed, the glory of a virginal and undefiled body hints at what the life of the heavenly city, to which we aspire, is like, where they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven, and indicates the extraordinary strength of mind by which we ought to attain it. For, as we learned from the preceding reading of the holy Gospel, after she was deemed worthy to be elevated by an angelic vision and address, after she learned that she was to bear a divine child, she did not lift herself up with pride as if due to heavenly gifts, but rather fixed her mind on the path of humility, so as to be more and more suited to divine gifts, responding to the archangel announcing to her: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word." But as we heard from today's reading, she also took care to show the same humility to people as she had displayed to the angel, and what is of greater virtue, even to those of lower rank. For who does not know that a virgin consecrated to God holds a higher rank than a woman devoted to God? Who doubts that the mother of the eternal King is to be preferred by right to the mother of a soldier? Nevertheless, she, mindful of the Scripture commanding, "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things" (Ecclus. 3), soon after the angel who spoke to her returned to heavenly matters, she arose and went into the hill country, bearing God in her womb, seeking the dwellings and conversations of the servants of God. And fittingly after the vision of the angel, she ascended into the hill country, which, having tasted the sweetness of the heavenly citizens, transferred herself to the heights of virtues with steps of humility. Therefore, she enters the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth, whom she knew was to bear the servant and forerunner of the Lord, greets them, not as doubting the oracle she had received, but as one who would congratulate on the gift, which she had learned her fellow servant had received: not to test the word of the angel by the testimony of a woman, but that a young virgin should diligently offer her services to a woman advanced in age.
But when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. As the blessed Mary opened her mouth to greet, Elizabeth was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, and John too was filled. Both being taught by the same Spirit, Elizabeth recognized who was greeting her and venerated with proper blessing as the mother of her Lord; John understood that it was the Lord himself who was carried in the womb of the virgin. And because his tongue was not yet able, he greeted with a rejoicing heart and indicated with the signs he could, the devotion and willingness with which he would fulfill his role as forerunner even before he was born at the coming of the Lord. For the time was at hand to fulfill the angel’s word which had said: That he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1).
Elizabeth was therefore filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed with a loud voice. Rightly with a loud voice, because she recognized the great gifts of God; rightly with a loud voice, because she felt that he who is known to be present everywhere was also physically present. For the loud voice is to be understood not so much as clamorous, but as devout. For she, who was burning with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, could not praise the Lord with a small voice of devotion: she who carried in her womb the one than whom no one born of women is greater. And she rejoiced that he had come, who conceived from the flesh of the virgin mother would be called the Son of the Most High and would be.
He exclaimed and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Not only blessed among women, but among the blessed women, distinguished by a special greater blessing. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. He is not blessed merely in the general manner of saints, but as the Apostle says: Whose fathers, and of whom Christ came according to the flesh, who is over all God blessed forever (Rom. IX). The Psalmist also bears witness to His birth with mystical speech, saying: Indeed the Lord will bestow kindness, and our land will yield its fruit (Ps. LXXXIV). For the Lord bestowed kindness because He purposed to free the human race from the guilt of transgression through His only begotten: He bestowed kindness when He consecrated the temple of the virginal womb for its entry by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And our land yielded its fruit, for the same virgin who had a body from the earth, gave birth to a Son who was indeed divine and coequal with God the Father in divinity, but consubstantial with her in the reality of flesh. Regarding this, and foreseeing the time of human redemption, Isaiah says: In that day the branch of the Lord will be in majesty and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be exalted (Is. IV). For the branch of the Lord was in majesty and glory when the eternal Son of God, appearing temporally in flesh, shined brightly with the greatness of heavenly virtues upon the world. The fruit of the earth was also exalted when the flesh, which God had taken from our nature to be mortal, was raised to the heavens, made immortal by the power of the resurrection. Properly it is said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. For she is incomparably blessed, who received the glory of the divine offspring, and preserved the crown of integrity. Blessed are you among women, through whose virginal birth the curse of the first mother among the offspring of women was excluded. Blessed is the fruit of your womb, through whom we have received the fruit both of incorruption and of the heavenly inheritance which we had lost in Adam. And truly and singularly blessed is He who, unlike us who receive the grace of blessing from the Lord after we are born, was blessed Himself to save the world, He who came in the name of the Lord.
