WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE VISITATION
“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Luke 1:39-45
LAYERS OF BEAUTY
This scene of the Visitation can seem like such a small, ordinary moment with two seemingly ordinary women. However, when we look more closely we can find layers of beauty: the beauty that comes with openness to new life and unexpected surprises.
One layer reveals the sweetness of an embrace between two new mothers. Another layer shows us the depth of this embrace, revealing the complicated circumstances both women were facing in their uniquely unplanned pregnancies in their very different states in life.
Looking closer, we can see another hidden layer showing the radical love and accepting support that comes from two women in a virtuous friendship, holding each other up in the face of challenges or unexpected joys.
And going even deeper into another layer, we find the raw openness of both Mary and Elizabeth—two women whose holiness and sanctity did not depend on what they did, but rather what they allowed God to do through them. This layer is so uniquely beautiful because it reveals the simple love and trust of women who are completely open to cooperating with the hands of the Creator, Who formed life within their beings.
Each of these layers of the Visitation holds something deeper for each of us to meditate with and ask ourselves—Am I open to the unplanned events God has for my life? Am I supporting people in my life during difficult challenges and joyful surprises? And, in what ways am I being called to cooperate with God’s hands in creating right now in my life?
MY VISITATION
I remember experiencing my own Visitation moment when I was student teaching a few years ago. It came in the midst of one of those rare, hard days of teaching when you feel as though no one sees the work, time, and care you put into the activities or projects of the day. It didn’t help that this particular morning was shaping up to be a tough one with my high-energy teenage students acting up in my first few class periods.
Right before my 4th period drawing class began, I was rushing around the classroom preparing for a big demonstration while simultaneously processing and ruminating over behavior issues from the previous class. I was so lost in my own clouded, stressed thoughts as I frantically ran around the room grabbing items for my presentation that I didn’t notice anyone around me until there came a voice— the low but sweet voice of one of my senior girls, Henrietta.
Henrietta was a tall young woman who, if you didn’t know her, looked like she could take you down without a doubt if you crossed her. But all it took was one greeting or short conversation to find out she truly embodied peace with her warm, maternal heart that was ready to receive any heart with care, kind eyes, and a wide smile or a laugh. This girl was miles ahead of where I was at the age of 18.
That day in the art room I stopped in my tracks from my hasty rush to find Henrietta standing up at her seat saying, “Miss McAtee, thank you for all you do for us. I can tell how much you love art and love us by what you do for us here.”
This was not a loud proclamation or public affirmation for other students to hear; it was quiet, subtle, and spoken in proximity for only me to hear.
Henrietta saw me having a hard time, felt for me, and gave me the gift of her support and acknowledgement of my impact in her life during a time when I thought I was unimportant, and that my gifts were wasted. Although it was a small act and contained only a few words, Henrietta made a wave in my heart that day that caused me to stop and reflect on the worth of the time and effort I was putting in as a learning art teacher each day. She caused me to get outside of myself so that I could begin to see my work and my students with new eyes and a renewed heart.
Henrietta took the time to receive me during a time I didn’t feel I could be received. And, in the process, she invited me to receive the gift of myself too, drawing out the gifts I was called to continue to give to my students in my state in life as their art teacher. And I am forever grateful for her small Visitation to me that busy morning.
OPEN TO RECEIVE
As we reflect on our own lives, let us constantly dig deeper into the seemingly ordinary layers of life’s situations. How can we open our hearts more to God’s will in each moment? Open to the possibilities of new life and creation? Open to the others he may be placing before us to love, support, and cherish?
Whether it’s the possibility of the new life of a child in your family, working on writing or artwork you’ve been putting off, cultivating a new friendship with that girl at church who sits by herself, taking time to cook a meal for a less-fortunate family that lives nearby—whatever it is, if we’re open to receive, tiny little miracles happen.
ABOUT ERIN:
Erin McAtee hails from Indiana and is approaching an artist residency at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City for Fall 2019. She utilizes the processes of printmaking, drawing, and painting in her work to focus on the beautiful and grotesque in humanity, relationships, and the innate dignity found within all of us. Erin’s background in art education and mission work has helped her find opportunities to share her artistic gifts within Catholic and non-Catholic communities alike, particularly those she has volunteered and served with in places such as Haiti, Italy, Connecticut, and the Bronx. You can find more about her on her website: erinkmcatee.com or on Instagram @handmaidhandmades.
