"MY SOUL PROCLAIMS THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD"

The Church of Visitation

The Church of the Visitation honors the Virgin Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. It also marks where Mary said her song of praise commonly known as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55NAB). It was decent climb uphill and we grew tired, but simply arriving was worth the hike. There is a beautiful mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary’s arrival to Zechariah’s home on the façade of the Church. It served as a reminder that, not only was the Virgin Mary literally there, but also that I needed to quit complaining (travel has became much more difficult)! A sense of amazement has marked all the Holy Sites we have visited.

We celebrated Mass at the main altar and the Mass parts and readings were taken from the Feast of the Visitation. I was struck by one line in the first reading, “Be glad and exult with all your heart” (Zephaniah 3:14 NAB). The Virgin Mary had a very important announcement based on what the angel Gabriel said and it needed to be shared. Mary went to this place to share the Good News with both her cousin Elizabeth and the     child in her womb. 

There is an ancient cistern which, according to tradition, both Mary and Elizabeth drank from There is also a giant rock that tradition holds hid John and his mother Elizabeth from Herod’s soldiers during the slaughtering of the innocents. It was a sight to see the all the bits of paper with prayer intentions left on the rock. After mass, we were able to do a Holy Hour on our own and, seeing all the intention by the rock, I started thinking of my own intentions from faithful back home. Know of our continued prayers for each of you and please continue to pray for us. May our souls “proclaim the greatness of the Lord”.