“Blessed is she who believed”: Lk 1:45 and Mary’s faith

“Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45): this beatitude of Elizabeth, pronounced at the moment of the Visitation, is the only one of the evangelical beatitudes addressed directly to Mary. The article analyzes the verse in the original Greek, its place in the narrative of the Visitation, the accepted signs, Mary’s movement, the greeting received, and what the text reveals about Mary’s faith in seven distinct theological dimensions according to Lucan exegesis.Regarding Lk 1:45 in Greek: *makaria*, the verb *pisteusasa*, and the aorist of fulfilled faith.”She who believed that the words of the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45): this is the beatitude proclaimed by Elizabeth to Mary at the moment of the Visitation. It is one of the most beautiful phrases in the Gospel of Infancy and constitutes the first beatitude of the New Testament. Before the Sermon on the Mount, before the beatitudes addressed to the poor and the meek, it is Mary who receives the first proclamation of evangelical happiness, and she receives it through her faith: not through her sanctity, not through her divine motherhood, but because she believed. The verse is set within the context of the Visitation pericope (Lk 1:39-56), immediately before the Magnificat, and is key to understanding what Luke means about Mary’s faith.The sign of Elizabeth and Mary’s decision: why does Mary go straight to the mountain of Judah without an explicit order from the angel (Lk 1:36-39)?The question of why Mary immediately goes to the mountain of Judah, since the angel did not give her an explicit order to do so, remains. Well, if she goes to the mountain of Judah, it is not in any way to verify the truth of the angel’s words, but rather to accept, in full obedience, the implicit invitation the angel extends: to contemplate the sign that the Lord wishes to give her through Elizabeth.This invitation is expressed in the “eis”, which literally could be translated as “look”, “see”! Now, Mary is the true faithful who does not refuse the sign that the Lord grants her and sets out for the mountain to visit her elderly relative miraculously pregnant. In doing so, Mary appears as the opposite of the unbelieving Ahaz, who refused the sign that the Lord offered him through the prophet Isaiah: “I will not ask, and I will not test the Lord” (Is 7:12). The prophet severely rebukes him: “Is it not enough to tire the patience of men, that you now tire the patience of God?” (Is 7:13).As a true faithful, Mary embarks on her long journey to “see” what the Lord is doing among his people, to contemplate with Elizabeth the powerful and salvific action of God of Israel, and to magnify the Lord with her. Thus, there is also an implicit exhortation to the reader: as Mary, he is called to have a visionary faith, a faith that seeks to understand what God is doing in the history of his other brothers and sisters, in particular by offering them the most evident sign of his mercy and faithfulness: the gift of children!Mary in motion: the Visitation (Lk 1:39-45) as an act of faith in action and fulfillment of the angelic promiseThe evangelist presents us with an intense portrait of Mary “in motion“.It is a movement that occurs “rapidly,” a term dear to Luke, used to indicate a strong religious impulse, that is, a great passion that seizes the human being, as in the case of the shepherds who go “rapidly” to Bethlehem (Lk 2:16) impelled by the angelic announcement. We can also remember Zachaeus’ haste, who descends almost rolling from the tree (Lk 19:6), although the same Greek word is not used, and the eagerness of the disciples of Emmaus who return to the city to announce to the Eleven the resurrection of the Lord.Moreover, a similar “haste” can be found in several texts of the Old Testament, all permeated with a religious atmosphere, such as Abraham’s haste among the oaks of Mamre when he runs to the flock and prepares a feast for the three