Feast of the Visitation
Celebrated 31 May

The Visitation of Mary
Celebrated 31 May

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Fortunate does that family consider itself which is visited by a Royal Personage, both on account of the honor that redounds from such a visit, and the advantages that may be hoped to accrue from it. But still more fortunate should that soul consider itself which is visited by the Queen of the World, the most holy Virgin Mary, who cannot but fill with riches and graces those blessed souls whom she deigns to visit by her favors. The house of Obededom was blessed when visited by by the Ark of God. "And the Lord blessed his house, and all that he had" - ("Et benedixit Dominus domui ejus, et omnibus quae habebat" - 1Paralipomenon 13:14). But with how much greater blessings are those persons enriched who receive a loving visit from the living Ark of God, for such was the Divine Mother! "Happy is that house which the Mother of God visits", says Engelgrave. This was abundantly experienced by the house of Saint John the Baptist; for Mary had scarcely entered it when she heaped graces and heavenly benediction the whole family; and for this reason the present Feast of the Visitation is commonly called that of Our Blessed Lady of Graces. Hence we shall see in the present discourse that the Divine Mother is the treasurer of all graces. We shall divide it into two parts. In the first we shall see that whoever desires graces must have recourse to Mary. In the second, that he who has recourse to Mary should be confident of receiving the graces he desires.

First point
Whoever desires graces must have recourse to Mary

Mary left Nazareth (upper left) at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron (lower left), south of Jerusalem, to wait upon her cousin Elizabeth

After the Blessed Virgin had heard from the Archangel Gabriel that her cousin Saint Elizabeth had been six months pregnant, she was internally enlightened by the Holy Ghost to know that the Incarnate Word, Who had become her Son, was pleased then to manifest to the world the riches of His mercy in the first graces that He desired to impart to all that family. Therefore, without interposing any delay, according to Saint Luke, "And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda" - Luke 1:39. Rising from the quiet of contemplation to which she was always devoted, and quitting her beloved solitude, she immediately set out for the dwelling of Saint Elizabeth; and because "Charity . . . beareth all things" - (1Corinthians 13:4,7), and cannot support delay, as Saint Ambrose remarks on this Gospel, "the Holy Ghost knows not slow undertakings"; without even reflecting on the arduousness of the journey, this tender Virgin, I say, immediately undertook it. On reaching the house, she salutes her cousin, "And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth" - Luke 1:40. Saint Ambrose here remarks that Mary was "the first to salute" Elizabeth. The visit of Mary, however, had the resemblance with those of worldlings, which, for the greater part, consist in ceremony and outward demonstrations, devoid of all sincerity; for it brought with it an accumulation of graces. The moment she entered that dwelling, on her first salutation, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and Saint John was cleansed from original sin, and sanctified; and therefore gave that mark of joy by leaping in his mother's womb, wishing thereby to manifest the grace that he had received by the means of the Blessed Virgin, as Saint Elizabeth herself declared, "As soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy" - Luke 1:44. Thus, as Bernardine de Bustis remarks, in virtue of Mary's salutation, Saint John received the grace of the Divine Spirit which sanctified him, "When the Blessed Virgin saluted Elizabeth, the voice of the salutation, entering her ears, descended to the child, and by its virtue he received the Holy Ghost".

Mary is the "Aqueduct" or "Channel" by which God's Grace flows from Heaven's Treasury to Mankind. To  block that Channel is deadly to the Soul.

And now, if all these first-fruits of Redemption passed by Mary as the channel through which grace was communicated to the Baptist, the Holy Ghost to Elizabeth, the gift of prophecy to Zachary, and so many other blessings to the whole house, the first graces which to our knowledge the Eternal Word had granted on Earth after His Incarnation, it is quite correct to believe that from thenceforward, God made Mary the universal channel, as she is called by Saint Bernard, through which all the other graces which Our Lord is pleased to dispense to us should pass, as we have already declared in the Fifth Chapter of the First Part of this work.

With reason, then, is this Divine Mother called the Treasure, the Treasurer, and the Dispenser of Divine Graces. She is called by the venerable Abbot of Celles, "the Treasure of God, and the Treasurer of Graces"; by Saint Peter Damian, "the Treasure of Divine Graces"; by Blessed Albert the Great, "the Treasurer of Jesus Christ"; by Saint Bernardine, "the Dispenser of Graces"; and by a learned Greek, quoted by Petavius, "the Storehouse of all good things". So also by Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, who observes that, "Mary is said to be thus full of grace, for in her all the treasures of grace were hidden". Richard of Saint Lawrence also says that, "Mary is a treasure, because God has placed all gifts of graces in her as a treasury; and from thence He bestows great stipends on His soldiers and laborers". She is a treasury of mercies, whence Our Lord enriches His servants.

Saint Bonaventure, speaking of the field in the Gospel, in which a treasure is hidden, and which should be purchased at however great a price, "the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found hid it, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field" - Matthew 13:44, says that "our Queen Mary is this field, in which Jesus Christ, the treasure of God the Father, is hid", and with Jesus Christ the source and flowing fountain of all graces. Saint Bernard affirms that Our Lord, "has deposited the plenitude of every grace in Mary, that we may thus know that if we possess hope, grace, or anything salutary, that it is from her that it came". Of this we are also assured by Mary herself, saying, "In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue" - Ecclesiasticus 24:25; in me are all the graces of real blessings that you men can desire in life. Yes, sweet Mother and Our Hope, we know full well, says Saint Peter Damien, "that all the treasures of Divine mercies are in thy hands". Before Saint Peter Damien, Saint Ildephonsus asserted the same thing in even stronger terms, when speaking to the Blessed Virgin, he said, "O Lady, all the graces that God has decreed for men, He has determined to grant through thy hands; and therefore to thee has He committed all the treasures and ornaments of grace"; so that, O Mary, concludes Saint Germanus, no grace is dispensed to anyone otherwise than through thy hands, "there is no one saved but by thee; no one who receives a gift of God but through thee". Blessed Albert the Great makes a beautiful paraphrase of the words of the Angel, addressed to the most Blessed Virgin, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God", - Luke 1:30: "Fear not, O Mary, for thou hast found, not taken grace as Lucifer tried to take it; thou hast not lost it as Adam lost it; though hast not bought it as Simon Magus would have bought it; but thou hast found it because thou hast desired and sought it". Thou hast found uncreated grace, that is, God Himself become thy Son; and with that grace thou hast found and obtained every created good. Saint Peter Chrysologus confirms this thought, saying, "This great Virgin and Mother found grace to restore thereby, salvation to all men". And elsewhere he says that Mary found a grace so full that it sufficed to save all, "Thou hast found grace, but how great a grace! It was such that it filled thee; and so great was its plenitude, that it could be poured down as a torrent on every creature". So much so indeed, says Richard of Saint Lawrence, "that as God made the sun, that by its means light might be diffused on the whole Earth, so has He made Mary, that by her all Divine mercies may be dispensed to the world". Saint Bernardine adds, that, "from the time that the Virgin Mother conceived the Divine Word in her womb, she obtained a kind of jurisdiction, so to say, over all the temporal manifestations of the Holy Ghost; so that no creature can obtain any grace from God that is not dispensed by this tender and compassionate Mother".

Hence let us conclude this point in the words of Richard of Saint Lawrence, who says, "that if we wish to obtain any grace, we must have recourse to Mary, the finder of grace, who cannot but obtain all that she asks for her servants; for she has recovered the Divine grace which was lost, and always finds it". This thought he borrowed from Saint Bernard, who says, "Let us seek for grace, and seek it by Mary; for that which she seeks she finds, and cannot be frustrated". If we then desire graces, we must go to this treasurer and dispenser of graces; for it is the sovereign will of the Giver of every good thing; and we are assured of it by the same Saint Bernard, that all graces should be dispensed by the hands of Mary, "for such is His will, Who is pleased that we should have all by Mary". All, all; and he who says all excludes nothing. But because confidence is necessary to obtain graces, we will now consider how certain we ought to feel of obtaining them when we have recourse to Mary.

Second point
He who has recourse to Mary should be
confident of receiving the graces he desires

Why did Jesus Christ deposit all the riches of mercy which He intends for us in the hands of His Mother, unless it was that she might therewith enrich all her clients who love her, who honor her, and who have recourse to her with confidence? "With me are riches . . . . that I may enrich them that love me" - Proverbs 8:18,21. Thus the Blessed Virgin herself assures us that it is so in this passage, which the Holy Church applies to her on so many of her festivals. Therefore for no other purpose than to serve us, says the Abbot Adam, are those riches of eternal life kept by Mary, in whose breast Our Lord has deposited the treasure of the miserables, and that the poor being supplied from it may become rich: "The riches of salvation are in custody of the Blessed Virgin for our use. Christ has made Mary's womb the treasury of the poor; thence the poor are enriched". And Saint Bernard says, "that that she is a full aqueduct, that others may receive of her plenitude". Mary was therefore given to the world that by her graces might continually descend from Heaven upon men.

