Videos from Fr Claudio Doglio
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The Visitation and the Birth
After narrating the two annunciations of John and Jesus, the evangelist Luke presents the encounter between the two mothers. In the two chapters of the Gospel of the Infancy, Luke draws on the Judeo-Christian tradition, oral testimonies, and perhaps written documents, reworking them for his literary and theological purposes. As we see in this account of the visitation, as soon as she received the announcement of salvation, Mary got up and set out to share it.
For Luke, Mary is the model of the disciple; she sets out. The theme of the journey is crucial for Luke; it reflects what he experienced with Paul. He traveled with Paul and was always on the move throughout his life. He shares the encounter with Christ as ὁδός = hodós= the way. One way, one method. That’s why, in his Gospel, he emphasizes these details. From the beginning, Mary, the model of the disciple, who listens to the Word and completely trusts it through faith, sets out to share what she has received with others. The angel told her that her relative Elizabeth was expecting a baby and was already in her sixth month.
Mary believes Elizabeth will need help, and after being introduced as the mother of the future king, Messiah, she remains humble. She doesn’t see herself as a queen or first lady but begins preparing to serve and assist her relative in the last months of her pregnancy. Mary is unaware that she has conceived; the angel simply told her, “You will conceive a son.” She was willing, and at that moment, upon her acceptance, conception occurred. Mary doesn’t know yet; she finds out through Elizabeth’s words. Moved by the Spirit, Elizabeth welcomes her and feels the baby, six months along—literally as the Greek text says—jumping inside her womb. The mother is filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth greets Mary, calling her ‘blessed among all women, blessed is the fruit of your womb.’
How does Elizabeth know that Mary is expecting a child? It is a prophetic revelation guided by the Spirit. Elizabeth does not learn this through human knowledge but through inspiration; she says, “Blessed is she who believed in the fulfillment of the word of the Lord.” She reflects on her humility and marvels, saying, ‘the mother of my Lord comes to me.’ Elizabeth recognizes that Mary is a mother, not just of any child, but of the Lord. It’s a very prophetic moment led by the Spirit. From this encounter, Mary receives confirmation of what the angel had told her, miles away, without any human source of information. Elizabeth understands what has happened to Mary.
Now, Mary is convinced and begins to sing with joy. At this point, the evangelist reports the Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant” about this simple person’s poor condition.And He did great things for her.
Probably Luke already knew the text of the Magnificat; perhaps he learned it within the Judeo-Christian community of Jerusalem and its surroundings during the years he was involved with it. Maybe he found it written down, heard it sung, or memorized it. It is a liturgical text that originated within the Christian community, a strong Jewish community from the early days of Christianity. It is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving, with apocalyptic images of change. God is praised because “he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts and exalted the humble.”
This is a Church song, a Judeo-Christian prayer that draws on many Old Testament elements and is adapted to the new Christian context. It reflects Mary’s mindset. Luke places this ecclesial prayer in Mary’s mouth to express gratitude, acknowledgment, and praise for the Great One who performs wonders for the humble.
Then comes the story of John’s birth. The long-awaited child is born three months later, and his arrival is met with wonder. The most significant event is that the father regains his ability to speak. When his son was announced nine months earlier, the old Zachariah had been stunned by his disbelief, but when John was born, he regained his speech.
In the evangelical tradition, John is depicted as ‘the voice of the one who cries out in the desert,’ the voice that prepares the way for the Word of God made flesh, Jesus Himself. John, the voice, returns the voice to his elderly father, the Old Testament priest, who speaks again at the revelation of something new. John the Baptist is circumcised on the eighth day and receives the name “John,” which means “gift of God” – “God has made grace’ — and the aged father’s mouth, opened in awe, intones another prayer. Here, we find the ‘Benedictus,’ another hymn of the Judeo-Christian community.
Also, in this case, we can say that Luke found a text in the community and adapted it. It is a prophetic text that announces to those preparing for the coming of the Messiah: “The sunshall rise upon us from on high.” The sun rises from below; we always see it rise from below; here, instead, another type of sun rises from above. After this event, Mary returns home. Luke has organized the infancy narratives by placing two related reports—one with the announcement and then two records related to the birth—side by side. In the middle, we have the visitation and, as a result, the two songs. Chapter 2 begins the narrative of Jesus’s birth,parallel to John’s.
Only Luke reports a census organized by the emperor Caesar Augustus while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Historical records about this event are not very reliable, and there are some doubts about its timing, but we can accept the information as it stands. Luke aims to highlight that, within the grand story of humanity, amid the deeds of the powerful, the Lord’s influence is evident, entering history through the humble and the lowly.
Everything serves God’s purpose; even the census supports the plan of salvation. When it comes to taking a census, we know it well—there’s no need to go to your place of birth to register; everyone registers where they live. The census’s purpose is precisely to determine who is in a specific area at a certain time. Therefore, the news that Joseph is moving from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register is significant because it appears inconsistent.
This means Joseph wants to be in Bethlehem. He is probably in Nazareth incognito. Bethlehem, the city of David, was a hotbed of fundamentalists, rioters, and dangerous figures—those opposed to Rome who still dreamed of pretenders to the throne or possible kings against Herod. As the firstborn of a Davidic family, Joseph wants to stay away from these revolutionary centers. However, when it’s time to register for the Roman census, he makes it known that he is in Bethlehem and begins to move. Not everyone traveled for the census; most stayed home, but Joseph went to Bethlehem, the city of David, even though his wife,Mary, was nearing the end of her pregnancy.
