Pray The Rosary – Second Joyful Mystery
Second Joyful Mystery – The Visitation
In this the Second Joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary, we ponder on what Mother Mary did after she was told by the Angel Gabriel that she of all women, was chosen to be the Mother of God
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
(Luke 1: 39-45
Meditation on The Second Joyful Mystery
Isn’t it amazing what Mother Mary does next! She has just been told, not by a neighbour or friend, but by God’s messenger – Angel Gabriel – which is the same as God Himself; that she had been chosen to play a major role in the salvation of the entire human race. She was chosen to be the new Arc of The Covenant; she was chosen to be the Mother of God. Yet in spite of this, what Mother Mary did next was unprecedented, yet very much in keeping with her character. She went to her cousin Elizabeth to serve her. Mary’s personality is like that of Jesus Christ her son – it is other people centered. So it was well within her character, after being told by the Angel Gabriel that she was going to be the Mother of God, for Mother Mary to go out and serve someone else. St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2 comes to mind here. Here, St. Paul writes,
“There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better that yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first, but everybody thinks of the other person’s interests instead.”
Philippians 2: 3-5
This is precisely what Mother Mary’s character was – self-effacing and considering the other person to be more important than herself. Can you imagine for a moment what our world would be like if much more of us were like that? Can you imagine for a moment what our world would be like if politicians would genuinely seek the betterment of the other, in spite of their political beliefs; if we all saw the homeless as our sister or brother; if we saw the orphan as our very own daughter or son? Can you imagine?
Prayer
Mother Mary, so often I have thought only of myself. I have been selfish, ignoring the needs of others, even those nearest to me. Please help me to be more humble; help me to be much more thoughtful and considerate towards others.
