Salesian Literature

4. The Visitation

Sermon for the Feast of the Visitation, July 2, 1618, concerning Our Lady's motives for visiting St. Elizabeth, Our Lady's charity, her humility and how this humility pleased God, the blessings which came to the house of Zechariah at Mary's visitation, St. Elizabeth's prophecy and Mary's response, and the imitation of Our Lady by the Sisters of the Visitation.

​

"Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah."— Lk. 1:39

 

Our most lovable and never-sufficiently-loved Lady and Mistress, the glorious Virgin, had no sooner given her consent to the words of the angel Gabriel than the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished in her. Upon hearing from the same holy Gabriel that her kinswoman Elizabeth had in her old age conceived a son [Lk. 1:36], she desired, being her relative, to go to see her, so that she might wait upon her and be a comfort to her during her pregnancy, for she knew that such was the divine will. And, says the Evangelist St. Luke, she immediately left Nazareth, the little town of Galilee where she lived, to go into Judea to the house of Zechariah. Abiit in montana: She went up into the hill country of Judah and set out upon the journey, though it was long and difficult; for, as many authors remark, the town where Elizabeth dwelt is 27 leagues distant from Nazareth; others say a little less, but in any case it was a rough enough road for this weak and delicate Virgin, because it was mountainous.

 

Thus, aware of a divine inspiration, she started out. She was not drawn by any curiosity to see if what the angel had told her was really true, for she had not the least doubt about it, but rather she was quite certain that things were exactly as he had declared. Still, some persons have chosen to maintain that she was, to a certain extent, moved by curiosity in her resolution; for it is true that it was an unheard-of wonder that St. Elizabeth, who had never had any children, and who was barren, should have in her old age conceived. Or else, say they, it may be that she had some doubt with regard to what the angel had announced to her — which is not true, and St. Luke condemns and refutes them by the words which he writes in his first chapter: that St. Elizabeth, seeing the Virgin enter, exclaimed: Blest is she who trusted that the Lord's word to her would be fulfilled [Lk. 1:45]. It was not therefore curiosity nor any doubt as to the pregnancy of St. Elizabeth which made her undertake this journey, but rather many desirable motives, of which I will mention a few.

 

She went in order to see that great wonder, or that great grace, which God had worked on behalf of this good old and barren woman, that she should conceive a son in spite of her barrenness, for she knew well that in the Old Law it was a subject of reproach to be childless; but because this good woman was old, she also went that she might be of service to her during this time of her pregnancy, and offer her all the help she possibly could. Secondly, it was in order to tell her of the exalted mystery of the Incarnation which had been worked in her; for Our Lady was not unaware that her kinswoman Elizabeth was a just person [Lk. 1:6], very good, and God-fearing. She also knew that she ardently desired the coming of the Messiah, promised in the Law for the Redemption of the world, and that it would be an immense consolation for her to know that the divine promises were fulfilled and that the time desired the patriarchs and prophets had already come. Thirdly, s also went to restore Zechariah's speech which was I' through his disbelief in the prediction of the angel when told him that his wife would conceive a son who was to called "John" [Lk. 1:13, 18-20]. Fourthly, she knew that this visit would draw down an immense number of blessings upon the house of Zechariah, superabundant blessings, which would penetrate even to the child in the womb of St. Elizabeth, who would be sanctified through her coming. Such were her motives, as well as many others which I could mention; but I would never finish!

 

Do you not think after all, my very dear Sisters, that what most especially led our glorious Mistress to pay this visit, which made her travel with that promptitude and in all haste into the hill country of Judah, was her most ardent charity and a most profound humility? Oh, most certainly, my dear Sisters, it was these two virtues which motivated her, and made her leave her little Nazareth, for charity is never idle; it burns in the hearts where it dwells and reigns, and the most blessed Virgin was full of it, because she bore Love Itself in her womb. She made continual acts of love, not only for God with whom she was united by the most perfect charity possible; she also loved her neighbor in a most perfect degree, which made her ardently desire the salvation of the whole world and the sanctification of souls; and knowing that she could cooperate with that of St. John, still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, she went there in all haste. Her charity urged her to rejoice with this good and venerable woman whom the Lord had blessed with such a benediction that, from being childless and barren, she had conceived and now was carrying him who was to be the Precursor of the Incarnate Word.

