Mary in the Gospel of Luke: Part IV: The Visitation – The Magnificat

The Magnificat:

T  he first part of this inspired Marian canticle (Lk 1:47-49) was briefly examined in the last article of this series in The Queen. This installment examines the second and third sections of the hymn. It will be recalled that the beginning of the Magnificat contains the joyful cry of praise which Mary utters not only in her name but in the name of the universe for the wonders of the Incarnation: “He who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. ” Her voice is all creation’s jubilant shout of praise for the marvels of God’s love.

The Second Part

I. The second part recounts a summary of the mighty deeds that God has worked throughout salvation history (50-53): “His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. ”

The introductory phrase, His mercy is on those who fear him . . . alludes to God’s unique covenantal love for mankind. Mercy is the usual translation for the beautiful Hebrew term, hesed, which insinuates God’s bending low to pick us up and lovingly to embrace us. All those who fear Him – those who live as his special covenanted people experience God’s inexpressible hesed. Fear implies referential awe, which inspires obedience to the mighty God. The Lord’s unique mercy is shown to those who answer His call to enter into a spousal union of love with Him.

God is Saving His People

Our Lady then sings of the effects of this mercy which God has demonstrated from generation to generation. In bold, victorious terms, Mary the Ark of the Covenant tells us that the Mighty God has upheld his own with his strength. He has scattered the proud, put down the mighty, sent the rich away empty. He has by the same token exalted the weak, filled the hungry. Our Lady does not go into detail concerning these liberating acts of God. Her hymn is an overall view of His saving work in creation. Each generation must reflect on her words and detail the specific manner in which today, God is saving his people. The gifts we constantly receive from the Lord are all contained in Mary’s hymn of praise. Thanksgiving characterizes especially this section of the Magnificat.

A Cry Of Hope

However, it is not only to thank God that we pray the Magnificat with Mary. The canticle is also a cry of hope. It is a plea for God’s salvation to be expressed ever more intensely in our daily life. Looking at the situation of the world today, we pray for the overthrow of the proud and haughty; we beg God that the hungry may be filled and the meek raised high. The poor, the brokenhearted, those on the periphery of society because of prejudice or illness or social condition, all find in the Magnificat words that express their deep desire for liberation in Christ Jesus.

Mary’s canticle is also then, a challenge to all who pray it with her.  By her exemplary faith, her total, loving surrender to the Lord which reaches its fulfillment on Calvary, she cooperates in the radical liberation of mankind. We cannot pray the Magnificat without questioning ourselves: are we also instruments of God’s saving power? Through us are the hungry being fed, are the poor being raised up? Through our loving involvement, is Gospel justice being proclaimed and implemented in our community? The Magnificat in addition to being the ideal evensong of thanksgiving, shakes us from our lethargy. It inspires us to reach out in loving service to the oppressed of our times.

The Third Part of The Magnificat

II. The third part of the Magnificat is its conclusion: “He has helped his men ant Israel, ever mindful of his mercy, the mercy spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and his posterity forever.”

These final words of Mary’s Song summarize its central theme: God always remembers his covenant. Mindful of his mercy – his hesed – He has now fulfilled all His liberating plans for us in the Incarnation of His Son, Jesus the Lord.

Israel is called servant or child, the same term used for the chosen people in the Suffering Servant song of Second Isaiah (cl. Is 49:3); Mary calls herself the Lord’s doule or slave- girl (translated often by handmaiden or servant ). The meaning, however, of both terms is the same: Mary and Israel belong totally to the Lord. In keeping with this status of Israel, God helps the chosen people, ever mindful of his mercy. The Child in Mary’s womb is the fulfillment of all God’s mercies towards Israel, for in Jesus the final liberation has come.

In over-shadowing Mary with the Holy Spirit and bringing forth Incarnate Wisdom within her, God is faithful to His promises. Promises which date back to the very beginnings of the chosen people, Abraham himself. Our Lady does not depict herself as a loner in the history of salvation. Rather, she recognizes that she is the culmination of all who have been blessed in our father in faith, Abraham. Our Lady can only be understood within the context of Israel. Mary’s faith in God’s word is the fulfillment of the faith of Abraham and of all the faithful down the ages. In her fiat Mary echoes the surrender of Abraham and of all of Israel’s poor.

A Special Prayer

It is customary to add the doxology – the Glory be . . . to the end or the Magnificat. And it is most fitting to do so. For so marvelous a hymn calls forth a prayer of praise to the Blessed Trinity. Pope Paul VI wrote in his Apostolic Constitution, On Devotion to Mary, a beautiful summary of Mary’s canticle: “It is the song of the messianic times, in which there mingles the joy of the ancient and the new Israel . . it is in Mary’s canticle that there was heard once more the rejoicing of Abraham . . . and there rang out in prophetic anticipation the voice of the Church it has become the prayer of the whole Church in all ages” (#18).

It is the special prayer of those who live the total consecration to the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom through the hands of Mary.