How did Mary travel to see Elizabeth?

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irishcolleen45

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Mary was a young girl. I doubt any woman traveled alone then. So how did Mary get to see Elizabeth?
 
irishcolleen45 said:
Mary was a young girl. I doubt any woman traveled alone then. So how did Mary get to see Elizabeth?
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This is not mentioned in Sacred Scriptures. However according to some visionaries (i.e. Mother Mary Agreda) Mary was accompanied by St. Joseph, with whom she was already living. St. Joseph only stayed a few days, then returned to Nazareth, until approx. 3 months later after St. John the Baptist was born, and the virgin Mary was ready to come home.
 
irishcolleen45 said:
Mary was a young girl. I doubt any woman traveled alone then. So how did Mary get to see Elizabeth?
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Mary may or may not have been that young. It seems that some research shows she was betrothed to Joseph at 12-14 when a suitable marriage was sought, and Joseph presented himself. The marriage was delayed 2 years. Then she was visited by the Holy Spirit and and angel appears in a dream to tell Joseph to go ahead with the marriage. Mary may have been 16 by that time, and Joseph had been told to marry her. I would assume he went with her.

The story of the visitation between Mary and Elizabeth appears in Luke 1:39-56
 
Mary was old enough to be engaged and married. While she may have been young by our standards, she likely was considered a woman by theirs.

We don’t know for sure how she got there. There may have been an escort. She might have traveled with family. Joseph might have taken her. We just don’t know. We just know she did, and that John leaps for joy in the presence of the Ark of the New Covenant, filled with the word of God written on tablets of living stone.
 
AmbroseSJ said:
This is not mentioned in Sacred Scriptures. However according to some visionaries (i.e. Mother Mary Agreda) Mary was accompanied by St. Joseph, with whom she was already living. St. Joseph only stayed a few days, then returned to Nazareth, until approx. 3 months later after St. John the Baptist was born, and the virgin Mary was ready to come home.
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OK. I can see that. You would think though that Mary would have told Joseph about the visit from the Angel Gabriel. He should not have been surprised when she appeared with child.
 
Leegal said:
Mary may or may not have been that young. It seems that some research shows she was betrothed to Joseph at 12-14 when a suitable marriage was sought, and Joseph presented himself. The marriage was delayed 2 years. Then she was visited by the Holy Spirit and and angel appears in a dream to tell Joseph to go ahead with the marriage. Mary may have been 16 by that time, and Joseph had been told to marry her. I would assume he went with her.

The story of the visitation between Mary and Elizabeth appears in Luke 1:39-56
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Thanks for your response.

My point is not as much about age but a woman traveling alone back then.
 
bmullins said:
Mary was old enough to be engaged and married. While she may have been young by our standards, she likely was considered a woman by theirs.

We don’t know for sure how she got there. There may have been an escort. She might have traveled with family. Joseph might have taken her. We just don’t know. We just know she did, and that John leaps for joy in the presence of the Ark of the New Covenant, filled with the word of God written on tablets of living stone.
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I was just curious about how Mary got there. If it was Joseph, what did Mary tell him on why she wanted to visit Elizabeth? No response required.

Thanks to all who responded.
 
irishcolleen45 said:
OK. I can see that. You would think though that Mary would have told Joseph about the visit from the Angel Gabriel. He should not have been surprised when she appeared with child.
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Very good point. The problem is, God always revealed the Incarnation to those whom He wished. For example, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was fully informed in a mysterious manner. Mary, being the very soul of humility may not have been able or willing to reveal such awesome news without the express permission of God. If that were so, then she would have expected her spouse St. Joseph to be informed as directly as her cousin Elizabeth. Since St. Joseph was not informed like her cousin Elizabeth, our wise mother of good counsel, may have seen this as the will of God, and that a more fitting time would come. In any event, we know from Scripture that Mary did NOT inform Joseph of the nature of her pregnancy, and that God did inform St. Joseph directly through His angel at a later time.
 