 

She went therefore to rejoice with her kinswoman, and that they might mutually help one another give glory to God, who had lavished such graces upon both: upon her who was a virgin, causing her to conceive the Son of God through the operation of the Holy Spirit [Lk. 1:35], and upon St. Elizabeth who was barren, making her conceive miraculously and through a special grace him who was to be the Precursor of the Messiah. But as it would have been unfitting that he who was chosen to prepare the way of the Lord [Lk. 1:76] should be stained with sin, Our Lady went quickly that he might be sanctified, and that this sacred Child who was God, to whom alone belongs the sanctification of souls, might during this visit bring it about in the glorious St. John, purifying him and delivering him from Original Sin. This He did with such plenitude that many Doctors unhesitatingly affirm that St. John never sinned even venially, although some others hold the contrary opinion, It was charity, therefore, which made the Most Blessed Virgin cooperate in this sanctification. But it is no wonder that her sacred heart was quite full of love and desire for the salvation of people, since she bore within her chaste womb Love Itself, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world; and it seems to me that it is to her that these words of the Song of Songs should be applied: Your head rises like Carmel [Song 7:6].

 

See, when the Divine Spouse describes the beauty of His spouse in detail. He begins with her head. But what does this Divine Lover mean when He says that the head of His beloved rises like Carmel? Mount Carmel is covered with a variety of sweet-smelling flowers, and the trees which grow there are full of perfumes. What do these flowers and perfumes represent if not charity, which is a most beautiful and fragrant virtue, one which never dwells alone in a soul? And although these words of the Song of Songs are applied to the Church, the true spouse of Our Lord, in which, as on Mount Carmel, abound all kinds of flowers of virtues and which is fragrant with holiness and perfection, still the same may be understood also of the Blessed Virgin, who is the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit. Possessing this charity therefore in such great perfection, she resembled Mount Carmel because of the frequent acts of this virtue which she made toward God, as well as toward the neighbor; and this charity, like a sweet-scented tree, gave forth a most pleasant perfume and fragrance.

 

The rabbis and some others seem to make it more clearly understood that the Divine Spouse, speaking of the head of His beloved, means to signify charity; for they render it thus: "Your lips are like a scarlet strand." And in another passage the cheeks of the spouse are compared to the seeds of the pomegranate [Song 4:3, 6:7], which are quite red. And what is the meaning of all this but that it plainly represents the charity of the Blessed Virgin? For she not only possessed charity, but had received it in such plenitude that she was charity itself. She had conceived Him who, being all love, had transformed her into love itself; so much so that to her, more fittingly than to any other, may be applied those words of the Song of Songs which the Sacred Spouse said when, beholding His beloved in her sweet repose, and seized with a holy delight. He adjured the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken her, saying: I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and hinds of the field, do not arouse My love who is in love, nor stir up love before its own time [Song 2:7, 3:5]. And why? Because she is in charity and in love. Or rather, according to another version:[1] I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, not to awaken dilection and love itself, until she wishes; and this dilection and love is My beloved, that is to say the Blessed Virgin, who not only possesses love, but is love itself. She it is whom God has looked upon with a quite special complacency; for who could have been such a cause of delight to Our Lord but the one who possessed all virtues in perfection? Along with charity, she was gifted with a profound humility, as is testified by those words which she uttered when St. Elizabeth praised her. Because God has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, all ages to come will praise her and call her blessed [Lk. 1:48].

 

But in order to free our minds from all cause of perplexity, let us explain how these words should be understood. Many Doctors think that when Our Lady said that Our Lord had looked upon His servant in her lowliness, she did not mean to speak of the virtue of humility which she possessed. Among those who hold this opinion we find Maldonat and others; for, they add, although the Virgin possessed a most profound humility, still she did not think herself humble; still less would she wish to speak of humility, inasmuch as the very word would have been contrary to humility itself. But when she said: "He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness," she meant the baseness, misery and abjection which she beheld in herself, and which were natural to her and to the nothingness whence she came. It was thus that she declared that God had looked upon His servant in her lowliness; for they who are truly humble, say these Doctors, never either see or believe that they have the virtue of humility.