He does not go to Bethlehem, an unknown city to him, because he is from there and has relatives. The tradition that places Jesus’ birth in a cave fits perfectly with what we know about Bethlehem’s urban layout. It was a city known for cave houses, similar to those of Matera in Italy; natural caves served as the main living spaces, with a front added—possibly an upper room protected by a wall—while the inhabited areas were mostly inside the rock. These caves, which can still be visited today by pilgrims in the Holy Land, include a large cave house under the Basilica of the Nativity that belonged to Joseph’s family, a wealthy household connected to David. Although a home for people living in poverty, it reflected the customs of the time.
Today, we live in poverty, but in the old economy and urban context, it was a typical house, a nice, big, organized one. Therefore, Joseph is received in his family environment, and the child is born and placed in a manger “because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Unfortunately, we have read ‘inn’ for many years, and by adding the old poem about the bell tower that rings at different hours of the night, we created the story of searching for the inn—full, no rooms available. In the end, they have to go to the field, to a stable, or even a cave.
This is all inconsistent fantasy. It does not match what Luke’s narrative says. Luke is not interested in a detailed reconstruction. He simply states that Joseph and Mary went to the city of David, Bethlehem, when the time for childbirth came, and “Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” The place, the accommodation, is what we call the living room, the dining room, ‘καταλύμα’ = katalyma, as the evangelist states in Greek. It is the main room of the house. Is it the best place for a woman in labor? NO. Where do you put a woman who is about to give birth? In a reserved environment. And the reserved environment, warm and cozy, in that kind of house, is the stable. Many of us have memories from years ago, 50 or 70 years ago, of life in rural areas, and we can still imagine a similar situation.
A winter birth in a rural area took place in a stable because it provided a naturally warmed environment and a more welcoming atmosphere than a frozen room inside the house. The mention of the manger refers to a natural setting. The women who lived in the stone houses of Matera, a city in southern Italy known for its limestone-carved houses, used a dresser as a children’s crib. Since the rooms were small, the baby was placed in the drawer next to the bed when the drawer was opened. The manger represents the natural environment that can comfortably accommodate a newborn, with hay providing a soft surface and the natural warmth from animals.
The evangelist’s emphasis on this single detail suggests that the child, upon birth, is placed where the food is kept. The baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the manger, is simply left there; there is no description of the surroundings, no highlighting of poverty or misery, only the essential facts.
Luke’s interests lie with the shepherds. The evangelist is particularly interested in them. Luke devotes considerable space to narrating the announcement of the birth to the shepherds. The shepherds are outside Bethlehem, where the child was born. They are in the fields, caring for their flock. The Lord’s angel appears to them, and the glory of God surrounds them. The language is almost reminiscent of the Easter apparition, the light of the Easter morning proclamation. At night, a divine light envelops the shepherds; it is a messenger bringing the ‘εὐαγγελίου’ — the gospels, or the good news: “Today the Savior, the Messiah, and Lord was born in the City of David.”
Three significant Christological titles are highlighted. The Messiah, known in Greek as Christ, is introduced; he is called ‘Kyrios’—meaning Lord—a divine title—along with the title of Savior, which reflects the role he fulfills. The shepherds are informed of everything they need to know about the child’s identity. A multitude of heavenly angels join the messenger angel, sing God’s glory, and proclaim peace to people, a sign of divine kindness. The ‘goodwill’ refers to God’s will. It is God who loves humanity, which is why He grants them peace; that child is peace incarnate.
Once the angelic light disappears, the shepherds talk and say, “Let’s go to Bethlehem.” They set out after receiving the announcement, just as Mary did before. They have heard a message and are going to verify its truth. They arrive and find the sign, simple, clear, and familiar: “You will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” The extraordinary announcement coexists with the simplicity of the environment and the humble circumstances in which they will find this remarkable person.
We are used to images of the manger, imagining the shepherds bringing gifts to the child. We have added our own fantasies: a woman carrying a saucepan to make a hearty broth, others offering diapers, wood for the fire, a lamb, something to eat… and so on. It is not what the evangelist says. In Luke’s narrative, the shepherds bring nothing to Jesus; they see what they have heard, realize that things are just as they heard, are amazed, and go home telling others about what they have seen and heard.
Note that the basic senses have been mentioned. The shepherds have heard and seen the word clearly and have told others what they have heard and seen. Those who listened to the shepherds became preachers of the Gospel; they were amazed at what was announced to them. In short, this is the story of evangelization. The shepherds Luke refers to are the shepherds of the Church; they are the evangelizers—those who have heard the message, experienced it personally, and shared their experience with others.
This is the announcement of the Gospel. The story of Jesus’ Nativity in Luke symbolizes the transmission of the Gospel. At the center of the episode, Mary again represents the ideal disciple: “She kept all these things, meditating on them in her heart,” gathering the details to grasp the larger picture. This is what a disciple should do: listen, verify, proclaim, and meditate on the deeper meaning of what has happened.