Today’s Gospel picks up where we left off yesterday. Mary has just consented to God’s invitation to become Jesus’ mother. And what is her first response? She packs a bag and literally heads for the hills to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is also pregnant and likely could use a hand. Mary’s first response is to be of service to another. Elizabeth welcomes Mary humbly and with great joy marveling that the “mother of my Lord” would bother to come to her.
Ignatius often invites us to end our prayer by engaging in a colloquy, or intimate conversation, between ourselves and God the Father, Jesus, or Mary. Elizabeth models this beautifully in Luke’s account, acknowledging that Mary’s willingness to actively participate in God’s plan for salvation has earned her the honor of being blessed among all women.
Imagine yourself in conversation with the Blessed Mother. What would be your prayer?
—Michael Sarafolean is an Ignatian Associate in St. Paul, MN, and a member of Saint Thomas More Catholic Community, the Jesuit parish of the Twin Cities.
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