May 31. Mary visits Elizabeth. Bernadette,  who was a mom and a catechist shared that Mary and her cousin Elizabeth both carried special children with a special mission in life.  “But you always say all children are special,” Junior piped up. “And so they are, you especially, all six of you,” and his mom hugged him.  “Each of you is a special gift from God.  We always wanted a big family unlike most people today and at first, like Elizabeth we didn’t think that would happen, but once we had made the break-through by carefully studying my fertility cycle, there was no stopping us.”  “Yes mom, we know,” Jane said. “We do love you and dad and all these siblings, but next time you are pregnant please don’t come and parade at my school.  It’s embarrassing!” “And a challenging example to the teenage girls or not?” her brother asked. 

Reflect, share, scripture: Elizabeth proclaimed when her cousin Mary came to visit her. “Behold when the voice of your greeting came to my ears the child in my womb leaped for joy.   Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Luke 1:39-56.    Pope Francis:    The family is where we first learn to relate to others, to listen and share, to be patient and show respect, to help one another and live as one.  The task of education is to make us sense that the world and society are also our home.   AL 276.   ACTION.  Talk to young people about the wonder of fertility and pregnancy and how special children are.