Often, when meditating on the Visitation, we friars and nuns think about the charity that made Mary go running off to bring physical and spiritual help to St. Elizabeth. At this strange point in history, though, it might be easy to think, yeah, well, Mary didn’t have coronavirus to deal with…how am I supposed to live out this mystery when the world is on quarantine? Sr. Clara recently shared a thought helps answer that question very well: we can follow Mary’s example, not only in going out of our houses, but in going out of our selves – to try to understand another person, to try to meet people where they are at, to try to be understanding and compassionate even (and especially) when it doesn’t come naturally to us. And the message that our help is needed doesn’t need to come blazing on the wings of an archangel; whenever we notice that somebody else is “down,” or cranky, or struggling with something, we have already received the announcement that maybe we can “visit” that person in some way.
“The desire for closeness to Christ,” Pope Francis says, “requires us to draw near to our brothers and sisters” (Misericordia et misera, 16) – to be willing to draw near spiritually even (and especially) to those that we might feel like we’ve been quarantined with for far too long. Giving Christ to each other starts at home!
Who has God invited you to “visit” today?
Sr. EMJ
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