Gospel (Lk 1,39-45) - In those days Mary got up and went hastily into the hill country, to a city of Judah. Having entered Zaccarìa's house, she greeted Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed in a loud voice: «Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! What do I owe that the mother of my Lord comes to me? Behold, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. And blessed is she who believed in the fulfillment of what the Lord told her."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Gospel of the "visitation" wants us to hurry in preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus. The evangelist, in fact, notes that Mary, after having learned from the angel that Elizabeth was pregnant, "hurriedly" runs to her . In truth, the Gospel always hurries. In fact, the Word of God pushes everyone to leave their habits, perhaps even good ones, to do what we are told. He also exhorts us not to dwell on our usual worries and thoughts and asks us to leave the small village of our own horizons to hurry towards the day and place of Jesus' birth. We can easily imagine how many worries Mary had in those moments, after the angelo had completely turned her life upside down! Yet, she left Nazareth to go towards her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant with her, and who certainly needed help. It wasn't easy for Maria, very young, to face such a long journey. She had to cross "the mountain". It is a notation that leads us to consider the seriousness of that undertaking. The Gospel, in truth, always makes you get up from your tired habits and pushes you to go alongside those who suffer and those in need. Maria, for her part, let her heart be touched by her cousin's need for help and, without hesitation, she went to her. As soon as Elizabeth saw her come home she rejoiced to her very core. It is the joy of the weak and the poor when they are visited by the "servants" and "servants" of the Lord, by those who have "believed in the fulfillment of what the Lord told them". Blessing flows from the mouths of the poor for all those who come to them with love. In those moments a true epiphany of the Holy Spirit takes place. The smile of the poor, in fact, is the smile of God; their joy is that of God itself. That embrace between the young Mary and the elderly Elizabeth is the icon of the love that Christians are called to give to the world.