divine guests (cf. Gen 18).Luke here wishes to draw the reader’s attention to Mary’s readiness and agility as she ascends the mountain of Judah. With this image, he wants to positively challenge him and implicitly make him reflect on his readiness for the mission and recognize the need to overcome the hesitation and doubts that often prevent faithful adherence to the divine promise.The destination of the journey is also very significant: “the mountainous region.” Mary is heading towards a village whose name remains anonymous, but with a readily recognizable horizon, that is, the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. This undeniably refers to the famous verse of Is 52:7: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news… who says to Zion: ‘Your God reigns.'”The greeting of Mary to Elizabeth (Lk 1:40-41): the encounter of the two mothers and the effusion of the Holy Spirit at the VisitationThe journey concludes with Mary’s entry into Zechariah’s house and her greeting to Elizabeth. In Mary’s greeting, there is not only the fulfillment of a formality, a custom of good manners, but a powerful word that fulfills what is promised. With the “missionary” Mary, what Jesus will say to His sent ones is already verified: “In any house you enter, say first: ‘Peace be to this house!’ If there is a son of peace, your peace will rest upon him” (Lk 10:5-6).The gift of peace, of abundant joy, accompanies Mary’s greeting to Elizabeth. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the baby in her womb stirs with joy. These are the fruits of the good news: when the news enters someone’s life, as in Elizabeth’s case, who receives Mary’s greeting with peace, it produces joy and nourishes that uncontrollable excitement generated by the outpouring of the Spirit, the gift of the new messianic times.Elizabeth, being filled with the Holy Spirit, then speaks with prophetic words, and it can also be rightly affirmed that, through her, speaks also the baby she carries in her womb, since he too is filled with the Spirit. Thus, the reader, through Elizabeth’s words, is invited to share his admiration for Mary, the servant of the Lord and the faithful!The scene of exuberant joy once again reminds us of the text from Isaiah about the arrival of the messenger of good news to Zion. Elizabeth’s response is a loud cry, an exclamation of joy, much like the watchmen of Jerusalem who receive the exciting news firsthand: “Listen! The watchmen raise their voices, together they cry out with joy, for they see with their own eyes the return of the Lord to Zion” (Isaiah 52:8).Meanwhile, Mary remains silent and listens to Elizabeth’s words. She is an extremely suggestive silent figure because, in addition to announcing the good news and bringing the expected greeting of peace, she also knows how to remain silent and listen, contemplating the fruits of the Gospel in hearts. Then, the silence will end, and when she speaks, it will be only to magnify her God.Luke is drawing an ideal portrait of the Christian who becomes a witness: true and effective announcement has its roots in listening and contemplation! What is happening in Zechariah’s house with the encounter between the two women is a wonderful event of communion in love and faith. It is an event that has not only the mothers as protagonists but also the children. Elizabeth recognizes in Mary not only a relative who wants to be close to her in a moment of need, but the fulfillment of God’s promise to visit His people.It is God who visits humanity, giving life and asking her to collaborate with His plan of salvation, thus recognizing in the gift of the Son His own close presence. It is an event of communion in which an aspect of the people of God as a community made up of families is revealed, symbolized here by the two women embracing and rejoicing together. It is a contagious joy, full of admiration, that extends to the communion the two mothers experience with their children, feeling their exultation in their wombs.

