Church of the Visitation 7-12-13

The Virgin Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth.  When Mary arrived in the hill country(and it really is) she entered Elizabeth's house and greeted her.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the infant leaped within her womb.  Elizabeth filled with The Holy Spirit  cried out "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed be the fruit of your womb."
Mary said to Elizabeth, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior."  Refer to Luke 1:39-56  This is the Magnificat.
Again, in the grotto on the walls are tiles with the Magnificat written from many, many countries in all their own languages.  It is a very steep climb up this hill.  To imagine the trip that Mary had to take over 2,000 years ago on a donkey.  The distance, the heat, her pregnancy...why were we complaining about the steep climb?  Once you get to the church and see this very special place and the bronze depicting the two cousins both pregnant, you forget that you need oxygen, really you do.  It becomes a precious holy place to reflect and give thanks that we were able to come here.
Walking up the hill, our guide stopped and showed us a tree called a Karib tree.  I hope that is spelled correctly.  Anyway, the seeds from this tree weigh the same as one carat of diamonds!