Elisabeth’s Reaction to Mary
Elisabeth’s Reaction to Mary Excerpt There is a great contrast between the behaviour of the two women when they met in Elisabeth’s house. The elder was full of a new strange ecstatic joy. “She was filled with the Holy Ghost” ( ver . 42 ), and spoke her words of lofty congratulation with “a loud voice” ( ver . 42 ). Mary , on the other hand, was not conscious evidently, on this occasion, of any special presence of the Holy Spirit. Since the hour of the annunciation and her own meek faithful acceptance of the Lord’s purpose, she had been dwelling, so to speak, under the immediate influence of the Spirit of the Lord. Her cousin’s inspiration seems to have been momentary and transitory , while here , during that strange blessed season which immediately preceded the Incarnation, was enduring . Hence the quiet introduction to her hymn, “And Mary said.” It is, of course, possible that she had committed the beautifu...