Mary’s Silence and Elizabeth’s Praise (Luke 1:41-44): Faith as Active Listening and the Prophecy of “pisteusasa”

Meanwhile, Mary remained silent and listened to Elizabeth’s speech. She is a silent figure who is extremely suggestive because, in addition to announcing the good news and bringing the expected greeting of peace, she also knows how to remain silent and listen, contemplating the fruits of the Gospel in hearts. Then, the silence will end, and when she speaks, it will be only to magnify her God. Luke is thus drawing an ideal portrait of the Christian who becomes a witness: true and effective announcement has its roots in listening and contemplation!Let us now examine closely Elizabeth’s speech. She begins with an accolade that should not be considered merely a simple congratulation: “Blessed are you among women” (v. 42), and concludes with another exclamation, a beatitude: “blessed is she who believed…” (v. 45). In between is a question, filled with surprise and wonder: “Why is the mother of my Lord coming to me?” From this verse, it is helpful to begin to understand Elizabeth’s speech about Mary.She highlights her own unworthiness and, by contrast, the eminent dignity of “the mother of my Lord“. Here we can perceive an echo of an episode from the Old Testament, that of David, who is surprised to ask why God has decided to enter his house: “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam 6:9). However, David’s question also indicates his hesitation to receive the ark of the Lord, something “frightening” to a man. Here, on the other hand, Elizabeth’s astonishment is completely imbued with joy, admiration, and gratitude, without any shadow of fear.The expression with which Elizabeth addresses Mary indicates the reason for the greatness and incomparable dignity of he who came to visit her: the son Mary carries in her womb is “the Lord!” It can also be said that the greatness of the Son communicates even more dignity to his mother. If motherhood has always been something of very high stature in ancient Israel, this pregnancy of Mary is a motherhood of dignity even more unattainable due to the divine nature of the son given to her by the Most High.The statements of Elizabeth need explanation to avoid appearing exaggerated or excessive. This is what she hastens to clarify: “For, as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). Elizabeth speaks of herself, but only to show her own sense of poverty and humility, along with the joy at the undeserved grace she received with Mary’s visit to her home, a grace that adds to that of the son growing within her. Humility and faith are inseparable, and it is only in humility that we recognize God’s greatness.Now, let us pause on the two exclamatory phrases that open and close Elizabeth’s speech: the initial blessing and the final beatitude. The initial exclamation of Elizabeth (“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”) is not a direct citation from the Bible, but it is a well-known theme in the Old Testament (cf. Judg. 5:24; Judg. 13:18). We can think here of the blessings of Abraham by Melchizedek, after his victory over the four kings (Gen. 14:19ff).What all these texts have in common is that these blessings are proclaimed over the hero or heroine who has just achieved an extraordinary victory. But what victory is Mary celebrating here? Clearly, it is the victory of her faith, achieved through prompt and confident obedience to God’s plan. In similar texts from the Old Testament, after the blessing of the hero or heroine, God’s blessing on the victor usually follows (cf. Gen. 14:19-20).Here, something similar happens, but also deeply different and original: after the blessing of the mother, follows the blessing of the son she carries in her womb. We can consider this final blessing a proclamation of God’s benevolent action toward the son she carries, in the same way as the one directed toward the mother, or, and this seems more relevant, it should be understood that Elizabeth raises her blessing to that “fruit of Mary’s womb,” precisely because he is the One who gave her the victory! Interpreting it this way, the two phrases, respecting the Aramaic substratum of Elizabeth’s words about Mary, would sound like: “You are blessed among women, for the fruit of your womb is the Blessed One.”Now, we come to the exclamation with which Elizabeth concludes her speech and proclaims the blessedness of Mary: “Blessed is she who believed in the fulfillment of what the Lord has said to her” (v. 45). It should be noted that the Semitic expression underlying biblical statements of “blessed” is never an isolated exclamation, but always refers to an explicit subject for whom the reason for this felicitation is in some way motivated. In other words, there is never the exclamation “Blessed!” without indicating “who” is blessed.Blessedness differs from a blessing, though they are closely related. A blessing comes from above and is, therefore, an effective realization of happiness in relation to the “blessed“. Blessedness does not produce, but notes with admiration the happiness of someone, in some way participates in it, and awakens the desire for it. It is also to be observed that “blessedness” is a literary form fundamentally related to the religious sphere. Someone is not proclaimed “blessed” simply because they possess material goods, regardless of their eventual religious significance.In the end, blessedness proclaims salvation, extolling with praise a person or group of individuals precisely because of their condition of salvation that makes them blessed, happy. Here, the blessedness of Mary is recognized as founded on her faith, by which she recognizes the fulfillment of the word of the Lord, affirming the fidelity and goodness of God’s action towards humanity.Therefore, the declaration of blessedness is also an explanation: Mary is in the blessedness of faith, because in faith, by believing in the Word of God, she became the Mother of the Lord (cf. Lk 8,21; 11,38)! Thus, to Elizabeth’s inspired words, filled with admiration for the Mother of the Lord, Mary will respond in her Magnificat, shifting the focus from her person to the holiness and mercy of God, who accomplished “great things” in her.In it, Mary sings a hymn of praise structured in three closely linked moments: overflowing gratitude for what the Lord did for her, joy at the paradoxical style of divine intervention in human history, and finally, exaltation of His faithfulness in fulfilling the promises made to Israel and intended for all humanity.

The Visitation as the Gospel of Life: Faith, Generation, and Mary’s Mission in Luke’s Narrative

The passage of the Visitation presents an image of the vocation that the family expresses and lives through the generation of a son. Mary hears the word of the angel and responds with a “yes” of faith. This “yes” constitutes the condition for God’s promise to be fulfilled. At the very moment of conception, Jesus is destined according to a vocation and a promise that come from God and are embraced by Mary’s faith. This vocation centers on Jesus’ name, which means “God saves.”It is important to note that the immediate result of this salvific event is a communion of love and faith that involves not only mothers but also their children. Her vocation is intrinsically linked to the mothers’ response of faith. Surprisingly, babies in the wombs of their mothers exult in joy to the point that mothers are able to perceive this joy and share it with them.This dual hearing, of God’s Word and the gospel of life emanating from the children, reveals the key elements of the commitment that characterizes parental action. Furthermore, it forms the basis for community building in the Kingdom of God. This reality finds profound expression in the chosen phrase: “Blessed are those who believe.”Deepen your studies: Explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and a Postgraduate degree in Mariology.Regarding Mary’s faith celebrated in Luke’s words, “Blessed are those who believe,” consult the Encyclical *Redemptoris Mater* by Pope John Paul II.