And how is it to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? O how great in the mind of the prophetess is humility, how true is the word of the Lord which he spoke: Upon whom will my Spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet and one who trembles at my words? (Isa. LXVI.) Indeed the mother of the Lord, who had come to her, was soon recognized by her as she saw her: but finding no such merit in herself that she might be worthy to be visited by such a great guest, she said, "How is it to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" because certainly the same Spirit, who granted her the gift of prophecy, equally bestowed the gift of humility. Filled with the prophetic spirit, she understood that the mother of the Savior had come to her, but being circumspect with the spirit of humility, she deemed herself less worthy of his coming.
Behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the infant leaped for joy in my womb. Elizabeth understood, by the same Spirit with which she was filled revealing, what that exultation of her infant signified, that namely the mother of him of whom he would be the precursor and herald had arrived. And how wondrous, how swift is the operation of the Holy Spirit! For there is no delay in learning, where the Holy Spirit is the teacher. In one and the same moment, with the greeting voice, the joy of the infant is born, because while the voice reaches the bodily ears, the spiritual power entered the heart of the hearer, and inflamed both the mother and the offspring with the love of the coming Lord. Hence soon afterward, the mother of the preceptor of the Lord took care to openly proclaim to those who were present and listening the things which she had known in secret.
And blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment for those things which were told her from the Lord. For Elizabeth also learned from the Spirit what the angel had spoken to Mary, because she believed the one who immediately evangelized, that divine power was working such that everything would be fulfilled without any doubt. And in a miraculous way, the same Spirit, when it filled her, also endowed her with knowledge of present, past, and future things. She showed that she was informed about present things, for she called Mary blessed and the mother of her Lord, because she was carrying the Redeemer of the human race in her womb. Therefore, she also declared the fruit of her womb to be uniquely blessed. She indicated that she had received knowledge of past events as well, revealing that she knew both the angel's words to Mary and Mary's consenting belief. She also conveyed that the knowledge of future things was not denied to her, revealing that the things said to her would be accomplished by the Lord. But, my brothers, who can sufficiently describe or estimate the grace of the Spirit of God that filled the mother at that time, when such great light of heavenly gift shone in the mother of the forerunner? Let us indeed hear the words she said, if by any chance we may slightly discern what she held inside. Having heard the response of Elizabeth, where she proclaimed her blessed among women, recognizing her as the mother of her Lord, praised her strong faith, marked herself as filled with the Holy Spirit along with her son at her entrance, she could no longer remain silent about the gifts she had received, but disclosed with devout confession of the mouth what she always carried in her mind whenever she found the right time. For as befits virginal modesty, she covered the divine oracle she received with silence for a while; she venerated the hidden mystery of heaven in the secret of her heart, waiting reverently until the distributor of gifts would show what special gifts he had bestowed on her and what secrets he had revealed, whenever he wanted. But after she saw that the same graces bestowed on her were also revealed to others by the Spirit, she immediately disclosed the treasure of heaven which she had kept in her heart. Therefore:
My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. With these words, she truly first confesses the gifts especially granted to her, then she enumerates the general blessings of God by which He ceaselessly cares for the human race forever. But her soul magnifies the Lord, who dedicates all the affections of her inner man to divine praises and services, who constantly, by the observance of God's commandments, demonstrates that she is mindful of His power and majesty. Her spirit rejoices in God her Savior, who desires nothing earthly, is softened by no abundance of fleeting things, is broken by no adversity, but is delighted only by the memory of Him from whom eternal salvation is hoped, her Creator. Although these words rightly apply to all the perfect, it was above all fitting for the blessed Mother of God to utter them, who, by the privilege of singular merit, burned with the love of the Spirit, rejoiced in His bodily conception. Who rightly could exult in Jesus, that is, in her special Savior with special joy above all other saints, because she knew that He, the eternal author of salvation, would be born from her flesh in time, so that in one and the same person He might truly be both her Son and her Lord. She also teaches with the following words how lowly she considered herself, and that she received every good merit through heavenly grace, saying:
Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. She indeed demonstrates that she was humble, yet by the judgment of Christ, she declares that she was suddenly exalted by heavenly grace, and was glorified to the extent that her distinguished blessedness deservedly astonishes the voice of all nations. She added still the gifts of divine mercy, which she received miraculously, deserving of grateful praise.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. Therefore, she attributes nothing to her own merits, ascribing the entire greatness to His gift, who, being essentially mighty and great, is accustomed to making His faithful strong out of the small and weak, and great. She rightly added, And holy is His name, to remind those listening, indeed all to whom her words would reach, instructing them to fly to the faith and invocation of the same name, so that they too might be participants in eternal holiness and true salvation, according to the prophetic word: And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2). For it is the name about which she said above, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. Hence she even more clearly adds:
