by Paul Allen
Magnificat – A Reflection on Luke 1:46b-55
In Mary’s extravagant hymn of praise to God, which we call the Magnificat, she says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Why? Well, besides her joy at learning she is the bearer of the Christ, the Savior of the world, Mary lays out a few other reasons, such as:
- God’s mercy is for those who fear God from generation to generation.
- God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
- God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
- God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
Yet, we have seen people and generations of God-fearers who have not seen God’s mercy (think, the Holocaust). We see arrogant people continue to carry out their schemes. The powerful still sit on their thrones, with their boots on the necks of the lowly. The hungry are still hungry and the rich still sated.
So why Mary’s exuberance? She is seeing the final end of the Child, the Hope, that is growing within her body. All these wonderful things began with the incarnation of Christ, but are still growing within His body, the Church. The glad culmination of history is foreseen by Mary, and we nourish that hope still today. That is the reason for our joy at Christ’s incarnation.