Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(FEAST DAY -MAY 31)

After David was anointed king all Israel, he attacked the Philistines and defeated them. And his great desire was to bring home the Ark of God from the Philistines. On its journey to Jerusalem, the Ark was lodged in the house of Obededom, a Levite, for three months. The Ark of God brought great blessing to Obededom and his household (2 Sam 6:10-11).

Obededom knew about the sacredness and the power of the Ark of God, and he was, also, aware about the fact that just before the Ark came to his house, God had struck Uzzah dead for touching the Ark irreverently, and David, himself, was afraid to take the Ark of God to Jerusalem. Obededom was a holy Levite, and with humble boldness he welcomed the Ark of God into his house and lodged it there for three months.

The Ark of ‘God was a blessing to him and his household. Josephus, the great Jewish historian of the first century, had said that Obededom, who was a poor man before, had suddenly become rich and prosperous, even to the envy of his neighbor, within those three months when the Ark of God was lodged in his house. The Ark of God was a channel of blessing to him and his household

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us note:

1) Mother Mary is the Channel of Grace.

Mother Mary is the living Ark of God. As the Ark of God in the Old Testament was a great blessing to the believing Obededom and his household, so Mary is the channel of blessing to all who honor and receive her I reverently. As the Ark of God remained three months in the i house of Obededom, so Mary remained three months in the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth and was a great blessing to that old couple. She is the treasure of all graces.

Mother Mary was the channel of graces to the family of Zachariah when she visited them. When she greeted Elizabeth, the child in her womb leapt for joy and she, herself, was filled with the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:41). This is the first instance of blessings imparted upon the earth after the Word became Flesh, and it happened through the instrument of our Blessed Mother Mary.

2) Mother Mary is Ever Willing to Bless Us.

Mother Mary is ever ready to help those who are in need. When she came to know that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant for six months, she immediately, with haste, traveled 69 miles from Nazareth to the city of Hebron, in order to help her aged cousin. Filled with great charity, she did not even mind the delicate nature of her own health, when it was time to help her aged cousin.

At the marriage of Cana, even before the marriage party realized their predicament of the shortage of wine, Mother Mary realized it and asked Jesus to do something about the problem. Mother Mary is ever ready to help her children. Her compassion and love is so great that she will not reject any one who approaches her; all can have recourse to her and be assured of getting her blessings and become beneficiaries of her intercession.

3) Mother Mary has the Power to Bless Us.

Mother Mary,the humble Virgin of Nazareth, is, indeed, very powerful before God. By her very greetings, the sound of her voice, she was able to impart the Holy Spirit to Elizabeth and joy to the babe in her womb. Jesus, her Divine Son, invariably answers the prayers of His Blessed Mother. When He yielded to her prayers at Cana even before the arrival of His appointed time, how much more will He be willing to listen and answer His Mother's prayers now, when He is in His glory?

Talking about the power and efficacy of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Anselm said, "We shall sometimes obtain grace sooner by imploring the prayers of Mary, than by asking it from Jesus our Savior; not because He is not the fountain and Lord of all graces, but because when we ask her intercession, she prays for us, and her prayers, because they are the prayers of a mother, will have greater eflicacy than ours."