Woman of Faith: The Visitation
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
“Mary typifies all Christians who must by their very calling, be involved in the work for peace, justice and mercy. The Lucan Mary reminds us that evangelization is not an option. It is the essential element of faith”.
WOMAN OF FAITH
The inspired word insists that authentic faith must express itself in action. James scoffs at so-called Christians who are “hearers only” and not “doers of the word”. The blessings of God come only to the “doer that acts”, for “he shall be blessed in his doing”. (James 1:22-25). James vividly describes the ridiculous state of someone who claims total surrender to the Lord but does not live it.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:14-17:26). As the body is the expression of the spirit, so too good works are the manifestation of faith. For if we believe in the Lord, then, as Matthew tells us, we will see him in the poor, the naked, the homeless and hurry to His aid (cf. Mt 25:31-46).
WE LOVE, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US
When Paul, therefore, tells us that God “justifies him who has faith in Jesus,” (Rom 3:26) and that “man is justified apart from works of law” (3:38) he is not contradicting the evangelical teaching that faith must express itself in action. Rather, he is insisting that a faith-response to Jesus is only possible because His gracious, constant call empowers us to so reply. All are enabled by God’s universal salvific will to respond – as best as can be done in each one’s circumstances – to His offer of Life in Christ Jesus. “We love,” says John, “because he first loved us”. (1 Jn. 4:19).
Faith and good works are not, then, opposed to each other; rather they are so intertwined that one cannot exist without the other.
Faith is the root, the blossom is action. Faith as belief in a set of propositions can in theory exist without love of God and neighbor. However, faith in its fullest sense – a personal response on every level of personality to the God who calls – includes love. Faith in its total meaning, as exemplified by Mary of the Annunciation, is vivified by love. And there is no love of God where there is no love of neighbor.
FAITH AND LOVE
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from God that he who loves God should love his brother also”. (1 Jn. 4:20-21). “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, says Jesus, “if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). Faith must always, then, be expressed in sincere and active love for one’s neighbor.
The more intense our relationship to Jesus, the more active and dynamic will be our life of service. There is no “Christian” who apathetically stands aloof as most of the world goes to bed painfully hungry every night. No one can be called “Christian” who yawns in disinterest as the evening news blares of discrimination, terrorism, flagrant acts of injustice. Enabled by the Spirit, the Christian’s faith necessarily entails involvement in the “joy and hope, the grief and anguish of people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way”. (Church in the Modern World, #1).
TOTAL . . .
This flowering of faith is not synonymous with feverish activity It is the contemplative who fulfills faith-in-action to an extraordinary degree. All who enter a cloister are deeply entwined with the joys and sorrows of their brothers and sisters. It is to transform this world into a civilization of love that a man or woman lives a life of constant praise of God through the daily Liturgy, the chanting of the Hours, the simplicity of poverty.
Such privileged people are at the front lines of the battle, for their apostolate is within the Heart of Christ, where all joys and sorrows of this world find their home. By piercing the darkness of the night with the brightness of their songs of praise, they are influencing this world in ways beyond comprehension. In the Heart of the Risen Jesus, the physical center of the cosmos, they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, right injustice. Through Christ and in Christ, they touch with salvific healing, the wounded of the world.
Can we not say the same for those who are bedfast, whose bodies no longer can support any actual, physical involvement in the home, or office, or classroom, or mission field?
Those in retirement are called, with the contemplatives, to the front line of evangelization. For all, prayer in and for the Body of Christ is the primary apostolate.
. . . SURRENDER
Each Christian must express total surrender to the Lord by joyful, loving service. Each one according to his or her own vocation; the mother by her loving care for the family, the student by serious application to learning, the politician by publicly and fearlessly upholding Gospel values, the pastor by total dedication to his parish. To the extent possible, all in this valley of tears must reach out to others in Christ. Faith calls us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, instruct those who do not know the Lord. Faith must express itself in action; otherwise it is dead.
THE VISITATION
Mary so powerfully exemplifies the essential connection between true faith and service to neighbor. The second panel painted by Luke is the Visitation of Mary to her relative Saint Elizabeth; here the rather complicated theological theories about the relationship of faith and active Christian life are so simply and authentically clarified.
The distance between Nazareth and the hill country of Judah is fewer than a hundred miles. Not a long trip by today’s standards but when donkey or camel were the principal means of transport, arduous and dangerous travel indeed. It is with haste that Mary undertakes this first missionary journey; the Christian does not delay in caring for others, no matter the difficulties involved.
Madonna and Child: painter Elisabetta Sirani: 1663
Elisabetta took over the studio of her father Giovanni Sirani in 1654-1655. This painting resides in the National Museum of Woman Arts in Washington, DC.
Madonna and Child: Italian Painter: Sandro Botticelli: 1468
This is a portion of the painting. The background has been removed, focusing on Mary and the Child Jesus. This portion of the original painting was featured in the original Queen of All Hearts magazine article on the inside pages. The original also applied a pink filter for a dramatic presentation. The Queen duplicates this image using the live painting, which resides in the Louvre, Paris, France.
