The Visitation

Hearing that her long-barren cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, Mary went to visit. Upon Mary’s arrival, the Holy Spirit inspired Elizabeth to proclaim, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed be the fruit of your womb.” She calls Mary “the mother of my Lord.” The baby in Elizabeth’s womb, who would grow up to be John the Baptist, leaped for joy in recognition of this revelation (Lk 1:36-45).
Mary responds by praising God in the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55 “The Song of Mary” found in Morning and Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer):

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

The Bible does not indicate that Mary was born without original sin. She was a human being like us and in need of a savior. God’s incarnation in Jesus means that God came directly into our sinful world to bring salvation to everyone. For Mary and for us, our salvation comes not from climbing a ladder toward perfection, which is impossible anyway, but from opening our hearts to Jesus Christ and serving the Lord, as Mary did.