Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God, my savior. For he has looked upon 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. Lk 1:46-48
God is good, all the time.
Friends: Mary's spontaneous hymn of praise to God, which is known as The Magnificat, is repeated to us today. The song, which followed Elizabeth's confirmation of the angel's word, was chanted without rehearsal or planning, from her believing and loving heart towards God; it offers a model of Christian life of prayer intended to glorify God. Christian scholars have noted that the Magnificat was introduced into the church's public worship to form part of the hymnal treasures by Saint Caesarius of Arles, France in A.D. 540.
Mary's spontaneous chants portray how she lived her life readily for God; she never considered her life as revolving around her but God. She sees herself as the handmaid of the Lord, and therefore declares, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior:"
Mary communicates her gratitude to God from deep within her being. Her expression of gratitude was as deep as her faith and being. She magnified the Lord in prayer. Our life must acknowledge God's mercy and gift, which we continuously receive. We learn from Mary that in worship, we must declare God's greatness; in life, we must bring holiness to the name of God. The life of a Christian must flow together in love and obedience to God like a beautiful music that is proclaimed to Him. We also notice how Mary's song came from a joyful spirit within her. "My spirit rejoices in God my savior.” True Christian worship: prayers, Mass, devotions, meditations, scripture reading, must all be done willingly and joyfully deep within our spirit. The desire to honor God and worship him should be a cause of great joy to us.
Mary’s spontaneous life of prayer illustrates what Jesus said, "But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him"(Jn 4:24). Do you desire to worship God in spirit and truth? Do you come to God’s house joyfully to worship? As Christmas approaches, may your spirit truly seek to rejoice in the Lord and come to worship him at Christmas for all his goodness towards us. Let Mary’s Magnificat inspires your personal “magnificat” to the Lord.