On May 31 the Church celebrates the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a day that recounts the meeting of Mary, pregnant with Jesus and her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with St. John the Baptist. Elizabeth relates the joy she experiences when she encounters Mary and how, “when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).

Elizabeth then goes on to say to the Virgin Mary, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). In this way, Elizabeth confirms the faith of Mary and how her hope was fulfilled through the hand of God.

It is this hope of the Virgin Mary that should inspire us to trust in God, no matter how outlandish his propositions may appear to us at first glance.

We should take a moment to search our own hearts and how our hope compares to that of the Virgin Mary.

Do I believe in the ultimate triumph of good over evil?

Am I a bearer of hope to others, showing them the hope found in Jesus Christ?

What prevents me from being a beacon of hope and unity in the world?

May the Virgin Mary teach us how to have hope in God, trusting that he desires to fill us with his eternal life.