Just as the first truths of the faith, says one saint, inscribed at the command of God in a sacred book scroll, preserved all the promises about the sending into the world of the Son of God indelible and undamaged until the end of summer came: so the Most Holy Virgin decided to keep in the depths of Her heart the mystery of the Annunciation, a mystery hidden for centuries and childbirth, and inaccessible to the mind of Angels, as the secret of building the salvation of people. That is why, due to the dignity of Her modesty, she is called the Scroll, the Word is written in it!
Meanwhile, the Archangel’s mention of the unexpected pregnancy of Her beloved relative, St. Elizabeth, according to the calculation of time, being in close connection with the wonderful numbness, during the Divine service, of her husband Zechariah, aroused in the Grace-Blessed One such a strong sympathy for her that She, moved by ardent family love, and more guided by the Holy Spirit, decided to immediately go to the mountainous country of Judah, to The Levitical city of Iutu (or Iette), where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived.
Having thought over the plan for her journey, the Blessed Virgin set off hastily, undertaking it alone, because Joseph was at that time outside Nazareth at his carpentry work.
Approaching the city and imagining the sincerity of the joyful meeting, the Most Blessed One was at the same time confident that Her great secret, as unknown to anyone, would remain inviolable, and that during this meeting there would be no talk about it, much less anything special would happen. But contrary to this expectation, the Lord, for His wise purposes, prepared in this very meeting, both for His Mother and for Elizabeth, a new, extraordinary event, in order to reward them both with its significance for their holy fidelity to Him. Soon the city of Iuta appeared in front of the Most Pure Virgin in a vast mountain valley, spread out on the lower slope of the Judean Mountains and immersed in the greenery of abundant gardens; further, on the mountainside, the Neffo spring shone, on the banks of which were the white walls of the fence surrounding the houses of successive priests, and finally, near the source and the road, the tall house of Zechariah and Elizabeth began to emerge, in front of whose entrance stood a huge plane tree, welcomingly spreading its shady branches.
The Blessed Virgin quickened her steps and with a joyfully beating heart approached the goal of her journey. Hastily entering the courtyard, she was still far from the massive arched porch, realizing that the unexpectedness of the meeting could frighten Elizabeth, and therefore, wanting to warn her about herself, she began to greet her loudly and from afar. But what was Her amazement when, after Her first, sincere exclamations, Elizabeth, who heard Mary’s voice, solemnly came out to meet Her and, bowing at Her feet, reverently began to greet Her, not as her beloved and simple-hearted relative, but as a high Person who had graciously honored her with Her visit; and when, instead of the unceremonious and cordial words of greeting, for which the Most Holy Virgin had so joyfully prepared, she solemnly began to pronounce inspired speeches before Her, full of reverent delight and deep respect.
Mary’s surprise intensified even more when, taken from her knees into the arms of Elizabeth, she exclaimed with joyful trepidation and visible excitement: Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb! And where do I get this, so that the Mother of my Lord may come to me? Blessed is she who has faith, for what has been spoken to her by the Lord will be accomplished! (Luke 1:42–45). These words amazed the Blessed One most of all and made Her wonder about their reason and meaning. Her clear mind comprehended all the circumstances of this extraordinary occasion: She hurried to her beloved sister with kindred innocence and sincerity, far removed from all ceremonial and solemn; Her heart, full of ardent feeling and concern for the situation of both relatives, had long and in absentia prepared for them a joyful congratulation on the gracious sign of God’s mercy over them and nourished the hidden hope of kindling in them an even greater love for God and hope, both for the happy outcome of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and for the return of the gift of speech to Zechariah.
Walking towards them, She constantly talked with them mentally, saying like the Apostle Paul: I desire to see you, so that I may give you some spiritual gift, and you may be comforted in you by the common faith, yours and mine (Rom. 1:11-13) - and suddenly, instead of all these sincere and sincere words and conversations, so usual in Elizabeth’s character, now such a reverent meeting from her? such prophetic and apparently emanating from above, by inspiration, words? But the Most Holy Mother of God, in her humility, did not realize that, having entered the fence of this house and uttered only a few words here, She, with the presence of Her Abode, had already filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit both the place and the house itself, and all those living in it! And that this grace was the reason for all the actions that surprised Her.
Further explanations of Elizabeth showed that the power of this grace first of all appeared on her baby, who, not yet seeing a single object with his sensory eyes, and not even realizing his own existence, already knew and felt the approach of the Most Pure Virgin, who bore the Lord, and with his joyful leaping in the womb of the Mother, he taught her about the high dignity of the blessed Visitor! Just as at the rising of the all-vivifying sun, everything capable of life meets and greets the luxurious luminary; so here too, with the appearance of the spiritual Sun, the East from above, the holy baby, who, according to prophecy, was to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Mother and then to be the forerunner, in the darkness of the world, of this Light, was the first to feel His life-giving power, and with a joyful leap began his great service, pointing to the world the rise of the Sun of Truth over the sinful earth!
As soon as the voice of your greeting touched my ears, Elizabeth said to the Blessed Virgin, I felt that the baby in my womb leaped joyfully; enlightened by this feeling and at the same time illuminated from above, I saw Your dignity and my insignificance before You, exalted to the bliss of bearing the Eternal Word of the Heavenly Father! Not finding anything in myself with which I could deserve the honor of Your visit, I reverently bowed down before Your boundless greatness and humility, as a result of which You, placed above all heavenly powers, came to Your earthly servant, who should be the first to hasten to render You worthy worship. And where do I get this: may the Mother of my Lord come to me? Now I look at You with reverence, God’s chosen one, not as my relative, but as the Mother of my Lord! I see in You not the simple daughter of Joachim and Anna, but the Virgin Mary, exalted by God to an unattainable height - to be His Mother! And what an honor, what a joy for me! Could I ever have expected such happiness?
Could I hope that the One who carries the Bearer of all things would come to me, and that I would be the first among people to greet the Mother of God? Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb! Only Your Son and Your incomprehensible humility could prompt You to honor me with Your visit and benefit both the baby I was carrying and my whole house by pouring out on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit!