The Feast Day of the Visitation and the Reminder that So Much More Is Possible

Today is the Feast Day of the Visitation, the feast day that celebrates Mary, pregnant with Jesus, going to be with Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist. We could celebrate this feast day in any number of ways: we could celebrate intergenerational support for each other, the ways that God doesn't abandon women who are on the margins of society, the ways that improbable situations can be harnessed for hope, and the hospitality that is evident on so many levels (the wombs of the women, Elizabeth welcoming Mary).The story in Luke leaves questions, of course. Did Mary travel alone? How did she stay safe? What did Mary and Elizabeth talk about in the month (months?) that she was there? Why did she leave before Elizabeth gave birth? What did Joseph think about all of this? Was Joseph even part of this narrative?We get more of Joseph's perspective in the gospel of Matthew. What I love about this feast day, however, is that it's focused on the women. We don't have much celebration of…