The Visitation: An Invitation to the In Between Moments

The Feast of the Visitation is perhaps my favorite moment in the liturgical calendar.  Here is a brief reflection I offered after communion a few months back at the blessing of a chapel dedicated to the Visitation:

In order to understand the Visitation, we need to back up a little:

The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her that she will become pregnant with the Son of God.  Mary, being the all-star that she is, responds “let it be done to me.”  While Gabriel is visiting Mary, he tells her that her cousin, Elizabeth, is also pregnant.  Now, Elizabeth was very old and thought to be barren.  So, really, there are 2 major miracles here.

So, then we get into the Visitation. 

Mary, while pregnant, takes off for Judah to visit Elizabeth.  When Mary arrives, Elizabeth is ecstatic.  She describes her child, who we know as John the Baptist, as jumping in her womb.  Elizabeth’s response is gorgeous, and many of you know it from a prayer we often pray today: the Hail Mary.

Often times, that’s where people cut off the story.  But, that misses my absolute favorite part--- the part I consider to be the meat of it:

Mary stays with Elizabeth for 3 months.

That’s all the Bible says.  That’s all we get: Mary stays for 3 months.

I like to imagine what those 3 months were filled with.  I’m sure there was some freaking out about how on earth they became pregnant.  And probably lots of girl talk.  I’m sure there was praying, and laughing and some tears too.

But my guess?  There were a lot of ordinary, every day moments.

And I LOVE that.

So, for 3 months, they just hung out and went about their lives. 

And most definitely, God was present in those ordinary moments.

And here’s what I love the most:

they were together for 3 months, and our semester is roughly 3 months.

Think about these next 3 months of the semester. 

There will be profound moments. 

There will be excruciating moments. 

But most of all--- there will be a lot of in between moments.

Those moments that aren’t especially note worthy.  The moments that fill our day.  The in between moments.

So when I look at the Visitation, I see that it’s about two main things:

 Friendship

God is with us in the in between moments.

In those moments that don’t stand out, in our every day busyness:

God is there.  God is here.

If we pay attention to our every day moments, all the moments that we often just let pass by, we’ll realize the many ways that God is working in our lives. 

So whether you are trying to figure out what to major in, or whether to keep up that long-distance relationship from home, or what to do after graduation--I am confident that God is already speaking to you through your every day experiences. 

It is our job to pay attention to those moments.

So, here is my invitation to you:  listen to God in your lives.  Not just in the big, profound moments, but perhaps more importantly, in the everyday.