Gospel (Lk 1:46-56)

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And 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 exalted those of low degree;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Commentary

Mary would often have wondered why she was different from others. Different from her family, her friends, her neighbors.

In her conversations with them she would see the selfishness in their hearts, the vanity in their words, the resentment in their critical judgments, the laziness in their work and service. And she would wonder why she wasn't like that.

Until the angel Gabriel told her about how God has dreamed of her, created her, and fallen in love with her. Everything now makes sense, everything is seen in a new light.

The Magnificat is the fruit of her prayer during those days on the way from Nazareth to the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The fruit of her slow and grateful dialogue with God the Father.

Mary realizes her greatness, her power: to be the beloved of God. From all eternity she has been loved by God. Her whole life consists in not putting herself at the center, but leaving room for God, whom she finds in prayer and in serving those around her.

Mary is great not because she has done great things by herself, but because she has let God act, because she has allowed herself to be touched by God, because she knows she is loved unconditionally by God.

Thus Mary's life is revolutionary. She does not look at herself but at God, and through God at others.

As Pope Francis said, “the ‘great things’ that the Almighty accomplished in the life of Mary speak also to our own journey in life, which is not a meaningless meandering, but a pilgrimage that, for all its uncertainties and sufferings, can find its fulfilment in God” (Pope Francis, Message for the XXXII World Youth Day 2017).

All of us too are loved by God, eternally loved. When God looks at us he sees the love with which he created us. He looks beyond our frailties and miseries. He wants to purify us, enkindle us, so that we realize he is always looking at us with love.

He is looking at all we are capable of giving, all the love we can offer. He is calling us to leave an imprint of divine love in our life, an imprint that will leave a mark on our own life and the life of many others.