Would you go to Elizabeth?

Written By John Smith

Visitation by Mariotto Albertinelli, circa 1503

by Anonymous

She broke off a large piece of one of the barley and wheat loaves they'd brought with them. Resting in the shade between the two large hills on the journey, he took a good sized bite. Some of the crumbs from the slightly sweetened, olive oil-tinged bread catching in his beard. Some dropped in his brown tunic's cowl neck. Noticing the modest mess, she smiled sweetly and giggled softly. Feeling his beard and looking down, he smiled, too, and shook out his tunic front. She took a sip from the water skin, refreshed from the balsam-oil tinctured water.

Joseph and his beloved Mary are on the way to Ain Karem, the mountain town where Mary's cousin Elizabeth lives with priest husband Zechariah. Mary, filled with charity, joy, and the Holy Spirit, insisted, and Joseph, trusting her, joined her, traveling on foot very quickly, likely with the aid of a borrowed horse, which Mary rode much of the time.

Have you ever made a trip that you hadn't planned on? Ever been exhausted from the unexpectedness and ordinary travail of it all? The people, the weather, your health, the expense, or your own vulnerability?

This is Mary's experience in the Visitation. After the singular event of the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel, with no time to waste, an incredible economy of discernment, and quick conversion of generosity, Mary set out to the hillside country to be present to her cousin Elizabeth. Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich tells us that, like many large families of those days, Our Lady had never met her cousin. So here Mary is, driven by charity to visit and support her much older cousin who was bearing the difficulty of a miraculous pregnancy.

Not only is she going to visit and support her cousin, she's doing so with no little discomfort. A journey of days, 100 miles, an elevation gain of over 1,300 feet, amidst fatigue, sun, possibly rain, hunger, and thirst, collapsed into one sentence, "Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah."

So we see Mary with Joseph:

  • Sees in her soul and mind's eye Elizabeth's state

  • Understands her need for accompaniment and support

  • Responds without hesitation to see someone who she may have never met

  • Goes to see her cousin first, without concern to the journey's physical, material, mental cost

  • Greets her with joy and blessing

  • Stays with her for some time

That image of Mary bringing the Lord to Elizabeth is striking. The Blessed Mother didn't expect to run into Elizabeth or Elizabeth to come to her — after all, what a lofty honor and status she now had! In this generosity of seeing, anticipating her older cousin's needs, it's apparent the Visitation could be a parable of the social model of disability. It's the idea that individuals, like Mary, and society more generally, bear responsibility for seeing and supporting people with a variety of support needs. But first, let's talk about what on earth disability is.

What is disability

Disability is "an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of conditions and the way those conditions interact with a person's physical and social environment." (Source: Disability:IN "Disability fundamentals for managers") Disability can be apparent or not apparent. It can be temporary, like a broken arm or getting a bad cold.

The main types are: physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory. It's also important to remember the experience of disabled people are different based on their background, advantages, or disadvantages.

So, yes, people who use mobility aids like wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches can be considered disabled. But also includes:

  • Limb loss or limb difference

  • Migraines

  • Celiac disease

  • Respiratory conditions

Mental health conditions

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • Schizophrenia

Neuro developmental conditions

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

  • Autism

  • Learning disorders

  • Intellectual disability

  • Tourette's Syndrome

.....and many more conditions

Models of disability are tools to understand the experience and implications of disability. There are many, and they can be understood separately, but they can have strengths and taken in parts together. Let's briefly focus on two: medical and social models.

Medical model of disability

Simplified, the medical model focuses on the disabled individual and is pathology-based. What disables them is their condition (injury, illness, disease, syndrome, neuro type, etc.). In this model, the main person responsible for getting support for their disability is the disabled person. Disability in the medical model is a personal problem in isolation. Metaphorically, they build their own ramp, or are responsible for getting treatment for their own condition. No other factors considered. It's highly individualistic.

Social model of disability

The social model instead focuses on society as a disabler. In this framework, the problem is not as much the disabled person's medical condition. The thing that disables people is more about the context and environment: low awareness, economic conditions, civic limitations, lack of will. It focuses on a community responsibility to support disabled people and the conditions that further disable them. The model expects society to set the conditions to see disabled people, welcome them, anticipate their needs, and support them. Metaphorically, it's building the ramp for disabled people.

Disability model pros and cons

Disabled people rightly point out that, even in a more perfect society that anticipates disabled people's needs and supports them well, they still experience their condition. The medical model has some value. But taken by itself, you can see how limited it is.

If it's the disabled person's responsibility to always help themselves, it puts them in the position of always asking for permission to be welcomed. Always asking for access to buildings. Access to community. Access to worship in a parish.

Imagine the impact this has on a person, to always begging to be be seen, to be supported. These are people who may have healthcare trauma. If the person is autistic, this is someone who may be more susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People for whom seeking access — and often not getting it by default — can itself be a source of repeated trauma.