To the extent possible and in conformity with our vocation, Christians must become “doers of the word” through active participation in the joys and sorrows of the world, especially of those around us. We must be ready to put our lives on the line to bring the Good News of Jesus to the poor, the lonely, the disenfranchised, those who desperately need to hear the Liberating Word of the Lord.
Such is the profound vision of faith taught us by Our Lady of the Visitation.
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MARY’S FAITH . . .
In the Lucan portrait, immediately upon surrendering to the Lord, Mary expresses this faith in action. The apostolate is essential to faith. The young virgin Mother of Nazareth, the new Ark of the Covenant – the God-Bearer – is sent into action by the Holy Spirit as the Old Testament Ark – the dwelling place of God – was carried into the battles of the Israelites as they triumphed over the Canaanites. The Woman of Faith is the first to proclaim the Lord, the first to conquer for Christ as she brings Good News to Elizabeth and John the Baptizer.
Luke does not tell us Mary’s words of salutation to Elizabeth. He does underline, however, that through this greeting, God Himself acts. It is at the sound of Mary’s voice that John dances with joy in his mother’s womb as David centuries before danced before the Ark (cf. 2 Sam 6). Evangelization takes place THROUGH the words of this woman of faith; the joy of God’s presence is brought about THROUGH Mary’s visit.
. . . IN ACTION
Faith is being shared, God’s healing presence is being experienced THROUGH Mary’s voice. Through people of faith, God’s power – omnipotent love – recreates this world, turning sorrow into dancing. Rightfully, Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed is she who believed,” for Mary, the woman of faith, has brought the rejoicing of the Savior to her home. So too all men and women of faith are blessed. Through them, the power and joy of the Risen Lord is transforming all whom they meet.
The missionary journey of Mary as told by Luke concludes with the Canticle of Joy, the Magnificat. Perhaps the hymn has its principal source in the chants of early Jewish-Christians; nonetheless, it strongly clarifies the evangelical spirit of Mary and of all who follow the Lord. After every conquest for Christ, the Christian must praise God, for Holy is His Name. He is the wellspring; faith is the sharing in His omnipotence. He is to be praised for sending the Spirit through the words and deeds of those who believe in Him. We who are so lowly, of such low estate, must praise Him for using us as the active and responsible instruments of his glory. Praise of God, rejoicing in His goodness is an integral part of the apostolate.
PRAISE OF GOD . . . INTEGRAL PART OF THE APOSTOLATE
Often we have no inkling of what has been accomplished by our visit to the sick, our comfort to the bereaved, our instruction to those entering the Church, our firm yet peaceful example of Gospel values among those who scoff. No matter. We praise Him, for he who is mighty has done great things for us and through us.
There is an aspect of the Visitation which although central, is often overlooked when considering faith in action.
Mary, the model Christian, cries out to God for the liberation of the poor, the hungry, the oppressed; “He has scattered the proud . . . he has put down the mighty . . . the rich he has sent empty away”. But the poor, “he has filled with good things,” he has “exalted” them. The apostolate is not a passive, weak, fearful life.
Rather, as we see in Mary, it is filled with the omnipotence of God, caught up in the front-lines of the battle, outspoken and bold in its cry for the poor. Mary typifies all Christians who must by their very calling, be involved in the work for peace, justice and mercy. The Lucan Mary reminds us that evangelization is not an option. It is an essential element of faith. And evangelization must include within it the faith-struggle for justice, for clothing, food, shelter. Redemption is not only of the soul, but of the whole person.
FOLLOWER OF JESUS
Therefore, the faith-motivated work for justice for the oppressed, bread for the poor, healing of the ill, is not pre-evangelization but belongs to the heart of the proclamation of the Good News itself. The Magnificat sings that faith is liberating not only for oneself, but for others also. To stand idly by as injustice, discrimination, hunger reign in this world is equivalent to denying the faith. Fearlessly, for God “remembers his mercy,” and helps “his servants,” the Christian, like Mary, is a dynamic force in proclaiming to the world that Jesus is Lord! The follower of Jesus is, by loving voice and deed, the privileged instrument in carrying out the victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
How often we have heard appeals to live our faith, to volunteer for service in the parish by visiting the sick, caring for the elderly, teaching the young. Yet, many Christians seem to be satisfied with thinking of those less fortunate. Some strangely calm a troubled conscience by feasting at luxurious banquets, “fund-raisers for the starving”. Others assume they fulfill their privilege of discipleship by writing a perfunctory check for a charitable, non-profit organization. Is this the example of a living faith given to us by the Visitation Mary?
To the extent possible and in conformity with our vocation, Christians must become “doers of the word” through active participation in the joys and sorrows of the world, especially of those around us. We must be ready to put our lives on the line to bring the Good News of Jesus to the poor, the lonely, the disenfranchised, those who desperately need to hear the Liberating Word of the Lord.
Such is the profound vision of faith Our Lady of the Visitation teaches us!
