Thursday, May 31, The Feast of the Visitation
(Luke 1)
Titian and Tintoretto were the best Venetian Renaissance painters. Titian is said to have painted pictures of the Virgin Mary as if she were a princess. Tintoretto was much more democratic. His Virgins pictured an ordinary girl with extraordinary grace. Although people still like to put Mary on a high pedestal like Titian, Tintoretto’s image seems to be more in character.
When Mary visits Elizabeth, she not only offers service to a woman in need. More importantly, she acts on the word of God. Thus, she models discipleship. We too should be quick to offer our services and always contemplating the word of God that we hear at Mass.
But Mary’s simple greatness goes further. She proclaims the gospel as she tells how God has favored her, “a lowly servant,” and has blessed the poor in different ways. She sounds remarkably like Jesus when he tells the people of Nazareth that the Spirit has anointed him to bring good news to the poor.
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