July 2, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
To-morrow we will consider Mary, in the mystery of the Visitation, as a model: 1st, of strength of soul under trials; 2d, of perfect charity in regard to our relations towards our neighbor. We will then make the resolution: 1st, to exercise the most amiable and generous charity towards all those with whom we have relations; 2d, to edify our neighbor by our words and our example, as the Blessed Virgin did in the house of St. Elizabeth. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Apostle: “Charity is patient, is kind” (I. Cor. xiii. 4).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us transport ourselves in thought to the blessed house wherein the mystery of the Visitation took place; let us assist in spirit at this divine interview, at which Mary, by her words, sanctified John Baptist in the womb of his mother and glorified the greatness of the Incarnate Word; at which St. Elizabeth saluted Mary as the mother of God and proclaimed her honor and glory; at which, lastly, John Baptist leaped with joy at the voice of Mary and saluted Him of whom he was to be the precursor! Let us render our homage to St. Elizabeth and St. John Baptist; and from out the midst of so many marvels let us endeavor to take back with us Christian courage and true charity.
FIRST POINT
The Strength of Soul shown by the Blessed Virgin in the Mystery of the Visitation
A few days after the Blessed Virgin had conceived the Incarnate Word in her womb, instructed by the Spirit of God that a visit made by her to St. Elizabeth, her virtuous relative, would be a source of great graces to the whole of her family, she decides to undertake the journey. But, O Mary, what are you going to do? you are about to undertake the impossible. Let us here admire the courage of the Blessed Virgin: 1st, she was obliged to quit her beloved solitude, which was her delight and her paradise upon earth; 2d, the journey is long from Nazareth to Hebron; she would have to traverse the whole of Judea: what fatigue for a young girl! 3d, there were many mountains to be crossed: a fresh difficulty; 4th, she was with child: what danger and also what suffering to make so long a journey in such a state! But difficulties only inflame her courage. As soon as she has been made acquainted with the will of God, she thinks only of obeying, and as soon as she has set out, she hastens on her road as quickly as she can; she flies rather than walks (Luke i. 39). It is the good pleasure of God, she says to herself. Nothing costs one aught when one loves. What a beautiful lesson for the effeminate and cowardly souls who drag themselves carelessly along the paths of God, and give themselves negligently to the performance of duties. Such souls are not fit for the kingdom of heaven. God wills for His service only strong and generous souls, souls which can endure sacrifices. Do I belong to this number? Do I not spare myself too much? Do I know how to bear the annoyances, the disagreeables of life, contradiction, and suffering, without complaint or sadness?
SECOND POINT
The Perfect Charity of the Blessed Virgin in the Mystery of the Visitation
1st. Her charity is engaging. As being the Mother of God, she was far above St. Elizabeth. It does not signify: she goes to her; she knows that charity always desires to be the first in honoring, in obeying, in giving; that it does not limit itself to rendering consideration in return for consideration, kindness in return for kindness, and that wherever it sees any good to be done it sacrifices the little sentiments of self-love and goes forward. Having reached the end of her journey, Mary is the first to salute St. Elizabeth, to congratulate her on the infant she bears in her womb, and, during the three months she remains with her holy cousin, she renders to her the most humble of services and shows herself full of consideration and amiable attentions towards every one. 2d. Her charity is wholly supernatural. It is not a merely worldly kind of politeness; it is not goodness of disposition, a purely human affection. If such had been the principles of her charity, it would have been a charity devoid of merit. Mary is charitable from a higher motive, from love to God and from a desire to please God. Before her departure God had said to her: “Arise, make haste, My beautiful one, and come” (Cant. ii. 10). During her sojourn with St. Elizabeth He said to her interiorly: It would be pleasing to Me that you should do this or that, and Mary obeyed the voice of God. Oh, of how many visits do we lose the merit, because God is neither the beginning nor the end of them! 3d. The charity of Mary is benevolent. It was proved on that day that God has made Mary a dispenser of graces. At the first word that she spoke when saluting St. Elizabeth, St. John Baptist was purified from original sin; he was enlightened with a heavenly light which revealed to him the presence of the Incarnate Word in Mary; he was inflamed with holy love which made him leap with gladness (Luke i. 41). Elizabeth, equally enlightened from on high, recognizes the Messias and proclaims His divinity (Luke i. 41-43). Lastly, Zacharias, who had been dumb for six months, recovers the use of his tongue. Let us learn from these marvels: 1st, that all graces come to us through Mary; that it is to Mary we must have recourse in all our needs; that it is in Mary we must place all our confidence. Let us learn: 2d, that religion ought to preside over all our relations with our neighbor; that the truest and most intimate friendship is that of which God is the tie, the light, and the life, and in which we mutually excite one another to love God and to love virtue.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.