Mary goes to help her cousin, Elizabeth. She goes there as a living tabernacle carrying Jesus within her. Elizabeth recognizes the greatness of Mary's calling, yet Mary is so humble that she attributes her grace, not to any excellence she possesses but to God's mercy and His greatness. Such should be our sentiment in the depths of our soul. When we stand in God's presence, we should become aware of our own nothingness before the Divinity as it was with Mary.

Do we see ourselves as God sees us? If we do, then there will be no room, no reason to be proud and arrogant in our approach to others. If we are aware of our good qualities, our talents etc, let us remember that they are God's gifts to us.

Mary's attitude was the opposite of that of the world. Our society is based on a value system of personal excellence and meritocracy. Moreover, the powerful are respected, the rich admired and the poor and the weak looked down upon and discriminated against. Mary, by her example tells us that only when we become humble and simple in life and acknowledge that all that we are and have comes from the generosity of God, can we be really open to God.