The Visitation



Visitation Window - Cathedral of Saint Patrick, Harrisburg, PA
Kindness of Chris E. Heisey

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1:46-55

“Therefore it is an excellent and fruitful custom of holy Church that we should sing Mary’s hymn at the time of evening prayer.  By meditating upon the incarnation, our devotion is kindled, and by remembering the example of God’s Mother, we are encouraged to lead a life of virtue.  Such virtues are best achieved in the evening.  We are weary after the day’s work and worn out by our distractions.  The time for rest is near, and our minds are ready for contemplation.”

From a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable

Office of Readings, Feast of the Visitation

The following is from a journal entry written during my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February-March 2009, when a five-member study group went to prepare for the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO) 2010 General Assembly:

The afternoon was spent in Ein Karem on the western edge of Jerusalem.  We were invited by Sr. Susan Sheehan, DC to visit St. Vincent’s, a home for mentally- and physically-disabled children aged 7 months to 23 years, though mostly up to age 14-15.  The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul staff the home along with lay people and volunteers (including Arab Palestinian, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish), all from different countries.  Their exceptional, tender care for these special children is awe-inspiring.

Sr. Susan also helps in Gaza (Palestine, West Bank) and was there the week prior to our visit.  She told of families living in tents and imagined the conditions made worse by the cold and rainy weather.  She talked about the difficulties experienced daily by the St. Vincent staff members who live in Bethlehem (Palestine, West Bank) and so must cross the Israeli checkpoints to and from work.  In contrast, tourists with foreign passports can pass through easily.

“Everything keeps changing in the Holy Land,” Sr. Susan told us.  “If you are here for a few days you can write pages; if you are here a few weeks you can write a page; if you are here longer you cannot write.  It is difficult to act like a Christian in the midst of the discrimination; but that is what we Christians are called to do.” 

After praying together with the sisters in St. Vincent’s chapel we promised our continued unity in prayer. 

A few heartier members of the study group began the uphill trek to the Church of the Visitation which is built over the place where Mary visited Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:39 -56) and where she proclaimed her “Magnificat” (the Canticle of Mary).  The “hill country” is much more “mountainous” than we expected.  The thought of Mary traversing this terrain “in haste” and alone is incredible, so we imagined that Joseph would have accompanied her, even though most common images of the Visitation show only Mary and Elizabeth.    The site alone inspires one to praise God for countless blessings.  It is a place for reflection and solitude—a place of peace.  We prayed and sang, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour….  The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His name….” 



View from Visitation Church



Upon which virtues is the Holy Spirit inspiring us to contemplate?  Who is the Lord calling us to “visit” (call, write, etc.)?  How are we being urged to share our many blessings as well as our thanksgiving for all that God has done for us? 

Mosaic at Visitation Church








Prayer: Battle of Faith, Triumph of Perseverance

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI continued his catecheses on prayer at the May 25, 2011 General Audience by speaking about the Patriarch Jacob and his fight with the unknown man (cf. Genesis 32:23-33).

In the episode of the fight at the ford of Jabbok, the Pope observed, "the people of Israel speak of their origin and outline the features of a unique relationship between God and humanity. This is why, as also affirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 'from this account, the spiritual tradition of the Church has retained the symbol of prayer as a battle of faith and as the triumph of perseverance'".

"Our entire lives", concluded the Holy Father, "are like this long night of struggle and prayer, passed in the desire of and request for God's blessing, which cannot be ripped away or won over through our strength, but must be received with humility from Him as a gratuitous gift that allows us, finally, to recognize the face of the Lord. And when this happens, our entire reality changes: we receive a new name and God's blessing".

For more information please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110525_en.html

http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/05/jacob-prayer-battle-of-faith-call-for.html

Loving God as Mary Loves

“…The love of God, who surrendered himself into our hands for our salvation, gives us the inner freedom to let go of our own lives, in order to find true life. Mary’s participation in this love gave her the strength to say “yes” unconditionally. In her encounter with the gentle, respectful love of God, who awaits the free cooperation of his creature in order to bring about his saving plan, the Blessed Virgin was able to overcome all hesitation and, in view of this great and unprecedented plan, to entrust herself into his hands. With complete availability, interior openness and freedom, she allowed God to fill her with love, with his Holy Spirit. Mary, the simple woman, could thus receive within herself the Son of God, and give to the world the Saviour who had first given himself to her.

In [the] celebration of the Eucharist, the Son of God has also been given to us. Those who have received Holy Communion, in a special way, carry the Risen Lord within themselves. Just as Mary bore him in her womb – a defenseless little child, totally dependent on the love of his Mother – so Jesus Christ, under the species of bread, has entrusted himself to us, dear brothers and sisters. Let us love this Jesus who gives himself so completely into our hands! Let us love him as Mary loved him! And let us bring him to others, just as Mary brought him to Elizabeth as the source of joyful exultation!  The Virgin gave the Word of God a human body, and thus enabled him to come into the world as a man. Let us give our own bodies to the Lord, and let them become ever more fully instruments of God’s love, temples of the Holy Spirit!

