The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In Australia, as throughout the Catholic world, the month of May is consecrated to Our Lady. It closes each year with the Feast of the Visitation — one of the tenderest scenes in all the Gospels, and one of the most quietly instructive for the interior life.
The Feast of the Visitation is celebrated on the 31st of May. In 2026, this date falls on Trinity Sunday, and the great Solemnity takes precedence in the public worship of the Church; yet the Visitation remains a fitting subject for personal prayer and meditation in these closing days of the month of Mary.
The Story of the Visitation
When Saint Gabriel appeared to Our Lady at the Annunciation, he informed her that her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, was also with child. Our Lady travelled with Saint Joseph to Saint Elizabeth’s house, to care for her until her son, Saint John the Baptist, was born. Although Our Lady had already conceived the Child Jesus, she had told no one.
Nevertheless, Saint Elizabeth had a premonition that the Child Jesus was in Our Lady’s womb.
Thus, she greeted Our Lady, saying:
“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (Luke 1:42)
When Our Lady spoke to her, Saint John the Baptist heard Our Lady’s voice, was sanctified by it, and leapt for joy inside Saint Elizabeth’s womb.
This story is rich in applications to the interior life.
Saint Elizabeth and the “Catholic Sense”
First of all, the story highlights the virtue of Saint Elizabeth, by which she sensed the presence of Our Lord in Our Lady’s womb. Obviously, this was a special gift. However, every Catholic should have a high degree of this same sense, albeit with less intensity and excellence.
Through corresponding to the grace of Baptism, a Catholic begins to perceive, so to speak, where God is and where He is not. This applies less to God’s physical presence, as in the Eucharist, than to His moral and supernatural presence.
Thus, the true Catholic senses whether or not something is compatible with God. To do this, he need not have intelligence, culture, or theological training, but rather a “Catholic sense” of things.
Saint Elizabeth epitomised this “Catholic sense” when she perceived the presence of the Child Jesus in Our Lady’s womb.
God Gives Glory According to His Unfathomable Designs
This seems to create a problem. Saint Joseph was unaware of Our Lord’s presence, even though he was greater than Saint Elizabeth. While the Church counsels the faithful not to compare saints — since such comparisons are below the dignity of the saints and above human wisdom — the fact remains that Saint Joseph was the most chaste spouse of Our Lady. As such, he had a much greater union with her than Saint Elizabeth, who was only Our Lady’s relative. Since a saint’s greatness is proportional to his union with Our Lady, it would seem that Saint Joseph was much greater.
However, if the knowledge of the presence of God is a virtue, and Saint Joseph was a greater saint, one would think he also would have perceived the Incarnation.
Furthermore, he was truly Our Lady’s husband. As such, he possessed a true right over the legitimate fruit of her womb, even though he was not Our Lord’s father.
This problem is easily resolved. God distributes glory to men according to His unfathomable designs. He glorified Saint Elizabeth by allowing her to sense Our Lord’s presence. Thus, she will be forever venerated for having perceived the Incarnation so early, and for having sung the praises of Our Lady as Mother of the Child Jesus.
However, God also glorified Saint Joseph by hiding Our Lord’s presence from him. His ignorance was glorious, because it produced a great perplexity in his soul when he was confronted with the reality of Our Lady’s pregnancy. It forced him to prove his love of God and to demonstrate the height of his virtue. No man in history has weathered so great a storm while practising such virtue as he. Therefore, for all times he will be the patron of those who suffer perplexities.
Immediate Sanctity: A Grace to Ask from Our Lady
Although it is something the faithful are not obliged by the Church to believe, many authors propose that Saint John the Baptist, being the last and greatest prophet of the Old Testament, synthesised in himself all the glories of official prophetism.
They suggest that he was entirely lucid in his mother’s womb. Thus, he appraised the sacredness of the Mother of God and the Incarnation, heard Our Lady’s voice, felt the presence of God, and leapt for joy. At that moment, he was sanctified.
This is the power of Our Lady. The mere echo of her voice instantly converted Saint John to a high degree of sanctity. We too should hope for this grace.
We should ask her to speak to the innermost regions of our souls and instantly sanctify us. One word from her can bring us to a degree of virtue that years of struggle, without her help, would not obtain.
Whenever we lose spirit, feel sadness, or are perplexed in our spiritual lives, the following prayer — paraphrasing the words the priest says before Holy Communion — may be of great help:
“Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.”
And so too, we may pray:
“O Lady, I am not worthy to hear thy voice; but only say a word, and my soul shall be changed. If thou so willest, I shall be changed in an instant.”
We should ask Our Lady to grant us the same grace she gave to Saint John the Baptist: namely, that she speak to our souls, make them leap for joy, and instantly sanctify us.
A Prayer for the Feast of the Visitation
Almighty everlasting God, who, while the Blessed Virgin Mary was carrying Thy Son in her womb, didst inspire her to visit Saint Elizabeth: grant us, we beseech Thee, that being faithful to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we may with Mary ever magnify Thy holy Name. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from an article by America Needs Fatima, itself based on a 1970 lecture by Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.
Last updated: 29 May 2026 06:31