The spiritual journey is a journey we are meant to make with others. The experience of God cries out within us to be shared, and doing so with wise, trusted companions is an important part of the way in which we learn to attend to the movement of the Spirit in daily life. This is the essence of spiritual direction. Here we share our experience of God and learn to discern the action of God in our lives by focusing on the Mystery that connects us to each other and to God.Mary’s visit with Elizabeth following her encounter with the Angel of the Lord might not fit your image of a spiritual direction session, but it does contain these important elements. Luke tells us that on hearing that she would be the mother of the Messiah, Mary hurried to her cousin’s house to share the news. Elizabeth, who herself had been miraculously blessed by the Lord, greeted her wit openness and warmth. We do not know the details of what they said to each other. But we see enough of their interaction to be able to identify a number of important elements of spiritual direction. These we will explore as we look at this work of art together.

But first, take some time to read reflectively the entire story in Luke 1:39–56. Sit with the images as they come into your mind. You may even have a mental picture that emerges from your memories of a favorite Christmas card, some other painting, or even a staged presentation. Attend to the scene and be present there to see what is happening. Listen in on the conversation and see if you can get a sense of the mood of the visit.