And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He calls the lineage both of the Jewish people and the Gentiles, or certainly of all the nations throughout the world, whom he foresaw would believe in Christ: because, as Peter says, God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation anyone who fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him (Acts X). These words of the blessed Mary are in harmony with the Lord's own words, by which he declared not only his mother, who deserved to bear him physically, but also all who would keep his commandments, to be blessed. For while he was teaching the people in a certain place and performing miracles, and all were astonished at his wisdom and powers, a certain woman in the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you (Luke XI). But he, willingly accepting the testimony of truth that was spoken, immediately responded: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it, so that that woman, indeed everyone who was listening, might be confident they would be blessed if they chose to obey the divine commands. As if to say openly: Although she has the singular privilege of blessedness, having been deemed worthy to carry, give birth to, and nurse the incarnate Son of God as a virgin, yet in that same eternal life blessedness will also be granted in an eminent way to those who conceive his faith and love in a pure heart, who bear in their minds the memory of his precepts with diligent care, who strive to nourish this in the minds of others with diligent exhortation. Moreover, since the venerable Mother of God taught that his mercy would be present to all throughout the world who fear him, it remains to indicate what the proud and those who despise the warnings of truth deserve.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts. By His arm, it signifies within the authority of His own power. For He does not need assistance from another to act, for as it is written, "to accomplish when He wills" is under His control. This pertains to our acts of good operation, not within the rights of our free will, but we perform virtue in God, and as it is written elsewhere: And their arm did not save them, but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face (Psalm 43). And He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, because the beginning of all sin is pride, by whose merit the Lord, casting out the human race from the stable habitation of the heavenly homeland, dispersed far and wide into the exile pilgrimage of this world: but also to those who do not fear to persevere in sins, He has reserved a heavier punishment of future dispersion.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones. He calls the same rulers whom He previously called proud. They are indeed called proud because they elevate themselves above the measure of their condition; rulers, however, not because they are truly powerful, but because they, confident in their own power, refuse to seek the help of the Creator. However, those are truly powerful who know to say with the Apostle: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians IV). Concerning whom it is written: God does not reject the powerful, even though He Himself is powerful (Job XXXVI). Therefore, He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and has exalted the humble, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Although it can also be rightly understood that sometimes those who by the merit of their pride were cast down by the Lord, through His mercy return to the grace of humility, and thus by the merit of devoted humility are raised to glory. Finally, Saul was brought down from the throne of legal teaching due to pride, but soon, because of the submission of humility, was raised to preach the faith of Christ.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. Those who now perfectly hunger for the eternal, and ceaselessly strive with tireless diligence of righteous works to attain these things, will surely be satisfied when the glory of their Redeemer, which they desire, will appear. But whoever delights in preferring earthly riches over heavenly ones, at the time of the final judgment they are sent away by the Lord empty of all happiness, and hence are punished with the perpetual misery alongside the devil. This we see fulfilled to a large extent even in this life: that the humble, evidently, are filled with the nourishment of heavenly goodness and become rich with the abundance of celestial virtues; and those who, either boasting of earthly riches or exalted by the possessions as if they have them intrinsically, internally become empty of the light of truth. To each of these verses, which the blessed Mary uttered about the contrasting states of the proud and the humble, it must be added what she prefixed, "From generation to generation," because indeed, through all time of the passing age, the just and merciful Creator has been accustomed both to resist the proud and to give grace to the humble. Hence, after the general commemoration of divine mercy and justice, she rightly turns the words of her confession to the special dispensation of the new incarnation, by which he deigned to redeem the world, saying:
He has helped Israel his servant, in remembrance of his mercy. Israel, indeed, means "man seeing God." By this name, the entire assembly of redeemed men is designated, for whom, so that they may be able to see God, God himself appeared as a visible man among men. He took up Israel as a physician would take up a sick man to heal him, as a king would take up a people to defend them from the incursion of enemies, nay, to restore them free after defeating the enemy, and to grant them to reign with him perpetually. And he aptly added "his servant," signifying the humble and obedient, because no one can attain the lot of redemption except through the virtue of humility. Hence the Lord also said: "Unless you are converted, and become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. XVIII). He also aptly added, "in remembrance of his mercy," because that which God assumed to redeem man was not the merit of human condition, but the gift of divine mercy. For what did we merit after the sin of transgression, if not the just wrath of the Creator? Hence, it follows that as many as are recovered to salvation and eternal life, we attribute this not to ourselves, but to his grace, to whom it is said: "In wrath remember mercy" (Hab. III).
