“Mary arose and went in haste …” Luke 1:39

BY FR. BRADY WILLIAMS, SOLT

Our religious community recently had an international assembly, which occurs every five years. It is a chance for us to address the most pressing needs in our community and to make large, worldwide decisions that affect our members and those whom we serve. After only two days of meetings, a friend texted me: “Have you solved all the world’s problems already?” To which I responded: “We are more like the Ents in the Lord of the Rings: “Let’s not be too hasty!” After all, when such important decisions are on the line, one does not want to move too quickly. Still, the ‘pond water’ pace can feel a bit uneasy.

We live in a fast-paced world and tend to operate at a frenetic speed. Going from here to there, trying to accomplish this and that, there is hardly time to slow down and think. Culturally, we likely view such busyness as a source of pride. ‘If I’m busy, that means I’m important’ – and we all want to be needed. It could ultimately lead us to prioritize many things and neglect our spiritual life.

Curiously, Pope Francis chose the theme for World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal to be: “Mary arose and went in haste …” (Lk 1:39). In particular, the Holy Father desired to inspire the youth to “rise up” out of any spiritual laziness, and to go with haste, yet joyfully and with boldness, to proclaim the Gospel just as Mary did.

When I think of Mary, the word “haste” is not the first thing that typically comes to mind, but rather contemplation: “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:29). I mean, what would she be in such a hurry about? Our Holy Father elucidates this seemingly atypical response of Mary in his address at the Vigil at WYD in Lisbon: “We might ask, why did Mary set out and go with haste to visit her cousin? Certainly, Mary had just learned that Elizabeth was pregnant, but so was she; so why go if no one had asked her to? Mary does something that was not asked of her and that she did not have to do. Mary goes because she loved, and “whoever loves flies, runs and rejoices” (The Imitation of Christ, III, 5). That is what love does to us.”

Mar y’s haste is different from simply rushing around to get things done. It is a response of love, a need to share what “The Mighty One has done … for me” (Lk 1:49) and to assist her cousin in her need. The Holy Father goes on to say: “Instead of thinking about herself, [Mary] thinks of the other. Why? Because joy is missionary, joy is not just for one person; it is for sharing something with others.”

Mar y went in haste. The word “haste,” in fact, appears only two other times in the Gospel of Luke: when the shepherds go to see the newborn King (2:16) and when Zacchaeus responds to Jesus’ invitation to dinner (19:6). All three of these events involve a kind of missionary joy, a going forth hurriedly as a response to a divine call. Similarly, the other times such a ‘hasty’ response is indicated in the Gospels is when Jesus calls people to follow him, and they ‘immediately’ respond.

So, what is it about this kind of “haste” that sets it apart from the rat race of our typical daily life? It stems from a divine initiative, from a need to respond or to share from the fullness that has been given to us. Just as for Our Blessed Mother, it is a response of love which carries with it a joy that can be called “missionary” because it has the irresistible quality of needing to be given away. May we, too, rise up, like Mary, and go with haste to share the joy of the Gospel.