I hope you all had a meaningful Memorial Day yesterday as we remembered as a nation those who have fallen while serving our country. Life is full of memories and remembrances like this, it is human to remember things like anniversaries and special yearly events. In this sense, time is not linear but cyclical as we begin year after year in a continuous loop of remembrances and indicators that it is time to plant or harvest. Just last week we talked about the way the Church celebrates its year over and again, a way in which we participate in the events that took place in a different age.

Coming up this Friday is a “Red-Letter Day,” one of the Holy Days of the Church year—the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth and Zechariah. This Holy Day is the remembrance of when the blessed Virgin Mary goes down to visit her relative who also happens to be miraculously pregnant, although Elizabeth in her old age rather than a virgin pregnancy. We should recall this happening to Sarah, the wife of Abraham. This too was a momentous and extremely important moment in salvation history.

John the Baptist is in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary comes and greets Elizabeth. Hearing the Virgin’s greeting John leaps in the womb Elizabeth, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies in song: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:42-45)

Mary then sings her beautiful song, The Magnificat which is a staple canticle of Evening Prayer. Mary begins her son, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:46-49). She continues glorifying in God’s salvation through her baby who would grow into the man who gave his life as a ransom for many. Mary stays three more months before heading back to her own home.

There is great reverence shown to the Virgin Mary by Elizabeth as she recognizes, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the importance of the Virgin Mary in the plan of salvation. For many of us who have come from deeply Protestant backgrounds, the sheer mention of the Virgin Mary can cause some discomfort. But as we grow in understanding of the rich history of the church, we begin to see her as truly “Blessed,” being the very Mother of God (which was a title established by an ecumenical council to determine proper understanding of who Christ is in his two natures). If we know how to show respect to our own mothers and grandmothers, may we show the proper respect to the mother of our Lord. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

The Proper for this feast can be found on pg. 628 in the Book of Common Prayer (2019), “Almighty God, by whose grace Elizabeth rejoiced with the blessed Virgin Mary and greeted her as the mother of the Lord: Look with favor on your lowly servants, that, with Mary, we may magnify your holy Name and rejoice to acclaim her Son as our Savior; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen”