The Visitation
The Visitation is reported only by Luke 1:36-56.
During the Annunciation, which takes place in Nazareth, the angel announces to the Virgin Mary that her "relative" Elizabeth is six months pregnant, she who was called barren. The angel indeed specifies that she was "in her old age." Mary, the Gospel says, immediately set out "to the hill country, to a town of Judea." And it adds "Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, then returned to her home (in Nazareth)."
The gospel account raises several questions:
- What ties could unite Mary and Elizabeth to the point of deciding to undertake a several-days journey to a relative who seems happy to see her?
- How was this relative known to Joseph who does not seem surprised by this sudden departure?
- How does this distant trip unfold that Mary could not have accomplished without accompaniment while Joseph does not appear at all in the narrative?
In the work of Maria Valtorta[edit | edit source]
Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph know each other[edit | edit source]
Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband, is a Judean priest of the class of Abijah (Abiyya),[1] descended like his wife from Aaron. It was the eighth of the 24 priestly divisions established by David.[2] It is in this capacity that he served at the Temple when the archangel Gabriel announced to him the late maternity of his wife Elizabeth. He doubted and was struck mute until the prophecy was fulfilled. These "relatives" of the Virgin Mary thus belong to the priestly aristocracy and Zechariah served at the Temple.
It is therefore quite natural that they welcomed, sixteen years before, Anne coming to the Temple for her ritual Purification[3] and to consecrate the young Mary who would be raised at the Temple,[4] fulfilling the vow she had made since Anne was also barren. Later, Zechariah and Elizabeth welcomed again the young Mary and her betrothed: Joseph of the house of David like her.[5]
It is thus not surprising and done in full confidence that Joseph lets Mary go to a relative who greets her with joy, and these details support the authenticity of the gospel account.
The young couple organize the journey[edit | edit source]
The young couple, who are only betrothed according to Jewish custom and who will only marry once Mary's pregnancy is obvious, organize the journey and the separation of "several months". "When would You like to go?", asks Joseph.«As soon as possible. But I shall be away for some months.» «And I will count the days waiting for You. Go and don’t worry. I will look after the house and Your little garden. You will find the flowers as beautiful as if You had taken care of them. But… wait. Before Passover I must go to Jerusalem to buy some things for my work. If You can wait for a few days, I will come with You as far as Jerusalem. I can’t go any farther, because I must hurry back. But we can go there together. I will be happier if I know that You are not on the road by Yourself. When You want to come back, You can let me know and I will come and meet You.»[6]Arrived in Jerusalem, Joseph entrusts Mary to a little old man he knows well and who is going in her direction. They part.[7]
Zechariah and Mary live in Hebron[edit | edit source]
Although a tradition places it in Ain Karem (En Karem), it is in Hebron that Mary meets Zechariah and Elizabeth around the end of March or beginning of April -5 (around 25 Nissan 3756).
Founded around 1720 BC,[8] Hebron is one of the oldest cities in the world and also one of the few to have been continuously inhabited since its founding. Located in the heart of the Judean mountains[9] it is the "highest" city in Palestine. It was also one of the 48 cities of refuge as indicated in the Bible, but also in the work.
David was crowned king there over the tribe of Judah[10] and made it his capital until the capture of Jerusalem which then became the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. King Herod built the monument called today the "Tomb of the Patriarchs." It was built over a cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were buried.
It is therefore a city matching the gospel description and a worthy residence for the priestly aristocracy.
The exultations of Elizabeth and Mary[edit | edit source]
The two relatives embrace in joy. Elizabeth’s exultation is more developed than in Luke 1:41-45, but Mary’s, known as the Magnificat, is identical since Maria Valtorta only refers to the Gospel text.
| EXULTATION D'ÉLISABETH | |
|---|---|
| In Luke | In the work of Maria Valtorta |
| Now when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice:
“You are blessed 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 reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”[11] |
But Elizabeth, after a moment of concentration, lifts her face which is now so bright that she looks much younger. She then looks at Mary with evident veneration as if she sees an angel, she bows in a deep salutation exclaiming: «You are blessed amongst all women! Blessed is the Fruit of Your womb! (She says exactly that: two clearly separate sentences). How did I deserve that the Mother of my Lord should come to me, Your servant? There, at the sound of Your voice, the child leaped out of joy in my womb and when I embraced You, the Spirit of the Lord whispered deepest truths to my heart. You are blessed, because You believed that it was possible for God even what does not appear possible to the human mind! You are blessed, because by Your faith You will accomplish the things the Lord predicted to You and the Prophets foretold for our times! You are blessed for the Salvation You have brought to the house of Jacob! You are blessed for the Holiness You have brought to my son, whom I feel leaping with joy, like a happy little kid, in my womb, because he feels free from the burden of guilt, and is called to be the Predecessor, sanctified before Redemption by the Holy One Who is growing within You!»[12] |
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Luke 1:5.
- ↑ 1 Chronicles 24:10.
- ↑ GRM 6.
- ↑ GRM 8.
- ↑ GRM 13.
- ↑ GRM 18.5.
- ↑ GRM 20.1.
- ↑ Cf. Numbers 13:22.
- ↑ Luke 1:39 and 65.
- ↑ 2 Samuel 2:4.
- ↑ Luke 1:41-45.
- ↑ GRM 21.5.