We are a monastery of the Visitation but we are also a house full of visitations. The biblical image of Mary and Elizabeth is alive in our walls and halls and Chapel and refectory and school.
We have some sisters who are younger and newer to religious life. They are Mary: their "yes" to God is newer and more recent. Their journey with the Lord, growing inside of them, is only just beginning. They are trusting, faithful -- at times afraid -- but courageous in all their "yeses." They set off (often in haste) to help others, as Mary set off to be with her cousin, Elizabeth.
We have other sisters who represent Mary's cousin, Elizabeth. They are not new brides. They have long been married to Him whom Mary carries. They have lived fully their "Mary years" and, like Elizabeth, they too are fruitful in their golden years for they, too, trust that nothing is impossible with God.
Elizabeth, for Mary, is living proof that God's promises will be fulfilled. And so it is true in our Visitation. The Elizabeths bear witness for our younger and newer members that the Lord is trustworthy. Their joy, their fulfillment, their enthusiasm for their vocations -- lo, these many years after that first "yes" -- speak volumes to the "Marys" among us.
Countless times each day, in our home, a Mary "sets off in haste" to help an Elizabeth. And Elizabeth receives Mary graciously and with joy. This mystery is lived in our daily encounters with our sisters. And truly, this is the place of our delight.
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