Just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever. Making remembrance of the fathers, blessed Mary rightly names Abraham specifically, because although many fathers and saints mystically bore witness to the Lord's incarnation, they (the fathers) were the first to openly predict the same incarnation and the arcana of our redemption. To them specifically was said: And in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. XII): which pertains to the Lord Savior whom no faithful doubt that he, to grant us eternal blessing, deigned to come to us from the offspring of Abraham. The seed of Abraham does not only denote those chosen who are bodily born of Abraham's progeny but also us who, gathered to Christ from the gentiles, are joined to those fathers by the bond of faith from whom we are separated by a great distance of carnal lineage. For we too are the seed and children of Abraham when we are reborn with the sacraments of our Redeemer who took flesh from the lineage of Abraham. We are children of Abraham when we diligently seek to see Him intently, whose day Abraham himself rejoiced to see, and saw and was glad. Hence the Apostle says: If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise. Rightly, it is added in conclusion, In saecula (forever), because the aforementioned promise of the heavenly inheritance will never be enclosed by any end. For even until the end of this age, there will be those who by believing in Christ will become the seed of Abraham, and the glory of future happiness will remain perpetual to that same seed. Whence it is necessary for us, dearest brothers, to whom an eternal reward is promised by the Lord, to strive with indefatigable effort of mind for its attainment. It is necessary that we endeavor to obtain the good which we desire to have without end, without any interruption until we receive it. Let us then frequently meditate on the words of the evangelical reading; let us always retain in our minds the examples of the blessed mother of God, Mary, so that being found humble in the sight of God and also submitted to our neighbors with due honor, we may merit to be elevated perpetually together with her. Let us be diligently careful that the undue favor of those who praise us does not exalt us, seeing that she maintained unwavering constancy in humility among words of true praise. If the immoderate desire for temporal things delights us, let us remember that our judge sends the rich away empty; if temporal affliction disturbs the mind strongly, let us think that He also exalts the humble. Let us never despair of obtaining pardon for sins because his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. Let no one under the evils he has done be overcome by the heavier fault of impenitence, for God resists the proud and separates them from the lot of the blessed, dispersing them through various places of punishment according to the variety of their sins. It happens, through the Lord's bounty, that if we always recall the actions and words of blessed Mary in us, both the observance of chastity and the works of virtue may persevere. And indeed the most excellent and salutary custom has grown in the holy Church that her hymn is daily sung by all with the psalmody of vespers praise, so that from this the minds of the faithful are kindled to the affection of devotion by the more frequent remembrance of the Lord's incarnation, and the examples of that mother often recalled confirm them in the solidity of virtues. And this has been fittingly arranged to be done at vespers, so that our minds, wearied and stretched with various thoughts during the day, might collect themselves at the time of approaching rest into the unity of their own contemplation; being healthily admonished, whatever superfluous or harmful things they had contracted by daily business, they might cleanse wholly through nocturnal prayers and tears anew at that time. But as we have prolonged our speech, now turned to the Lord, let us ask His clemency that we may both venerate the memory of blessed Mary with fitting offices and merit to come with purified minds to the celebration of the Lord's nativity solemnities, he assisting us to perform spiritual works and receive heavenly gifts, who, for us willed to be incarnate, and to give a form of living among men to his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom he lives and reigns God in the unity of the Holy Spirit through all ages of ages. Amen.