The more we meditate on Mary's going in haste to visit Elizabeth, the more we understand the importance of the incident - to understand Christian spirituality, which will always be a spirituality of love manifesting itself in some form of service.

As soon as the Angel Gabriel left her, Mary may indeed have taken herself to prayer to praise and thank God for the great grace she had received. But if she did, her prayer soon led her to leave in haste to go to Elizabeth, for the revelation of Elizabeth's pregnancy was part of the angel's message. It is significant that Mary's Magnificat does not come to us as part of her personal and private prayer, but only as part of her visit to Elizabeth, where she shared Elizabeth's joy and shared her own joy with her kinswoman.

Luke gives no details about how a young woman could suddenly undertake the long and hazardous journey from Nazareth in Galilee to Elizabeth's home in the hill country of Judah, for the story is not about Mary's achievement in making the journey but in the love and joy that animated her.

Whenever Mary is mentioned in the Gospels, thecentre of attention is not Mary herself but other people and their needs. Mary is entirely free from self-centredness. To use Pope Francis' words: Mary is entirely non-self-referential. Everything points to her Son, just as her Son's whole life pointed to God.