7 The haste of the young woman of Nazareth is the haste of those who have received extraordinary gifts from the Lord and feel compelled to share them, to let the immense grace that they have experienced be poured out upon others. It is the haste of those capable of putting other people’s needs above their own. Mary is an example of a young person who wastes no time on seeking attention or the approval of others—as often happens when we depend on our “likes” on social media. She sets out to find the most genuine of all “connections”: the one that comes from encounter, sharing, love, and service. Starting with the Annunciation, when she first set out to visit her cousin, Mary has never stopped bridging time and space to visit those of her sons and daughters who need her loving help. Our own journey, if “inhabited” by God, can lead us straight into the heart of every one of our brothers and sisters. How many testimonies have we heard from people who were “visited” by Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother! In how many far-off places of the earth, in every age— through apparitions and special graces—has Mary visited her people! There is practically no place on earth that she has not visited. The Mother of God moves in the midst of her people by tender and loving care; she makes her own their anxieties and troubles. And wherever there is a shrine, a church or a chapel dedicated to Our Lady, there her children flock in great numbers. Think of all those expressions of popular piety! Pilgrimages, festivities, prayers, the enthronement of images in houses and so many other acts of devotion are concrete examples of a vital relationship between the Mother of the Lord and her people, who visit one another in turn! Healthy haste drives us always upwards and towards others A healthy haste drives us always upwards and towards others. Yet there is also an unhealthy haste, which can drive us to live superficially and to take everything lightly. Without commitment or concern, without investing ourselves in what we do. It is the haste of those who live, study, work, and
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