Let us ask Mary to teach us how to become, like her, inwardly free, so that in openness to God we may find true freedom, true life, genuine and lasting joy.”

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Angelus, 9 September 2007

Vienna, Austria

The entire text may be read at:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/angelus/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20070909_wien_en.html

Of what do we need to let go so that we may find true life?  Can we give our bodies to the Lord as temples of the Holy Spirit?  Are we able to overcome all hesitation and place ourselves in God’s hands? 

We must show the world that the way to true and lasting joy is by saying “yes” to God.  We have the tools to inform and form ourselves, and subsequently others, in Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and a wealth of Encyclicals, Apostolic Letters and other Church documents.

We have the right to exercise freedom especially in moral and religious matters.  However, moral law is being cast aside by society and governments under the guise of freedom of choice.  Persons claim the right to refuse God’s plan of love for their lives.  Demands are made to choose abortion and contraception, euthanasia, or other willful destruction of human life.  Children and adolescents as well as adults demand immoral choice(s) relating to sexuality, reproductive rights, sexual identity or gender. 

While serving on the Holy See Delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women I met another country delegate (in the ladies room!) shortly after she made an intervention expounding on “my body, my right”.  I asked how she rationalized quoting Mother Teresa, one of the world’s foremost pro-life supporters, in order to advance a pro-abortion agenda.  Her highly-agitated response relayed that she “was just attacked (verbally) by someone else.”  She defensively indicated that she is a “spiritual” person and can easily take from Mother Teresa whatever she wants to advance her cause for abortion for women and girls who have been raped.  I agreed that we need to care for rape victims though not at the expense of the life of a child.  During our ensuing dialogue she calmed down.  More than twenty years of pastoral care experience gave me indications that the delegate was herself a victim of violence.   I hope and pray that my taking on an assertive, pastoral role—rather than an angry, aggressive role as assumed by another--may have planted a seed for the delegate’s future reconciliation and conversion, please God. 

Nourished by the Holy Eucharist, may we find opportunities to more fully experience God’s love and will for our lives.  May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to freely share with others what has been entrusted to us by our Risen Lord. 

Pray with Unfailing Trust in God’s Merciful Love

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI said at the General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square on May 18, 2011 :

“... We now turn to Sacred Scripture and its witness to the dialogue between God and man in history, a dialogue culminating in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We can begin with the prayer with which Abraham, the father of all believers (cf. Romans 4), implores God not to destroy the sinful city of Sodom (cf. Genesis 18). Abraham’s prayer of intercession appeals to God’s justice, begging him not to destroy the innocent with the guilty. But it also appeals to God’s mercy, which is capable of transforming evil into good through forgiveness and reconciliation. God does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion and liberation from sin. In reply to Abraham’s prayer, God is willing to spare Sodom if ten righteous men can be found there. Later, through the prophet Jeremiah, he promises to pardon Jerusalem if one just man can be found (cf. Jeremiah 5:1). In the end, God himself becomes that Just Man, in the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ’s prayer of intercession on the Cross brings salvation to the world. Through him, let us pray with unfailing trust in God’s merciful love for all mankind, conscious that our prayers will be heard and answered.”

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110518_en.

  

Let us pray for the conversion of hearts, freedom from sin, and God's abundant mercy for all humanity.  May the evil which abounds in our world be transformed into good.  May our Risen Lord intercede for all who "know not what they do." 

Pray for the Salvation of Humanity Daily

VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2011 (VIS)

Addressing the pilgrims present at today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI explained that "Abraham, the great patriarch, father of all believers", offers us the first example of a prayer of intercession when God told him of His plan to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, "because of the wickedness of its inhabitants".

The Patriarch, the Pope said, "did not limit himself to asking for the salvation of the innocent but also implored forgiveness for the entire city, appealing to God's justice", a divine justice that "seeks the good and creates it by means of a forgiveness that transforms the sinners, converting and saving them".

"Abraham's thought, that seems almost paradoxical, can be summarized thus: of course the innocent cannot be treated like the guilty, that would be unjust; instead the guilty need to be treated as the innocent, applying a 'higher' justice, offering them the possibility of salvation because, if the evildoers accept God's forgiveness and confess their blame, letting themselves be saved, they will not continue doing evil but will also become just, no longer needing to be punished".

Emphasizing that "forgiveness breaks the spiral of sin", the Pope noted that "Abraham, in his dialogue with God, asks exactly for that ... through his intercession, his prayer to God for the salvation of the others, he demonstrates and expresses the desire for salvation that God always nurtures for the sinner. Evil cannot be accepted. It must be pointed out and destroyed through punishment.  The destruction of Sodom had precisely this function. The Lord, however, did not wish the death of the wicked but that they convert and live: His desire is always to forgive, to save, to give life, and to transform evil into good".

