THOUGH Mary had thus humbled herself before God, she did not stop
there, because she knew that humility and charity do not attain their
highest degree of perfection until, for God's sake, they are exercised
in behalf of our neighbour. True fraternal charity proceeds from the
love of God, and in proportion as this increases, the love of our
neighbour becomes more intense. The Apostle of Charity teaches us this
truth, when he says: _Qui enim non diliget fratrem suum quem vidit,
Deum quem non videt, quomodo potest deligere?_--'For he that loveth
not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?'
If we desire, then, to show our love to God, we must love our
neighbour, we must serve him, help him, and relieve him in his
necessities according to our power. How profoundly was the Blessed
Virgin penetrated with this truth! No sooner had she heard that her
cousin had conceived in her old age, than she arose and went with
haste (the Gospel says, _cum festinatione_) over the mountains of
Judea to the city of Ephrem.
Consider that Mary is become the Mother of the Son of God, and having
with all humility and sweetness obtained leave of her Holy Spouse to
go and visit her cousin Elizabeth, she bade a painful adieu to all her
neighbours. With great eagerness did the Most Holy Virgin undertake
her long and fatiguing journey, as the Gospel says, she _went with
haste!_ The first movements of Him Whom she bears in her womb
increased her fervour, and she began her journey with haste but
without mental flurry. The Angels are ready to accompany her, and St.
Joseph gladly conducts her. One would wish to have known something of
the conversation of these two great souls, and willingly should we
listen to the account thereof. It is probable that the Holy Virgin
conversed only of Him Whom she bore within her, and breathed only for
her Saviour. St. Joseph, on his side, thinks only of his Redeemer, Who
moves his heart with a thousand sentiments and affections. As wine
locked up in the cellar acquires the scent of the flowery vines, so
the heart of this Holy Patriarch insensibly participates in the
perfume and the vigour of the Divine Infant Who blooms in His
beautiful vineyard. The profound humility which Mary exercised in
serving one who was in every respect her inferior, is indeed most
worthy of our admiration. It is true that Elizabeth was of noble
birth, because she was of the royal race of David, and was, moreover,
united in marriage to the High Priest of the tribe of Levi. However,
this nobility is nothing in comparison with that of the Most Holy
Virgin, whose incomparable greatness can only be expressed by the
title of Mother of God--_Mater Dei_--and yet where can we find more
profound humility? Her humble heart is not satisfied with calling
herself the handmaid of the Lord, but she leaves her house, and for
three entire months is as a handmaid to her venerable cousin. The
Gospel, moreover, gives us to understand that when the Divine Mother
entered the house of Zacharias she was the first to give the
salutation, and this through her great humility: _Intravit in domum
Zachariae et salutavit Elizabeth_.
Remark also the conduct of Our Lady amidst the praises and blessings
which Elizabeth bestowed upon her. Assuredly it was very different
from that of women in the world, who instead of humbling themselves
when they are praised, become more puffed up. Was it not vanity that
possessed our poor mother Eve, who, on hearing that she was created to
the image and likeness of God, became thereby so presumptuous that she
strove to become equal to Him, and gave ear to all the suggestions of
the infernal enemy? But as the Most Holy Virgin had come into the
world to regain all that Eve had lost by her vanity and pride, she
thinks only of the abyss of her nothingness, and calls herself the
handmaid of the Lord, although proclaimed by the Angel His Mother;
when she is declared by Elizabeth to be the most blessed of women, she
replies that her blessings are accorded because the Lord has looked
down upon her lowliness and her littleness: _Quia respexit humilitatem
ancillae suae_. What an excellent sign is humility of heart in a soul
that has made progress in the spiritual life! When such souls humble
themselves before God and before all creatures, in proportion to the
greatness of the favours received, and place all their happiness, like
Mary, in this alone, that the Divine Goodness has looked down upon
their lowliness and misery, it is a sure indication that the graces of
God are not received in vain.
The effects of grace in the heart of the Most Blessed Virgin were a
profound humility and a burning charity towards God and towards her
neighbour. The Apostle St. Paul in relating to us the love that our
Saviour bore to the virtue of humility, says that 'He humbled Himself
unto death, even to the death of the Cross'--_Humiliavit semetipsum
usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis;_ and he would have us learn from
this that we should not be satisfied to have practised this virtue in
some particular circumstances, nor for a certain time, but that we
must practise it always and on all occasions. We must practise this
virtue not only _until death_ but _unto the death of the Cross;_ that
is to say, unto the perfect mortification of ourselves, humbling our
self-esteem and our self-love. Let us not deceive ourselves by a
certain appearance of humility; as, for instance, in speaking of our
imperfections, or in performing external acts of reverence and
humility, for the virtue of humility does not consist in this. True
and Christian humility makes us esteem ourselves absolutely as
nothing, as unworthy to live, as deserving only of universal contempt.
It moves us to embrace generously the precept of our Saviour, that we
renounce ourselves if we wish to follow Him: _Si quis vult post me
venire, abneget semetipsum._