(Lk 1:39-45)

Luke 1:39 In those days Mary set out for the mountain and hurried to a town in Judah.

Luke 1:40 When she had entered the house of Zechariah, she greeted Elizabeth.

Luke 1:41 As soon as Elizabeth had heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

Luke 1:42 And she cried with a loud voice, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Luke 1:43 To what do I owe that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Luke 1:44 Behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the child rejoiced with joy in my womb.

Luke 1:45 And blessed is she who believed in the fulfilment of the words of the Lord".

The passage opens with a note of time: "In those days". These are the days following the annunciation. In this context Mary is described in a decidedly dynamic existential condition: 'she set out'. It is the beginning of a new life caused by a transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit. It is the beginning of a new life that was created in her after receiving the annunciation. Mary is the one who begins a new journey under the aegis of the Spirit, who impels her "towards the mountain... in a city of Judah".

The verb, here translated as "she set out", is an aorist passive, "eporeuthē", which should be translated as "she was made to depart". It is a theological passive, whose action refers directly to God, the true author of Mary's departure. A departure that says how salvation history was set in motion in Mary, driven "to the mountain in a city of Judah". Such a generic indication shows how Luke is not interested in dwelling on details. Everything must focus on what is about to happen, on that liturgy of praise and thanksgiving that will constitute the true corpus of this story and with which the reader is called to join the two women. A generality that closely recalls Abraham's own mission: "The Lord said to Abram: Get thee out of thy country, and out of thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee" (Gen 12:1). It is an unknown land towards which Abraham is called to set out, letting himself be guided by God, time after time; without ifs and buts, without whys, in full and total trust in God. This is why God fills him with his blessing, making his descendants fruitful: "I will make you a great people and I will bless you, I will make your name great and you will become a blessing" (Gen 12:2). Similarly to Abraham, Mary is called to go to a destination that is unknown to her, to an unknown land that God will point out to her. Of course, she is going to Elizabeth, but unknowingly she is also embarking on the road that is leading her to Jerusalem; a journey towards the fulfilment of a divine plan of salvation. And similarly to Abraham, Mary too is blessed in a sublime way by Elizabeth: 'Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb' (v. 42).

It is no coincidence that the song of the Magnificat begins with a celebration of the greatness that God has wrought in Mary, and ends precisely with that which God has wrought in Abraham: "as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever" (v. 55). The promises made to the fathers and to Abraham are now being fulfilled in Mary, those promises Mary celebrates in herself. Abraham's journey towards the land that God had promised to him and his descendants now ends in Mary, who picks up the baton of those promises and, like Abraham, she will resume Abraham's journey, together with her son Jesus, towards the goal of Golgotha, where the Jesus of the evangelist John will proclaim that all is fulfilled (Jn 19:30).

V. 40 marks two new movements of Mary: "She entered the house of Zechariah" and "she greeted Elizabeth". The term house, in Greek, is rendered with two nouns: "oîkos" and "oikia". The first indicates the house as the physical dwelling place; the second has a figurative meaning and indicates the house as family, inhabitants, relatives, race, lineage, lineage. In our case Luke uses the first term, "oîkos", the place of dwelling of Zechariah, a member of the priestly class. Zechariah and his house, therefore, become a figure of the ancient Jewish cult, which has now come to its full fruition. It is here that Zechariah dwells, and it is here that Mary, who bears within herself the heir of the Promise, the true Lamb of God, who goes to replace the innumerable and ineffective animal sacrifices; she enters, as if to take within herself, effectively replacing it, the entire Judaic cult.  In this context, Mary's greeting to Elizabeth goes far beyond a simple act of good etiquette, to take on the value of an announcement: Mary is the one who bears within herself the One awaited by the nations. This is confirmed by Elizabeth's response and the song of the two women, who duet with each other the wonders of God that are being accomplished in them.

Elizabeth's song of exultation is to be understood as a kind of liturgical celebration. This is suggested by the context: that she is filled with the Holy Spirit, that she cries out in a loud voice, the jubilation of the child in her womb, which can be likened to a kind of joyful dance, the same greeting, which ends in bliss. This is what is happening in the house of Zechariah, who will complete this cry of exultation of Elizabeth with the singing of the Benedictus, in which Elizabeth's "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb" will be echoed by the "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up for us a mighty salvation in the house of David, his servant" (vv. 68-69).

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)