Catholic teaching and the social model

The social model and its community focus is highly aligned with Catholic teaching. Highlights of key points in Catholic teaching include:

  1. Disabled people have full human dignity, with "sacred and inviolable rights" and "...they point up more clearly the dignity and greatness of man." (Laborum Exercens #22, St. John Paul II)

  2. They deserve special respect and should be supported (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2208)

  3. Disabled people should have access to every part of family and society, including the parish community (Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church, Section 148)

  4. The rights of disabled people should be promoted effectively (Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church, Section 149)

  5. The family should have as part of their mission to take care of the disabled, among other community members in need of support (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2208)

The marvel of the Magnificat

Let's return to Ain Karem with Elizabeth and Mary. Mary's just now finishing singing the Magnificat:

....he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
 as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

They embrace once again and Elizabeth, who understood that the Mother of the Lord had come to her, gives thanks. And they recline to have tea together and talk about how Elizabeth is doing and how Mary might spend more time with her.

Mary sees her cousin. Sees her joy. Sees her needs. She supports Elizabeth's family, takes care of her. She opens doors for her. Now let's consider what we've discussed about disability and think about the Visitation. (We're not labeling Elizabeth as disabled necessarily. But rather, using Mary's example of supporting someone in need as inspiration for how we can meet the disabled community.)

There are thousands of titles for our Blessed Mother. Let's consider one more: Mary, Open Door for Disabled People.

How can you be an Elizabeth?

Now consider how you, might grow in awareness and support for disabled people, how you can embody the social model of disability and imitate Mary, Open Door for Disabled People. Thinking of Mary as example, how might you:

  • See disabled people

    • Do you recognize disability in your midst? (Hint: With 80+% of disabilities being non-apparent, are you sure?) Do you have our eyes open, truly?

      • Have you assumed that someone around you isn’t disabled

      • Have you possibly offended them by speaking flippantly or disrespectfully about disability?

      • If someone disclosed their disability or autism diagnosis, were you receptive? Did you take them seriously? Or did you doubt, reply jokingly, or with indifference?

      • Do you ignore disabled people in your midst because we don't know the etiquette or feel awkward?

      • Do you pity or patronize disabled people, or see them only as inspirational figures, not regular, multidimensional people? Do we think serving disabled people is a heroic act, because you might see them as so pitiable?

  • Understand the disabled experience

  • Respond to possible needs

  • Go out without fear of personal cost

    • When's the last time you risked personal vulnerability or cost to learn about or engage with disabled people? When's the last time you risked discomfort?

      1. How much of your tithing or personal time supports the pro-life cause of disabled people's everyday needs?

  • Greet

    • When's the last time you said hello to a disabled person, free from pity? Looked someone in the eye who wears a mask in public?

      1. Have you ever presumed to touch a disabled person or their mobility aid (like a wheelchair) without their permission?

    • Have you ever pressed a disabled or autistic person unnecessarily for details about their diagnosis or background?

  • Stay, truly accompanies

    • Pope Frances taught that accompaniment begins with encounter, which begins with spending time with people

      1. The Archdiocese of Newark has a wonderful guide to encounter here (applicable to all kinds of disabled people including disabled people)

      2. If you talk to or develop a relationship with disabled person(s), are your questions coming from a sincere desire to see them? Or are you interiorly gawking or vainly curious?

      3. Have you gossiped about someone's condition under the guise of sharing in prayer or through a prayer request?

    • Have you shared a disabled person's personal details (like disability status or diagnosis, including neurodivergence) without explicit permission?

    • Have you considered there's such a thing as disabled joy? Have you witnessed or participated in joyful moments of a disabled person's life, free from pity?

There are so many things to consider about how we live our pro-life principles across human life. Maybe one or two of these questions stood out to you. Where do you go now?

After the Visitation

Mary fulfilled the Lord's will be going out to be with her cousin Elizabeth. And when her months of accompaniment and support were done, she returned home. What do you think she was thinking about on her way back? Surely she was pondering in her heart.

Let's walk with her as she returns and resolve to bring the Visitation with us in our hearts. Not just once a year on the May 31 feast, but often. How might you imitate Mary, Open Door for Disabled People?

Content note: This disabled-authored piece primarily uses identity-first language (example: disabled person, autistic person) instead of people-first language (person with disabilities, person with autism). Many people in the west, and North America in particular, have learned that person-first is the only proper way to refer to disabled people, putting person at the center ("I'm a person before I'm my condition" is the rationale). But many disabled people have come to see their disability as an important part of them, not something they want to distance from. Increasingly, disabled people often prefer identity-first language. If you're not disabled, and it's relevant or required to refer to someone's condition, ask them if they have a preference.

John Smith https://www.autisticcatholics.org
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