On the road to Jerusalem, which St. Luke describes in such detail, Jesus let escape from the depths of his heart this complaint towards the Holy City that refused his message: Jerusalem, Jerusalem..., how often I have wanted to gather your children together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.... This is how the Lord continues to protect us: like a hen protects her helpless chicks. From the Tabernacle, Jesus watches over our journey and is attentive to the dangers that beset us, heals our wounds and constantly gives us his Life. Many times we have repeated to him: Pie pellicane, Iesu Domine, me immundum munda tuo sanguine.... Lord Jesus, kind pelican, cleanse me, unclean one, with your Blood, of which a single drop can free the whole world from all crimes. In Him is our health and our refuge.
The image of the righteous man who seeks protection in the Lord "as the chicks take shelter under their mother's wings" is frequently found in Sacred Scripture: Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings, for you are my refuge, the fortified tower from the enemy. Let me be your guest forever in your tabernacle, I will take refuge under the shelter of your wings, we read in the Psalms. The Prophet Isaiah resorts to this image to assure the Chosen People that God will defend them against the besiegers. As birds spread their wings over their young, so the Almighty Eternal will protect Jerusalem.
At the end of our life, Jesus will be our Judge and our Friend. While he lived here on earth, and also during our pilgrimage, his mission is to save us, giving us all the help we need. From the Tabernacle Jesus protects us in a thousand ways. How can we have the image of a Jesus distanced from the difficulties we suffer, indifferent to what worries us?
He wanted to stay in every corner of the world so that we can easily find him and find remedy and help in the warmth of his friendship. "If we suffer sorrows and troubles, he relieves and consoles us. If we fall ill, He will either be our remedy or give us strength to suffer, so that we may merit heaven. If the devil and the passions wage war against us, he will give us weapons to fight, to resist and to achieve victory. If we are poor, he will enrich us with all kinds of good things in time and in eternity". Let us not fail to accompany him every day. Those few minutes that the Visitation lasts will be the best moments of the day. "And what shall we do, you sometimes ask, in the presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament? What does a poor person do in the presence of a rich person? What does a sick person do in front of the doctor? What does a thirsty person do in view of a crystalline fountain?