Pope Benedict XVI ended by asking that "the prayer of Abraham, our father in the faith, teach us to open our hearts more and more to God's overabundant mercy, so that in our daily prayer we might know how to desire the salvation of humanity and to ask for it with perseverance and with confidence in the Lord who is great in love".

For more information please visit:  http://www.visnews-en.blogspot.com/

Feminine Values Modeled by Mary

Let’s return to the 2004 Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, wherein then-Cardinal Ratzinger reflected on the importance of feminine values in the life of the Church.

15…Mary is a mirror placed before the Church, in which the Church is invited to recognize her own identity as well as the dispositions of the heart, the attitudes and the actions which God expects from her.

The existence of Mary is an invitation to the Church to root her very being in listening and receiving the Word of God, because faith is not so much the search for God on the part of human beings, as the recognition by men and women that God comes to us; he visits us and speaks to us. This faith, which believes that “nothing is impossible for God” (cf. Gn 18:14; Lk 1:37), lives and becomes deeper through the humble and loving obedience by which the Church can say to the Father: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Faith continually makes reference to Jesus: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5) and accompanies Jesus on his way, even to the foot of the Cross. Mary, in the hour of darkness, perseveres courageously in faithfulness, with the sole certainty of trust in the Word of God.

It is from Mary that the Church always learns the intimacy of Christ. Mary, who carried the small child of Bethlehem in her arms, teaches us to recognize the infinite humility of God. She who received the broken body of Jesus from the Cross shows the Church how to receive all those in this world whose lives have been wounded by violence and sin. From Mary, the Church learns the meaning of the power of love, as revealed by God in the life of his beloved Son: “he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart... he has lifted up the lowly” (Lk 1:51-52). From Mary, the disciples of Christ continually receive the sense and the delight of praise for the work of God's hands: “The Almighty has done great things for me” (Lk1:49). They learn that they are in the world to preserve the memory of those “great things”, and to keep vigil in expectation of the day of the Lord.

16. To look at Mary and imitate her does not mean, however, that the Church should adopt a passivity inspired by an outdated conception of femininity. Nor does it condemn the Church to a dangerous vulnerability in a world where what count above all are domination and power. In reality, the way of Christ is neither one of domination (cf. Phil 2:6) nor of power as understood by the world (cf. Jn18:36). From the Son of God one learns that this “passivity” is in reality the way of love; it is a royal power which vanquishes all violence; it is “passion” which saves the world from sin and death and recreates humanity. In entrusting his mother to the Apostle John, Jesus on the Cross invites his Church to learn from Mary the secret of the love that is victorious.

Far from giving the Church an identity based on an historically conditioned model of femininity, the reference to Mary, with her dispositions of listening, welcoming, humility, faithfulness, praise and waiting, places the Church in continuity with the spiritual history of Israel. In Jesus and through him, these attributes become the vocation of every baptized Christian. Regardless of conditions, states of life, different vocations with or without public responsibilities, they are an essential aspect of Christian life. While these traits should be characteristic of every baptized person, women in fact live them with particular intensity and naturalness. In this way, women play a role of maximum importance in the Church's life by recalling these dispositions to all the baptized and contributing in a unique way to showing the true face of the Church, spouse of Christ and mother of believers.

In this perspective one understands how the reservation of priestly ordination solely to men does not hamper in any way women's access to the heart of Christian life. Women are called to be unique examples and witnesses for all Christians of how the Bride is to respond in love to the love of the Bridegroom.

To read the entire text please visit:  http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20040731_collaboration_en.html

Encouraged by these words, let’s take some time to look at Mary as if looking in a mirror placed before us.  Can we see the ways in which God comes to us?  Do we say “yes” to God’s will for our life?  Do we recognize Mary’s love and care in our own attitudes and actions?  How do we—individually and collectively-- contribute to the life of the Church and show the true face of the Church to the world?

In charity and in truth we must be witnesses of our faith in a society which increasingly rejects natural moral law.  We are called to share our God-given gifts through lives of loving service.  May our Blessed Mother Mary show us how to love, in and through Jesus, “the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)



Prayer Responds to Human Beings’ Desire for God

VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2011 (VIS) - In this Wednesday's general audience celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope continued with the reflection on "how prayer and religious feeling are a part of humans throughout their lives".

The Holy Father said:  "In prayer, ... human beings experience themselves as creatures in need of help, incapable of attaining the fulfillment of their existence or their hopes alone. ... In the experience of prayer we orient our very souls to that Mystery from which we look for the fulfillment of our deepest desires and help to overcome the poverty of our lives. In looking to the Other, in directing ourselves 'beyond', is found the essence of prayer, the experience of a reality that goes beyond the apparent and the contingent".

Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that "even though human beings are forgetful of their Creator, the true and living God never stops calling humanity first to the mysterious encounter of prayer".

 "We must learn to spend more time in front of God, before the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ; we must learn to recognize in silence, within our very selves, his voice that calls us and leads us to the depth of our existence, to the fount of life and the source of salvation, so that we might overcome the limit of our lives and open ourselves to the measure of God, the relationship with He who is Infinite Love".

Mother’s Day

During this Easter Season we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and the new life we share in Him.  The month of May is traditionally a time to especially honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Everyday is a day to give thanks to God for the women who, like our Blessed Mother Mary, said “yes” to God’s will so that each of us received the gift of life.  We thank our mothers and grandmothers, aunts and godmothers, sisters and friends who have nurtured us and taught us to know, love and serve God. 

Whether called by God to be biological and/or spiritual mothers, the role of women is irreplaceable in all aspects of family and social life involving human relationships and caring for others.   Women must be significantly and actively present in the family in the leadership role of teachers.  Children learn to love inasmuch as they are unconditionally loved, they learn respect for others inasmuch as they are respected, they learn to know the face of God inasmuch as they see it in a father and a mother fully attentive to them.  Likewise women must be significantly and actively present in the world of work and in the organization of society, and should have access to leadership positions which allow them to inspire the policies of nations and to promote innovative solutions to economic and social problems.

In the United States of America, Australia, Canada, many European and other countries throughout the world, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.  The United Kingdom, Ireland, Nigeria and others celebrate Mothering Sunday on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent.  In the Holy Land and other Middle Eastern countries the first day of Spring, March 21, is celebrated as Mother’s Day.  International celebrations honoring motherhood are held on other dates important to those cultures.

Thanks be to God for all our dear Mothers!

Pope Benedict XVI Begins Series of Catecheses on Christian Prayer

At the General Audience on May 4, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI began a series of catecheses that will focus on the theme of Christian prayer.  His Holiness said:

The new series of catecheses which we begin today are devoted to prayer and, in particular, the prayer proper to Christians. Christian prayer is grounded in the gift of new life brought by Christ; it is an “art” in which Christ, the Son of God, is our supreme teacher. At the same time, prayer is a part of the human experience, as we see from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. There we find eloquent expressions of a desire to see God, to experience his mercy and forgiveness, to grow in virtue and to experience divine help in all that we do. In these cultures there is also a recognition that prayer opens man to a deeper understanding of our dependence on God and life’s ultimate meaning. The pagan religions, however, remain a plea for divine help, an expression of that profound human yearning for God which finds its highest expression and fulfilment in the Old and New Testaments. Divine revelation, in fact, purifies and fulfils man’s innate desire for God and offers us, through prayer, the possibility of a deeper relationship with our heavenly Father. With the disciples, then, let us ask the Lord: “Teach us to pray” (cf. Lk 11:1).

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110504_en.html#

Blessed John Paul II

Today the Church celebrates the Beatification of Venerable John Paul II.

Thanks be to God for the witness of his faith, hope and love.

I had the privilege to meet and speak with Pope John Paul II many times through my service to the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO).  But the first time--my first trip to Rome in 1996--was an incredible experience. 

What a thrill to receive a ticket to the General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square and be directed by the Swiss Guard to the prima fila seating from where I would be able to greet His Holiness at the conclusion of the Audience.  The joyful anticipation was felt throughout the Square with the sound of music playing, people singing and chanting.  The energy, as well as the sense of peace, was palpable when our Holy Father rode in on the popemobile.  It was the peace which stayed with me throughout the greetings, remarks, Benediction, and throughout my brief personal time with Pope John Paul II. 

His Holiness looked at me and listened to me as if I was the only person in the world—as if there was nothing more important to demand his attention than our exchange of words.  Surely this ministry of presence is just a glimmer of God’s presence to us and care for each one of us.  He reached out and made the Sign of the Cross on my forehead.  It was the most natural, relaxed encounter.  Not until later as I walked through the Square did my knees start to shake as my mind raced:  I had just talked with the Pope! 

I was invited to Mass the next morning at the Holy Father’s private chapel in Castel Gandalfo.   At the appointed time, the Swiss Guard allowed me to enter the Apostolic Palace along with other invitees.  As we entered the chapel, Pope John Paul II was kneeling in prayer before the altar.  His head was bowed, his hands were over his ears almost as if he were blocking out all of the sounds and demands of the world in order to listen only to God speaking to him.  You could feel the intensity of his communion with the Lord.  After the beautiful liturgy I was again able to personally greet Pope John Paul II.

I am humbled by these and other privileged encounters with now Blessed John Paul II. 

Deo gratias.

For more information regarding the Beatification, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/special/anniversario_gpii/documents/index_en.htm