MARY, THE PREPARED ONE

Upon receiving the sacred word of her pregnancy, Mary does not contemplate it for long. Rather, she “acts” immediately: she “went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country” (Luke 1:39) to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. There is no mention of planning, companionship, means of travel, inconvenience, or possible difficulties. Like Abraham and winged Mercury, she moved with the action, toward her cousin’s very practical need. Sometimes it is action itself which leads us to our best contemplation. If we contemplate too long, we sometimes avoid the necessary action. The events of life are themselves Mary’s guide and teacher. She does not need to figure it out and plan accordingly; the plan will be given by God through life’s ordinary events and encounters. Reality itself is her teacher. That is why she could hear angels. And that is why she could hear Elizabeth. As Paula D’Arcy says so well, “God comes to us disguised as our life.”