Hence the same holy father goes on to ask, "But why did Saint Gabriel, having found the Divine Mother already full of grace, according to his salutation, 'Hail full of grace!', afterwards say, that the Holy Ghost would come upon her to fill her still more with grace? If she was already full of grace, what more could the coming of the Divine Spirit effect"? The Saint answers, "Mary was already full of grace, but the Holy Ghost filled her to overflowing, for our good, that from her superabundance we miserable creatures might be provided". For this same reason Mary was called the moon, of which it is said, "she is full for herself and for others".

"He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord" - Proverbs 8:35. Blessed is he who finds me by having recourse to me, says Our Mother. He will find life, and will find it easily; for as it is easy to find and draw as much water as we please from a great fountain, so it is easy to find graces and eternal salvation by having recourse to Mary. A holy soul once said, "We have only to seek graces from our Blessed Lady to receive them". Saint Bernard also says, "That it was because the Blessed Virgin was not yet born that in ancient times the great abundance of graces which we now see flow on the world was wanting; for Mary, the desirable channel, did not exist". But now that we have this Mother of mercy, what graces are there that we need fear not to obtain when we cast ourselves at her feet? "I am the city of refuge", thus Saint John Damascen makes her speak, "for all those who have recourse to me". "Come then to me, my children, for from me you will obtain graces, and these in greater abundance than you can possibly imagine".

It is true that that which the Venerable Sister Mary Villani saw in a celestial vision is experienced by many. This servant of God once saw the Divine Mother as a great fountain, to which many went, and from it they carried off the waters of grace in great abundance. But what then happened? Those who had sound jars preserved the graces they received; but those who brought broken vessels, that is to say, those whose souls were burdened with sin, received graces, but did not long preserve them. The point, of course, is that all kinds of people, even ungrateful sinners, daily receive innumerable graces from Mary. Saint Augustine, speaking to Mary, says: "Through you the abandoned obtain mercy; the fallen, grace; sinners, pardon; the weak, strength; the worldly, heavenly things; mortals, life; and exiles, a fatherland".

Let us therefore, O devout servants of Mary, have more and more confidence in her each time that we appeal to her for graces. Let us always remember her two great prerogatives: Her desire to do us good, and the power she has with her Son to obtain whatever she asks for. To be convinced of Mary’s desire to help everybody, we have only to reflect on the mystery of this Feast of the Visitation, that is, Mary’s visit to Saint Elizabeth. The journey from Nazareth where the Blessed Virgin lived, to the city of Hebron, which Saint Luke calls a city of Judea, and in which according to Baronius and other authors Saint Elizabeth resided, was sixty-nine miles. This we learn from Brother Joseph of Jesus Mary, the author of the life of the Blessed Virgin; from Saint Bede, and Brocardus. Nevertheless, in spite of the difficulties of such a journey, the Blessed Virgin, delicate as she was, did not hesitate to set out. What made her do so? She was impelled by that great charity with which her loving heart was always filled to go and begin at once her office of Dispenser of Graces.

This is how Saint Ambrose puts it: "She did not go as one skeptical about what she had been told, but as one who gladly fulfills a duty. It was joy that caused her to hasten in fulfillment of her unique responsibility". The saint meant: She did not go in order to find out if what the Angel had told her about the pregnancy of Elizabeth was true or not. She hastened because she was happy to be able to help her cousin. She hastened because of the joy she felt in being able to do good to others. Having no thought except for those she loved, Mary arose and went with haste. Note here that when the Evangelist speaks of Mary’s departure for the house of Elizabeth, he says that she went with haste. But when he speaks of her return, he makes no mention of haste, but simply says: "Mary remained with her about three months and returned to Her own house" - Luke 1:56. What else could the Mother of God have had in mind, asks Saint Bonaventure, when she hastened to visit the house of Saint John the Baptist, except a desire to be of service to the family? "What else impelled her to hasten in performing that act of charity but the charity which glowed in her heart"?

Mary certainly did not stop being charitable to men when she went to Heaven. On the contrary, she is more charitable now, for she is in a better position now to know our wants and to compassionate our miseries. Bernardine de Bustis writes: "Mary is more eager to do us good and to grant us graces than we are to receive them". She desires so much to do so, as a matter of fact, that according to Saint Bonaventure she considers herself offended by those who do not ask her for graces: "It is not only those who injure you who offend you, O Mary, but also those who neglect to ask for favors". It is part of Mary’s nature to desire to enrich everybody with graces, and she does, in fact, superabundantly enrich her servants, as Blessed Raymond Jordano testifies: "Mary is God’s treasury and the treasurer of His graces. She dispenses these gifts generously to those who serve her".

The same author also says: "He who finds Mary finds everything that is good". And he adds: "Her kindness is so great that no one need be afraid to approach her. And her mercy is so great that no one will be repulsed". Thomas à Kempis has her say: "I invite everybody to appeal to me; I await all, I desire all, and I never repel any sinner who comes to seek my help no matter how unworthy he may be". Richard of Saint Lawrence says that whoever goes to ask for graces from Mary, "finds her always prepared to help"; that is to say, ready and eager to obtain every grace of eternal salvation by her powerful prayers.

I say, by her powerful prayers. This is another reflection that should increase our confidence. We know with certitude that Mary obtains from God everything that she asks for her servants. Saint Bonaventure tells us to observe, especially with regard to this visit of Mary to Elizabeth, the great power of her words. As the Evangelist says, at the sound of her voice the grace of the Holy Spirit was conferred on Saint Elizabeth and on her son, Saint John the Baptist: "And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe in her womb leapt. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost" - Luke 1:41. Saint Bonaventure adds: "See how great the power of Mary’s words is: She has no sooner uttered them than the Holy Spirit is imparted".

Theophilus of Alexandria tells us that Jesus is very much pleased whenever Mary intercedes with Him for us. "Yielding, as it were, to the prayers of Mary, He considers all the graces which He gives us as granted not so much to us, as to His Blessed Mother". Notice the words "Yielding, as it were, to the prayers of Mary". Saint Germanus testifies that Jesus cannot do otherwise than graciously acquiesce to Mary’s wishes, desiring as He does to obey her as His true Mother. Therefore the saint says: "The prayers of this Mother have a certain authority over Christ because by means of them she obtains pardon for even the most hardened sinners who recommend themselves to her". And he concludes: "It is not possible for you not to be heard, for in all things God acts toward you as His true and spotless Mother".

This is fully confirmed, observes Saint John Chrysostom, by what took place at the marriage feast of Cana when Mary asked her Son to replenish the wine which had given out: "They have no wine". Jesus answered: "Woman, what is that to Me and to Thee? My hour has not yet come" - John 2:3-4. Both Chrysostom and Theophylact explain that the time for miracles had not yet come. Yet, as the former stresses, "the Savior, in spite of this answer, and in order to obey His Mother, performed the miracle that she asked for by converting the water into wine".

"Let us therefore with confidence go to the throne of grace", the Apostle exhorts us, "that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid" - Hebrews 4:16. "The throne of grace is the Blessed Virgin", says Saint Albert the Great. So if we want graces, let us go to the throne of grace, which is Mary. Let us go with the conviction that we shall be heard. For Mary will intercede for us and she will obtain from her Son whatever she asks. "Let us ask for grace", I repeat with Saint Bernard, "and let us ask for it through Mary", trusting in what the Blessed Virgin herself told Saint Mechtilde, namely, that the Holy Spirit, in filling her with all His sweetness, has made her so dear to God that anyone who asks for graces through her intercession is certain of obtaining them.

And if we place any credit in that celebrated saying of Saint Anselm, that "salvation is sometimes more easily obtained by calling on the name of Mary than by invoking that of Jesus", we may safely feel that sometimes we will obtain graces sooner by appealing to Mary than by appealing directly to Our Blessed Savior — not because He is not the source and Lord of all graces, but because when we appeal to Mary and she prays for us, her prayers, being those of a mother, are more efficacious than ours. Let us then never stray away from this treasurer of graces; let us always address her in the words of Saint John Damascene: "O Blessed Mother of God, open the gate of mercy to us, for you are the salvation of the human race". O Mother of God, open the door of your compassion to us by always praying for us; your prayers are the salvation of all mankind!

When we appeal to Mary, it would be wise always to ask her to obtain those graces which she knows we need most. This is what the Dominican, Fra Reginald, did, as the chronicles of his Order tell us. This servant of Mary once became ill and he asked her to restore his health. Mary appeared to him in the company of Saint Cecilia and Saint Catherine, and said with great tenderness: "My son, what do you want me to do"? The good religious was confused by such a gracious offer on the part of Our Lady and did not know what to reply. Then one of the saints gave him this advice: "Reginald, I will tell you what to do. Ask for nothing, but place yourself entirely in her hands, for Mary is prepared to grant you greater graces than you can ever imagine". The sick man followed this advice and Our Lady secured the restoration of his health.

