The Visitation

I posted this on my blog today but thought I would post my first post here! I am delighted to be associated with the "Association of Catholic Women Bloggers! I must explain that I am a priest from the Archdiocese of Birmingham. I qualify for the blog via invitation! I hope to post on here every now and again and I enjoy the inspiration found here so far!

The Visitation

Life is about the journey that anticipates the destination.

There is an excitement about arriving. I remember with fondness many holidays spent with a good friend. Arriving at the Hotel, getting checked in and sitting down in the room brings a great satisfaction, now the holiday begins!

The memories of a good holiday can impart joy and sustain us through moments when life can appear to be dull, when we hear a clock is ticking but the hands are moving slowly! These times are times of struggle when we endure difficulties, disappointments, sadness, at these points in the journey the clock slows down! In times of joy the clock seems to speed up.. holidays being a case in point.

When I go on holiday I am excited about the destination. I look forward to getting there. The journey can be a pain though! Airport queues, standing around, delays, hold ups, cramped seats on sardine can airplanes, noisy children kicking the back of wafer thin seats! The getting there can be difficult but the getting there evaporates the stresses of the journey ,it justifies the effort made in journeying.

Life is a journeying an anticipation of the destination. There is an end to journeying. That end is heaven. The journeying in itself is important though. How you react to the journey can determine how fulfilling the journey will be and how quickly we reach the end destination of heaven. Do I get grumpy at the queues? Do I get frustrated with the standing around? Yes I do! Am I annoyed by the cramped seats of life, the annoying episodes, the imperfections? You bet I am! Attending to the journeying with care means to be aware of the importance of the journey itself. Heaven is on the horizon but before we get there we are to journey.

Mary visits Elizabeth. Elizabeth says why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?  For the moment your greeting met my ears the child within my womb leapt for joy! The visit or the journey to her cousin is an important aspect of today’s feast. It anticipates the future reality of the birth of the Saviour. The period of time to that event did not magically happen. It took the ninth months of pregnancy before Mary gave birth. In that time Mary would have suffered discomfort, hardship, difficulties associated with pregnancy, in that time she does not throw her hands up and say it is too hard I give up! She persevered in the times of difficulty so as to experience the great joy of the birth of her Son.

We read the gospel and get to the destination IE the birth of the Saviour but the journeying of Mary and the apostles is not to be ignored. For in their journeying we get inspiration for our own journeys. Our salvation is worked out in the journey we take in life. In the way we react to the trials and tribulations that the journey brings to us.