Love Goes the Distance: A Reflection on the Visitation and May SLL Update

May 31, 2024

 

Dear friends,

 

Happy Feast of the Visitation of Mary! The story of Mary's journey of service and love to her cousin Elizabeth is one of my favorites for its significance in bearing witness to Jesus' divinity, the preciousness of unborn life, the beauty of God's fulfillment of his promises, the Magnificat prayer...the list goes on. But one of my favorite aspects of the Visitation is how Mary models for us how to live out charity to others. As we run our nonprofit, we reflect on Mary's model of active charity. Whether you are Catholic, Christian, another faith, or none at all, I invite you to read Luke 1 and see what you can learn from Mary's actions toward Elizabeth. For me, a few lessons stand out. First, let the Holy Spirit lead. Second, when you go to help others, carry Jesus with you. Third, always bring friends. And finally, give the glory to God.

 

In Luke 1, Mary's "yes" to God invites the Holy Spirit to overshadow her and Jesus to become incarnate in her. Immediately after her encounter with the Holy Spirit, she goes "in haste" to serve her cousin Elizabeth. I've been reflecting on how any charitable work or project we undertake should begin after spending time in the presence of God and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. After all, there are thousands of worthy causes we can pour ourselves into. Sincerely asking for guidance can help us know which path to take and which to let go. Sea la Luz began because when I was living in Honduras and pretty overwhelmed by the needs all around me. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what I should do. Time and again I was presented with cases of children dropping out of school. It really bothered me, but I didn't think I could do much about it, until one mother directly asked me to help her daughter find a way to finish high school. The Holy Spirit had helped me become aware of a problem, care about it, and then gave me a real opportunity to do something about it. We continue to ask the Holy Spirit to direct this work and to guide our decision-making.

 

When Mary visited Elizabeth, she was literally carrying Jesus in her womb. He was tiny and unseen, but nonetheless so present that He was recognized by Elizabeth's unborn son, John, who leapt for joy. When we go to others to serve or to help, we need to carry Jesus in our hearts. We need to ask him to guide our words and actions so that they experience His love through us. We need to rely on His strength and love for them because it is so much stronger than our own. Then, when we face setbacks or disappointments in our efforts, we can rest assured that He is still working to bring about good. It isn't all up to us. I have found that Jesus is the reason I can connect with people whose background and life experience is so vastly different from my own. Of course, we have shared human dignity, but I find that connecting on the level of our mutual friend, Jesus, is the quickest way to break down barriers between "giver" and "receiver."

 

Mary travelled from her home in Nazareth to Elizabeth's home in the hill country of Judea. Tradition holds that the town is Ein Karem, located about 100 miles from Nazareth. I've been to Ein Karem. It is beautiful, but I got to drive there in an air-conditioned bus! But getting there from Nazareth would've been arduous and dangerous journey. Although Scripture doesn't tell us, we can imagine she must have had companionship on the journey. I like to imagine her travel companion was Joseph. I can imagine her telling him how much she wanted to help Elizabeth and how excited she was about the baby coming and him putting down his carpentry tools and saddling up the donkey. When we embark on charity and service, we should never go alone. We should be willing to invite others along with us and look for the ways God is also calling them to join in the work. I've been extremely blessed to share this work we do with my husband. He has been by my side from the very beginning, supporting, advising, and sharing the load and the joy. He has used his medical training to help us make sound decisions when supporting healthcare cases. When we incorporated as a nonprofit, we were able to invite board members and donors into the work. We are so grateful to each of you because you fuel the work with your prayers and your contributions. As a team, we work towards giving truly needy patients a chance at health and students a chance to learn.

 

Finally, Mary shows us that when we see good fruit, we should proclaim the greatness of God. Mary's Magnificat is my favorite prayer. It is humble and bold, exuberant and reverent. If you have never read it, here's my second plug to read Luke 1. :)

 

Today I pray you know Mary's presence in your life. The Visitation story shows us that she will go the distance for those she loves. Let us learn from her together to listen to the Spirit, carry Jesus to others, lean on one another, and give God the glory.

 

We ask you to pray for our work, our scholars, and the patients we help. If you are able to increase our reach by making a contribution today, we are so grateful!

 

 

In Christ our Light,

 

Anna Gagnet

Study and Serve

All SLL high school and college scholars do 10 hours of service each month. Their service work helps them build a habit of giving back and makes a measurable difference in their community.

Juan David (10th grade) cleans the patio of his church. Arianny (10th grade) works on homework. Lorena (university) studies a specimen as part of her laboratory science training program.