The Second Joyful Mystery - The Visitation

Mysteries of the Faith Monthly Formation

(If you have not yet done so, please click here to read the Introduction to Formation before beginning)

There are countless paintings of the Visitation but this one, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, (Girl-land-dye-o) is unique because of the two women standing in the background. More on that in a minute.

Artists of every age have depicted Mary as a fully adult woman but this is clearly the face of an innocent girl about 14 or 15 years old. Her demeanor is calm and peaceful but very determined. She has a mission and she knows it. She is still wearing her traveling cloak, having just arrived. Her cloak covers her completely. Pope Benedict XVI said that Mary's journey to visit her cousin was the first Eucharistic procession in history. This painting is reminiscent of that idea. Just as the priest wraps himself and the Blessed Sacrament in the voluminous folds of the cope and humeral veil, Mary has reverently wrapped herself to create a private enclave for the Lord.

In her humility, she is bending over to embrace her cousin, Elizabeth. This is the face of a woman beyond the normal age for childbearing. At the time this painting was done, as well as at the time Mary and Elizabeth lived, elders never, never humbled themselves before someone younger. Yet Elizabeth is kneeling before Mary. Elizabeth is kneeling because God has just revealed to her, in a supernatural manner, that Mary is carrying the Messiah. We know that Elizabeth understands that the Messiah is God because she calls Mary “the Mother of my Lord.” She is kneeling in the Presence of God. Her expression reflects awe for the magnitude of what has happened. She is looking pensively off in the distance as though realizing that her own miraculous pregnancy must also have some connection to the great event of the coming of the Messiah. Look at her expression; it’s almost as if she is saying to herself, “NOW I understand what the Angel meant when he spoke about my child: ‘He will be great in the sight of the Lord…he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” The Church teaches us that John was freed from original sin at that moment. Why? Because of what the Angel Gabriel said: “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”

“Now as the presence of any sin whatever is incompatible with the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul, it follows that at this moment John was cleansed from the stain of original sin.” - Catholic Encyclopedia

This was a necessary preparation for and foreshadowing of the mission that John the Baptist was called to fulfill. This was the first Baptism and it was accomplished directly by the Presence of the unborn Christ. This indeed was the reason the Holy Spirit inspired Mary to visit her cousin. She clearly felt an urgency to go as Scripture tells us that she went “with haste.” Mary's first act as Mother of Christ was to take part in the work of the Redeemer. She carried her Lord to the house of Zachary and Elizabeth so that, after Mary herself, John the Baptist would be the first to be redeemed by Christ.

And who are the two women in the background? Well, this is what makes this particular painting of the Visitation unique. The woman on the left is Mary, the mother of James, whom she appears to be carrying in her womb. This is the same James who would become one of the twelve Apostles. The woman on the right is Mary Salome. These two women (along with Mary Magdalene) were the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. They were the ones who saw the Angel in the empty tomb who told them, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. He is risen. See the place where they laid Him.” Were these women present at the Visitation? No, not that we know of. Scripture doesn’t mention it. So why did the artist put them into this painting? Why would the artist juxtapose these two different Gospels stories, the Visitation and the Resurrection?

For a very personal and poignant reason. This painting was commissioned by a man as a memorial for his young wife and unborn child who died as a result of complications from the pregnancy. How beautiful for the artist to paint into this memorial these two witnesses of the Resurrection; when the man looks at the painting and thinks of his wife and child, he will be reminded that they will be raised up again on the last day. He will see the hope of the Resurrection and not despair in his grief.

Though the symbolism is personal, it is an appropriate meditation for us as we pray the Rosary Mystery of the Visitation. In fact, the Resurrection is a brilliant symbol to insert into this moment when John leapt in the womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. The resurrection of the body is directly connected to freedom from original sin.

As Ransomists, we can learn something important for our vocation by meditating on this painting while we pray the Mystery of "The Visitation". Something very powerful and profound took place here but it was completely hidden. The Kingdom of God entered the world, established a base and gained its first followers right here. But Lucifer didn’t know it yet because it took place in the privacy of the heart and soul and womb, all three of which can be called "the garden enclosed." This picture shows us precisely how the Ransom vocation is supposed to operate: ordinary life on the outside, extraordinary life on the inside, inside the secret garden, the garden enclosed.