AmbroseSJ said:
Very good point. The problem is, God always revealed the Incarnation to those whom He wished. For example, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was fully informed in a mysterious manner. Mary, being the very soul of humility may not have been able or willing to reveal such awesome news without the express permission of God. If that were so, then she would have expected her spouse St. Joseph to be informed as directly as her cousin Elizabeth. Since St. Joseph was not informed like her cousin Elizabeth, our wise mother of good counsel, may have seen this as the will of God, and that a more fitting time would come. In any event, we know from Scripture that Mary did NOT inform Joseph of the nature of her pregnancy, and that God did inform St. Joseph directly through His angel at a later time.
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I do have a few questions to ask God when I get to heaven. 😃
 
irishcolleen45 said:
Mary was a young girl. I doubt any woman traveled alone then. So how did Mary get to see Elizabeth?
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By travelling in groups (a caravan) of course. The dangers of the road did not just affect women: the man in the parable of the Good Samaritan was picked on by robbers precisely because he seemed to be travelling all by himself, for one.
 
After spending a great deal of time thinking about it, I would imagine the most logical answer would be that Mary traveled with her immediate family to see Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband worked in the temple. Having both the temple and the excitement of seeing Elizabeth who was soon to give birth would be a very good reason for there to be a caravan of family and friends heading to the same area. Kind of like my family does when they find out someone is having a baby that lives a long distance away. Even today, we gather together and four of five of us will ride in one vehicle to go see them and bring gifts.

In fact the encounter of Zachariah with God might have indeed peaked interest in the family of this strange occurrence in the temple, where just before Elizabeth became pregnant her husband was struck mute and could no longer talk. Imagine how many people would hear about this and begin traveling to them, especially family and friends to find out more about not only Zachariah but this baby that was coming.
 
patrick457 said:
By travelling in groups (a caravan) of course. The dangers of the road did not just affect women: the man in the parable of the Good Samaritan was picked on by robbers precisely because he seemed to be travelling all by himself, for one.
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I thought about that parable when I was asking the question.
 
bmullins said:
After spending a great deal of time thinking about it, I would imagine the most logical answer would be that Mary traveled with her immediate family to see Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband worked in the temple. Having both the temple and the excitement of seeing Elizabeth who was soon to give birth would be a very good reason for there to be a caravan of family and friends heading to the same area. Kind of like my family does when they find out someone is having a baby that lives a long distance away. Even today, we gather together and four of five of us will ride in one vehicle to go see them and bring gifts.

In fact the encounter of Zachariah with God might have indeed peaked interest in the family of this strange occurrence in the temple, where just before Elizabeth became pregnant her husband was struck mute and could no longer talk. Imagine how many people would hear about this and begin traveling to them, especially family and friends to find out more about not only Zachariah but this baby that was coming.
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Who was Mary’s immediate family? Her parents were not mentioned and may have been deceased. Mary was given to the Temple for care when she was young (according to tradition).

Mary did not know that Elizabeth was pregnant until Gabriel told her and I doubt the people by Mary knew the news before Mary did. According to current maps, Jerusalem is nearly two hours away by car.
 
I must admit the details seem confusing to me. If Mary were dedicated to the temple and stayed there as the Protevangelium of James indicates, then she would already be at the temple. If Zechariah were a priest at the temple, he’d also be there. Yet we know from scripture that she left to go to the hill country. Maybe Zechariah went home after his lot at the temple? I don’t know. This is something I’ve never felt the need to study/research.
 
bmullins said:
I must admit the details seem confusing to me. If Mary were dedicated to the temple and stayed there as the Protevangelium of James indicates, then she would already be at the temple. If Zechariah were a priest at the temple, he’d also be there. Yet we know from scripture that she left to go to the hill country. Maybe Zechariah went home after his lot at the temple? I don’t know. This is something I’ve never felt the need to study/research.
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Sometimes it’s not study/research that is needed but meditation.🙂
 
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