Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

​Today we celebrate the feast day of the Visitation. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard this story from the Gospel of Luke about a thousand times. I could rattle off the words of Mary’s Magnificat (her response to Elizabeth’s prize) without having to look. And yet, when I read this so familiar story, do I truly understand the significance of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth?

Reading it again with a gaze of prayer, the thing that stuck out to me the most was the part that says: “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.” Mary set out and traveled in haste. 

This passage comes right after the appearance of the angel Gabriel, where she gave her yes to becoming the Mother of God. In that moment, Jesus became flesh within her. And instead of lingering where she was to enjoy the indwelling of God or keeping the great graces she was experiencing to herself, she set out in haste to serve her cousin Elizabeth.

As Catholics, we get to receive God within us every time we go to Mass. Sometimes our prayer life is so good that we feel that intimacy with Him really clearly, while at other times, it’s harder to feel or understand that. Mary is a great example for us of how to respond no matter which of these realities we feel as we receive our God. 

Mary must have felt both a great joy at the news that she would carry the Messiah and also a great apprehension. She knew what the angel had told her, but it was too soon for her to feel the baby move within her, to know for sure that she was actually pregnant. She had to step forward in faith, to fill in the gaps of her limited human understanding with faith that went beyond what she could understand. And feeling both of these things, she went in haste to serve another.

This is the model that we are called to follow: to set out in haste after receiving our Lord to serve one another. In times of consolation, where our faith makes it easy to understand and feel the presence of the Lord in our lives, this service can be easy. But in times of desolation, when it’s harder to feel or understand Jesus within us, this can be harder to do. In those times, let us look to the example of Our Lady, who didn’t waste a moment in pouring out what she had received to others despite the unbelievable things that had happened to her. 

Let us go in haste to share the God who loves us enough to let us receive Him with each person that we meet.

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

​What is your initial reaction after receiving good news? What is your initial reaction after receiving the Eucharist? Are those two reactions different or similar?

​Who do you go in haste to serve? What makes serving easier or harder for you?

How can you become more like Mary in the story of the Visitation?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

​"Go in haste to serve."

​"Grant me the desire to serve."

​"Help me step forward in faith."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

Joyfully hasten to share the Good News of the Eucharist and the Gospel Message with a friend today.

To make the name of our Lord God known… this is our mission. I think a lot of times we think of Christianity as being a good person with the goal of getting to Heaven in the end. This is part of it but in order to grow in our own faith we must make God’s name known to others. “Do not hide it under a bushel basket”. Our knowledge and love of Christ is not made to be kept to ourselves. Jesus’s final words in the gospel of Matthew 28:18 is “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” He did not say, be a good person and you will make it to Heaven. The command is to make disciples. That is the mission of the church and its people. This is what you were put on this earth to do. 

Whether others follow or not is not on you, but it is on you to at least try. To try in a loving and specific way to your audience. To make the Lord known, does not mean pressing your faith on others in a forceful or condescending way, and I would hope we already know that. We must get creative. We must reach people on a way that they can relate to. Pope Francis says that anyone who has had an encounter with Christ is able to evangelize. You do not need a theology degree, be a missionary, or go to youth group every week to evangelize. If you know who Jesus is you can share that experience. 

Do not be discouraged if others are not receptive. Paul speaks of this in the first reading today, "But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”

Even Jesus, who is God, was rejected when communicating this truth. But He nor Paul shrunk from pressing on. Jesus says "Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.”  It is eternal life that we know Christ, this is all that we need in this life and the life after so if you ever think your mission to make the Lord known, to make disciples, is not worth it, insignificant, or anything of that nature, think again because it is eternal life. Heaven is literally on the line, why wouldn't you tell your friends? It is THE MISSION. 

Sharing your faith can be difficult, but the fruits are tremendous. My Grandparents were 83 when they joined the Catholic Church because I shared with them my desire to be a missionary. They couldn’t believe I would chose such a career path and wanted to learn more. Next thing you know I was sponsoring them into the Church. No one is out of your reach. My brother was an atheist and now is a practicing Christian. No one to too far gone to know Christ. So lets plant some seeds or in some cases go deeper so that the name of Jesus is on the lips of all the living. I encourage you today to think of one person that you want to invest in to help bring them just one step closer to having a personal relationship with Christ. 

When have you encountered Christ? How would you explain that experience to someone else? 

Who shared their faith with you before you encountered Christ? What did they do/say that made you want to get to know Jesus? 

Who is someone in your life God might be asking you to reach out to and share your faith?

"Evangelization is the mission."

"I can share my faith." 

​"Jesus is Lord." 

Reach out to one person who you think you can help bring closer to Christ. Don't be creepy, but use the gifts that God gave you to reach out to this person and share your relationship with Christ. 