If we also desire to receive these happy visits from the Queen of Heaven, we should often visit her by praying before her image or in churches dedicated to her. Read the following example, and see what special favors she gives to those who visit her devotedly.

Example

The Franciscan Chronicles tell about two friars of the Order who went to visit a shrine of Our Blessed Lady and happened to find themselves in a dense forest when night fell. They were worried and disturbed and did not know what to do. However, they went a little farther until, dark as it was, they thought they saw a house ahead. When they reached the door, they knocked. A voice inside asked them who they were. They replied that they were friars who had lost their way in the woods and were now looking for shelter, at least as protection from the wolves that roamed the forest. The door opened, and they saw before them two extremely courteous servants who welcomed them with great kindness. The friars asked the servants who lived in the house and their answer was that it was a very good and hospitable lady. "We would like to pay her our respects", they said, "and thank her for her charity". "We are taking you to her", they said; "she wants to talk to you".

As they walked up the stairs they noticed some richly decorated rooms and an unusually fragrant odor. Finally they entered the apartment occupied by the lady of the house and saw before them a woman who was both sad and very beautiful. She received them with great kindness and asked them where they were going. The friars replied that they were on their way to visit a certain shrine of the Blessed Virgin. "Since that is the case", said the lady, "I shall give you a letter that will be of great help to you". While the lady was speaking to them, the friars experienced an inexplicable sense of joy and were very grateful to God for His kind protection. They then went to bed.

The next morning they rose and went to bid good-bye to the lady of the house, to thank her for her hospitality and to receive the letter she had promised. On receiving it, they took their departure. Only a short way from the house, however, they noticed that the letter bore no address. Turning this way and that, they tried to find the house, but it was no longer there. Finally, they opened the letter to see to whom it was addressed and what it said. Then they realized that it was from the Blessed Virgin, who was the lady in the house. In return for their devotion, Mary had provided them with shelter and nourishment in the forest, so that they would continue to serve and love her. And they felt confident she would continue to protect them always.

At the bottom of the letter they saw her signature in the words: "I, the Blessed Virgin Mary". It is not difficult to imagine how thankful these two friars were to Our Blessed Lady and how much they were inflamed with love for her and a desire to serve her the rest of their lives.

Prayer

O Blessed Immaculate Virgin, since you are the dispenser of all Divine Graces, you are the hope of mankind and my only hope. I will always thank you for having granted me the grace of knowing you, and for having shown me the means by which I can obtain grace and be saved. You are the means, O great Mother of God, for I now realize that it is principally through the merits of Jesus Christ, and then by your intercession, that my soul must be saved.

O my Queen, you hastened so in paying that visit to sanctify the home of Saint Elizabeth. I implore you, therefore, visit me, visit the poor home of my soul. Hurry, for you know very well, much better than I do, how poor it is and how weak from many diseases: from disordered affections, vicious habits, and numberless sins — all of which will lead it to eternal death. You can enrich it, O treasurer of God, and you can heal all those infirmities.

Visit me, therefore, visit me while I live, and especially when I am about to die, for then I shall need your help more than ever. I do not expect, and in fact I am not worthy, that you should visit me on earth by appearing to me as you have appeared to so many of your other servants. But they were not unworthy and ungrateful as I am. I shall be satisfied to see you in your kingdom of Heaven, to be able to love you there, and to thank you for all you have done for me. I shall be happy now if you visit me with your mercy. Your prayers are all that I ask.

Pray then for me, O Mary, and commend me to your Son. You know much better than I how miserable I am and what I need most. What more can I say? Have pity on me! I am so wretched and ignorant that I do not know what graces I need most, nor how to ask for them. My sweet Queen and Mother, I beg you to seek and obtain for me from your Son the graces that you know are the most expedient and necessary for my soul. I abandon myself entirely into your hands, and only beg the Divine Majesty, that by the merits of my Savior Jesus, He will grant me the graces which you ask Him for me.

Ask, therefore, O most Holy Virgin, ask for what is best for me. Your prayers are never rejected, for they are the prayers of a Mother addressed to her Son Who loves her so much that He is pleased to do everything she asks. He does this in order to honor her all the more, and to prove the great love He has for her.

Let us make a bargain, O Mary. As long as I live I will have confidence in you, if you will guarantee my eternal salvation.

Amen