 

Others hold the contrary opinion, which is the more probable; they think that Our Lady meant to speak of the virtue of humility, and that she knew well that it was this virtue which had drawn the Son of God into her womb. There is no doubt, therefore, about her knowing that she possessed this virtue, and this without danger of losing it, because she acknowledged that the humility which she saw in herself was not of her. Did not the great Apostle St. Paul protest that he possessed charity, and this in words so confident that he seems to speak with more presumption than humility? He said; Who will separate me from the love of Christ? [Rom. 8:35-39]. Shall it be chains, troubles, death, the cross, fire, the sword? No, nothing will be able to separate me from the love of God that comes to me in Christ Jesus.

 

Do you see with what boldness this Apostle speaks? If he protests that nothing will separate him from the love of his God, he must necessarily believe that he possesses charity. Indeed, there is no doubt about it, although when he says: Who will separate me from the love of my God? We must take it for granted that he means with the help of God's grace. Thus the glorious Virgin did not fail at alt in humility, nor did she commit any fault contrary to it when she declared that God had looked upon His servant in her lowliness, any more than St. Paul did when he exclaimed: Who will separate me from love? Our Lady knew that this virtue of humility touches and attracts the Heart of God more than all others.

 

After having considered His spouse in detail, the Spouse in the Song of Songs takes notice of her shoes and of her manner of walking, which pleased Him so much that He acknowledges Himself to be quite charmed by them. Oh, He exclaims, your sandals are pleasing to Me! How beautiful are your feet! [Song 7:2]. We read likewise in Holy Scripture that when Judith went to visit Holofernes she was beautifully dressed [Jud. 10:3-4, 16:7-9]; her face was the loveliest imaginable, her eyes glistened, and her lips were like rubies, her hair loose and falling over her shoulders. Nevertheless, Holofernes was ravished neither by the eyes, nor by the Ups, nor by the hair of Judith, nor by anything I have mentioned regarding her; but when he fixed his eyes on her sandals and shoes, which, as we may imagine, were embroidered with gold in a most artistic manner, he was completely charmed and overcome. Thus Our Lord saw indeed the variety and beauty of the virtues of Our Lady, which made her extremely beautiful, but when the Eternal Father cast His eyes upon her sandals or shoes, He was so ravished that He allowed Himself to be overcome, and sent her His Son, who became incarnate in her most chaste womb.

 

And what are these sandals and these shoes of the Virgin but her humility, which is represented by shoes, the humblest garments made use of for the adornment of the body, since they always touch the ground and tread upon mud and dirt. Thus it is the characteristic of true humility to be ever lowly, little, and at the feet of everyone. This virtue is the basis and foundation of the spiritual life, for it always chooses to be on the ground, with its nothingness and abjection. It is this lowliness which God had looked at in the Blessed Virgin, and from this look proceeded all her happiness; therefore she says, because of that she will be proclaimed blessed by all creation, from generation to generation. Our Lady then, when she said that God had looked upon her lowliness, reflected upon herself, upon her nature and upon her being; the result was that she humbled herself.

 

Abraham, whose faith was so great, was not unaware of God's gifts to him. He declares, nevertheless, as it is written in Genesis, that he is only dust and ashes [Gen. 18:27]. And Our Lord says of Himself[2] that He is more worm than man [Ps. 22:7]. Thus the Blessed Virgin, reflecting upon her most pure and holy life, saw that it was good; and seeing humility in herself, she can in this sense say that God has looked upon her humility; but also, in the other sense, seeing her nothingness, she can say that He has looked upon her lowliness, her worthlessness and her abjection, and for that reason she should be called blessed.

 

Now in either sense, she spoke with such deep humility that it was evident that she considered all her happiness to consist in the fact that God had cast His eyes upon her littleness, and therefore we may apply to her these words of the Song of Songs [1:12]: For the King's banquet my nard gives forth its fragrance. [And the King replies:] To Me My beloved is a nard which sends forth a most pleasant fragrance.

 

The nard is a small shrub which exudes a very sweet perfume; it does not rise high like the cedars of Lebanon, but remains in its lowliness, exhaling its perfume with such sweetness that it delights all those who smell it. The holy and most sacred Virgin was this precious nard who never exalted herself on account of anything that was said or done to her; but in her lowliness and littleness, like nard, she gave forth a perfume of such sweet fragrance that it rose to the throne of the Divine Majesty, who was so charmed and delighted by it that He left Heaven to come down here upon earth and become incarnate in the most pure womb of this incomparable Virgin.

 

You see then, my very dear Sisters, how pleasing humility is to God, and how our glorious Mistress was chosen to be the Mother of Our Lord because she was humble. Even her Divine Son gave testimony of this. When that good woman, seeing the miracle He had just worked, and noticing the murmuring of the Jews, rose up and cried out with a loud voice: Blest is the womb that bore You and the breasts that nursed You, the Saviour made answer: Rather, blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it! [Lk. 11:27-28]. It is as though He meant to say: It is true that My Mother is indeed blessed because she bore Me in her womb; but she is far more so because of the humility with which she has heard the words of My heavenly Father and has kept them. And another time, when they came to tell Him that His Mother was asking for Him, this Divine Master replied that those there who did the will of His Father were His Mother, His brothers and His sisters [Matt. 12:47-50]. It is not that He did not wish to recognize His Mother, but He wanted to make it understood that she was pleasing to God not only because she had borne Him in her womb, but still more because of the humility with which she fulfilled His will in all things.

​

But I see that the time is getting on so I will finish by filling up the few remaining minutes with the rest of this Gospel account, for it is extremely beautiful and must be, I think, most delightful to listen to. The Evangelist says that the Virgin proceeded in haste and went up into the hill country of Judah, to show the promptitude with which we should respond to divine inspirations; for when the Holy Spirit touches a heart. He puts to flight all tepidity: He loves diligence and promptitude, and is the enemy of procrastination and delays in the performance of the divine will, Mary set out (Exsurgens Maria); she rises up promptly and proceeds in haste into the hill country of Juda, for the Child whom she bore within her did not inconvenience her in the least, inasmuch as He was unlike others; therefore the Virgin felt not the inconvenience of other women, who are heavy and unable to walk on account of the weight of the child they bear, because these children are sinners.[3]  But Our Lady's Child was no sinner; rather, He was the Saviour of sinners and He who came to take away the sin of the world [Jn. 1:29]. Therefore He did not burden her, but only made her lighter and more active. Another reason why she walked quickly was that her virginal purity urged her to do so in order that she might soon be in seclusion, for virgins should remain hidden and appear as little as possible amidst the bustle of the world.

 

Intravit Maria. She entered Zechariah's house and greeted her cousin Elizabeth [Lk. 1:40]; she kissed and embraced her. See how I am hurrying over our Gospel, for it is time to stop. St. Luke says clearly that Mary greeted Elizabeth, but as to Zechariah he is silent, because the virginity of Our Lady did not allow her to greet men, and she wished to teach us that virgins cannot be too careful in guarding their purity. There are a thousand beautiful instructions on all these things, but I am passing them over, and just finishing this account. What graces and favors, think you, my dear Sisters, must have descended upon Zechariah’s house when the Virgin entered it? If Abraham received so many graces for having given hospitality to three angels in his tent [Gen. 18]; if Jacob drew down so many blessings upon Laban [Gen. 29], although this latter was a bad man; if Lot was delivered from the burning of Sodom because he had given a lodging to two angels [Gen. 19]; if the prophet Elisha[4] filled all the poor widow's vessels; if Elisha raised to life the child of the Shunammite [2 Kgs. 4:8-37]; in brief, if Obed-edom received so many favors from Heaven for having sheltered in his house the Ark of the Covenant [2 Sam. 6:10-11; 1 Chr. 13:13-14], what graces and how many heavenly blessings must have descended upon the house of Zechariah into which entered the Angel of the Great Counsel [Is. 9:5, Septuagint}, that true Jacob and Divine Prophet, the true Ark of the Covenant, Our Lord enclosed within the womb of Our Lady!

 

Indeed, the whole house was overcome with joy; the infant leapt with joy, the father recovered his speech, the mother was filled with the Holy Spirit and received the gift of prophecy, for on seeing this blessed Lady enter her house she exclaimed: Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to visit me? [Lk. 1:41-44, 64]. You see, she calls her "Mother" before she has given birth to the Child. This is contrary to the ordinary custom, inasmuch as we never call women "mothers" before the birth of their children, because they often give birth by miscarriage. But St. Elizabeth knew well that the Virgin would have a happy childbirth, and therefore she does not hesitate to call her "Mother" before she is such in reality, for she is certain that she will be one, and not only Mother of a man, but also of God, and consequently that she will be Queen of men and angels. This is why she is astonished that such a princess should have come to visit her.

