They had no child,
because Elizabeth was barren,
and both were advanced in years.
Luke 1:7
The Feast of the Visitation invites us to reflect on the bond that unites young and old. The Lord trusts that young people, through their relationships with the elderly, will realize that they are called to cultivate memory and recognize the beauty of being part of a much larger history. For the elderly, the presence of a young person in their lives can give them hope that their experience will not be lost and that their dreams can find fulfillment. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and their shared awareness that the Lord’s mercy is from generation to generation remind us that, alone, we cannot move forward, much less save ourselves, and that God’s presence and activity are always part of something greater, the history of a people.
--Pope Francis,
Message for the 3rd World Day
for Grandparents, July 23, 2023
Happy Feast of the Visitation!
May Jesus be born in our hearts!
Image source 1: Jacques Daret, Visitation, altarpiece, St. Vaast, Arras, France (1434-1435), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Daret
Image source 2: The Visitation, attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance (ca. 1310-20). This image was created for the nuns of Katharinenthal in Germany. Elizabeth and Mary face each other, and, in the middle of their bodies, near their hearts and above their wombs, a crystal marks in each woman the place of the gestation of their sons, John the Baptist and Jesus. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464596
Quotation source
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