You’re walking down a narrow country path. It’s craggy and a little steep. You have a good view of surrounding hills dotted with  wildflowers and sycamore trees. You see  a little group of houses in a valley below and decide to investigate.  As you near the town, a strange sense of excitement speeds your steps. Now you start running. It’s spring, the sun is shining, the sky is a clean gentle blue, the air is sweet. You can’t help yourself. You knock on a door you have come to, not knowing what to expect. Someone says “Come in,” so you gently push the door open. 

A girl sits on the beaten earth floor near a window, a bowl of figs in her lap, dressed in the soft white of a bride. You realize it’s Mary.  

Sit in front of her now. Something has happened to her. She doesn’t move though she sees you.  Her eyes are wide as if she has something incredible to tell you. Ask her what she wants to say. Listen to her as a gentle breeze blows her veils and ruffles your hair, kissing your cheek. What does she say? 

She reaches her hands out to you as she talks. Explore these hands. What are they like? Maybe you want to kiss them or hold them to your face. 

When she is finished with her story, thank her with all your heart for what she has done. Renew your commitment to her. Look at her awed and joyful face. She is so glad you, her friend, are here with her at this moment. Pray a slow, attentive Hail Mary now, never taking your eyes from her. 

She feels like singing, and in her sweet, untrained voice, she sings something familiar to you. 

“My lover speaks and says to me,

 “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret recesses of the cliff,

Let me see your face,

let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.”

My beloved belongs to me and I to him.” 

(see Song of Songs Chapter 2) 

What a beautiful song it is.