 

Then she said: Blest are you, my Lady, who believed; and moreover, blest are you above all women. [Lk. 1:45, 42]. We see by this in what degree she received the gift of prophecy, for she speaks of things past, present and future. "Blest are you who believed all that the angel told you, because you have shown thereby that you have greater faith than Abraham [Cf. Gen. 17:17]. You have believed that the virgin and the barren would conceive, which is something that exceeds the course of nature." See what she knows of the past, through the spirit of prophecy. Regarding what is to come, she sees by this same spirit that the Virgin will be blest among all women, and she proclaims it. She speaks also of the present, calling her "Mother of God." Again, she adds that the child which she bears leapt for joy at her arrival.

 

It is, indeed, no wonder that St. John leapt for joy at the coming of his Saviour, since Our Lord said, speaking to the Jews; Your father Abraham rejoiced when, with the eyes of prophecy, he saw My day come, which you now see. [Jn. 8:56]. And if all the prophets desired the Messiah promised in the Law and rejoiced because they knew that all would be fulfilled in His day, how much more should we think that St. John was filled with gladness when he saw from his mother's womb the true promised Messiah, the Desired of the patriarchs [Agg. 2:8, Douay], who had come to visit him in order to begin in him the work of our Redemption by freeing him from the stain of Original Sin!

 

Oh, my very dear Sisters, how you should be overwhelmed with joy when you are visited by this Divine Saviour in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and by the interior graces which you receive daily from His Divine Majesty through the many inspirations and words which He speaks to your hearts. For He is ever near them, knocking, and speaking to you [Rev. 3:20] of what He desires you to do for His love. Ah! What thanksgiving you owe to this Lord for so many favors! With what careful attention you should listen to Him, and how faithfully and promptly you should do His divine will!

 

The most holy Virgin, hearing what her kinswoman Elizabeth said in her praise, humbled herself and referred all the glory to God. Then declaring that all her happiness, as I said, came from the fact that He had looked upon His servant in her lowliness, she entoned that beautiful and wonderful canticle, the Magnificat [Lk. 1:46-55], a canticle surpassing all those which had been sung by other women: It was more excellent than that of Judith [Jud. 16:1-17], more beautiful beyond compare than the one which the sister of Moses sang after the children of Israel had passed through the Red Sea and Pharaoh and the Egyptians had been swallowed up in its waters [Ex. 15:1-21]. It was, in short, more beautiful than that sung by Simeon [Lk. 2:29-32] or any others of which Scripture makes mention.

 

0 my dear Sisters, you who claim this Virgin for your Mother, daughters of the Visitation of Our Lady and of St, Elizabeth, what zeal you should have in imitating her, especially her charity and humility, which were the chief virtues which urged her to make this visitation.[5] You should therefore be particularly distinguished in their practice, which will move you to go with haste and joy to visit your sick sisters, cordially helping and serving one another in your infirmities, whether they be spiritual or corporal. And whenever there is an opportunity of practicing humility and charity you ought to do so with a special care and promptness; because, you see, to be a daughter of Our Lady it is not enough to rest content with living in a convent of the Visitation and wearing the religious veil. This would be wronging such a Mother; to be satisfied with this would be to degenerate. You must imitate her holiness and her virtues.

 

Oh, then, my dear Sisters, be most careful to model your lives on hers: Be meek, humble, charitable and kind, and magnify the Lord with her during this life. And if you do so humbly and faithfully in this world, you will undoubtedly sing the Magnificat in Heaven, with the Virgin herself; and praising the Divine Majesty by means of this sacred canticle, you will be blessed by Him for all eternity, to which the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are leading us. Amen.

​

​

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] St. Francis is using another version of the Song of Songs here. The Annecy edition has "Hebrew, Syrian, Arabic" in the margin.

[2] St. Francis de Sales is following the New Testament's lead in seeing this psalm as applying to Jesus, the Messiah, in His sufferings for our salvation.

[3] St. Francis is alluding to the condition of Original Sin.

[4] 2 Kgs. 4-.1-7; cf. a similar incident in Elijah's life in 1 Kgs. 17:10-16.

[5] St. Francis is deliberately using the word "visitation" rather than "visit" in deference to his congregation, the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, which was named after this event in the Gospel.

​

Back to Top

​