What would your Magnificat be? (Fr. James Martin)

What would your Magnificat be?

[Mary’s] Magnificat is a kind of overview of what the reign of God would be like, or is like, a reign that her son would inaugurate thirty years later. All the things that she mentions, her son would do.

But it’s something else, which we see in the beginning of her song of praise. It’s about God’s mercy on her as well – it’s a highly personal gift. Mary is praising God not simply for helping his servant Israel, but for reaching down and helping her, as an individual. God has not simply lifted up Israel, he has made a young woman pregnant.

So the Magnificat is a very public proclamation
as well as a personal and intimate song of praise.

   Earlier, at the Visitation, Elizabeth utters the same kind of praise of God: Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Who am I? It is impossible to imagine these women, even in the midst of what they must have known was something that would change history, not thinking of how much God had done for them personally.

   This is a good reminder of how much God has done for all of us. How God blesses us in so many ways, and with so many gifts and talents, not simply for the People of God, that is, so that we can help others, but also for us. It’s both public and private. For others, but for us too.

   So one question for meditation today might be: If you had to sing your own Magnificat, praising God for what God has done for you, what would it sound like?

--Fr. James Martin, Facebook, August 15, 2020

Image source: Br. Mickey McGrath, The Visitation, with the artist’s explanation at: https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/135752970110/the-visitation-art-book and available for purchase at: https://www.trinitystores.com/artwork/windsock-visitation