Confirmation is typically the ugly step child of the Sacraments...the forgotten event... the Catholic graduation! 

Yet we should not miss the incredible moment that we all experienced or will experienced at confirmation. 

Today's first reading points to confirmation and it's power. Disciples are baptized and after being baptized, Paul, who is a bishop, lays hands on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so we too become baptized, and then a bishop lays hands on us and confirms us with the Spirit. 

Sometimes we wonder, "I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit so why would I need a spirit I already have?" Great question, and I'm so glad you just asked me that! 

Think of it this way... when I make chocolate milk I have a glass of milk and put chocolate into the glass.  What happens? The chocolate simply settles to the bottom and sits there. At this point the chocolate is in the milk, but the milk isn't changed. If I drink the milk I will not taste the chocolate. I need to grab a spoon and stir it up and then I have the fullness of chocolate milk.

So we are baptized and the seed of the Holy Spirit sinks into us in order to be watered through religious education, Masses, confession, prayer and so much more. Then the bishop comes in bringing the "Divine Spoon" as he confirms you! Stirring up that Holy Spirit to allow you to be guided by God and set on fire to move forward bringing God's life to the world! 

Ask God now to re-stir the gifts and effects of your own confirmation and allow God to allow you to taste the sweetness of His Divine Life!

What gifts of the Holy Spirit do you need "re-stirred" in your life right now? How can that help you grow closer to God?

How do you think we can take Confirmation and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives more seriously?

Have you let the Holy Spirit transform your life? If not, what are you waiting for? How has/can this change(d) your life?

"Stir up your love in my heart Lord."

"Come Holy Spirit."

​"Fill me up Lord."

Take some time today to learn about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Whether you are confirmed or not yet, the Lord wants to bless your life with these gifts, but we need to know them to recognize the great gift that they are.

I need you to do me a favor: please go back and read the Gospel again. Ready? Ok let’s go.

Go.

That is the theme of today’s Gospel, Jesus gives His disciples a very simple instruction: “Go.” He says “go" and make disciples, “go” and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and “go” and teach in my name. These simple instructions, given to the disciples, are also meant for us today. They are the instructions for all baptized Christians. We have a duty, a responsibility, to go out and to let others know about our faith.

Why do we need to tell others about our faith? Well, if the fact that Jesus told us to isn’t enough for you, let me ask you a question: do you really believe in the resurrection? Do you really believe that Jesus destroyed death so that we could be with Him in heaven? Do you really believe that we have a God who loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us?

If you answered yes to these questions, then why wouldn’t you want to tell someone about your faith, about Jesus? Don’t you want to tell someone about that awesome movie you just saw (because Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was super cool)? Or don’t you tell someone about the new song you are obsessing over? Or that new summer food you can’t live without (because Halo Top Ice Cream is really incredible)?

Movies, songs, and ice cream are all things of this world and we talk about them constantly. But Jesus is the key to eternal life, so why do we keep Him a secret? Why aren’t we shouting the fact that Jesus is alive? It is still Easter, have we already forgotten?

I get it. Sharing our faith can be pretty scary. It is hard to be labeled the “Catholic kid,” and I know that from personal experience. But Jesus isn’t asking us to do this on our own. Take a moment and go back and read today’s first reading again. Jesus isn’t telling us to “go” by ourselves. He is not sending us out unprepared; in fact, He tells the disciples to grab a friend and go out two by two. But most importantly, He gave us the Holy Spirit to be with us. We read, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

​The Holy Spirit is with us. The Spirit is not waiting till you need Him to come, the Spirit is always with you. You received the Holy Spirit at your baptism and again at your Confirmation. The gifts of the Spirit give us the courage to go and follow Jesus’s words, to be a witness and to spread the Gospel in our hallways at school, at work and in our own homes. You have the all the power you need to go out and change to the world. That is our mission that we read today on the feast of the Ascension. Jesus has returned to the Father, leaving us full of hope and the mission to go and spread His good news.

When you hear the command of Jesus to "go", what does that mean to you in your life right now? Where are you being called to go - out of your comfort zone, out of your habits, or out of some situation you are in?

What stops you from sharing your faith with others? How can you learn to be more bold in sharing it?

How can you call upon the Holy Spirit more consistently and effectively in your life? Take a moment in this prayer to pray for the Holy Spirit in specific areas of your life.

"I will go."

"Send me forth."

"Come, Holy Spirit."

Use social media to share the joy of the Lord with those who follow you today. Maybe you snapchat a picture on your way to Mass, or instagram something you're thankful for. Whatever it is, use your social media to boldly proclaim your faith. If you want, use #carpeverbum so you can see what other people are sharing.

​If you don't have social media, then you get to share your faith in person: find someone in your life, and share with them why you are grateful for your faith today.