The Magnificat
I. The great events of the Old Testament were celebrated by canticles. Thus did Moses, Mary the sister of Moses, Anna, Deborah, Judith, Ezechias, the prophets, proclaim the glories of God and His people. In the New Testament we find three at the beginning of the Gospels. Zachary celebrated the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist; Holy Simeon celebrated the favour granted him of seeing the Messias in the temple; the Blessed Virgin chanted the special canticle of the new dispensation, the canticle of Our Lord’s Incarnation, in the Magnificat. St. Elizabeth had spoken of the exultation of her own infant, of the blessedness of Mary and her sublime dignity. To this Our Lady replies under the influence of the Holy Spirit. She first gives praise to God; she refers to Him and not to herself the favours that Elizabeth had celebrated. “My soul doth magnify the Lord.” God had indeed magnified her and made her greater than any creature, but she recognizes no greatness except in magnifying Him. She exults not in herself, her praises, her virtues, but in God her Saviour alone. In herself she sees only lowliness undeserving of His notice; she will not consider herself as Queen and Mother but only as “handmaid of the Lord.” So should it be with you. All that you have should give glory to God; the greatest glory consists in humbling yourself beneath His hand. “The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God: for great is the power of God alone and He is honoured by the humble” (Eccli. ii. 20–21).
II. Still the Blessed Virgin is not blind to the unexampled favours that she had received from God, or the position to which she had been raised. Gratitude requires that these be fully recognized; humility does not consist in ignoring facts that are honourable. “He that is mighty hath done great things to me and holy is His name.” Mary well knew that to no other had God done such great things. The deliverance of Israel by the hand of Moses, and of Jael, Esther and Judith, the glories of David and Solomon, the graces of patriarchs and prophets, all these were the preparation and figures of what God had wrought in her. Therefore she said, “Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” The prophecy has been accomplished. All ages and all nations have confessed her exalted dignity, and rendered homage to the Mother of their Lord. Even as the false prophet blessed Israel when called upon to curse him, so have Mahomet and Luther and many others declared her praises, celebrated her purity and borne witness, despite themselves, to her influence. Only very few have confessed themselves to be of the seed of the serpent by lying in wait for her heel, and blaspheming their Redeemer through His Mother. Devotion to Our Lady is indeed a sign of true Christian instinct and a presage of predestination.
III. The Holy Virgin then announces in summary the results of the Incarnation. “His mercy is from generation to generation. . . . He hath showed might in His arm. . . . He hath put down the mighty. . . . He hath filled the hungry with good things.” All this was done by God in operating the mystery of the Divine Maternity. Such too was the life of Our Lord, and such the work He accomplished by His labours, preaching, and miracles. Similar also is the operation of Our Lord in His Church at all times, and in every individual soul. In you too God shows the might of His arm and the multitude of His mercies, whether you be elect or reprobate. All through, the Blessed Virgin dwells upon the distinction between the proud and the humble, the rich and the poor, and shows you the conditions on which you will obtain a share in the benefits of the Incarnation. Be not high-minded but lowly, not worldly but spiritual, as was Mary herself.
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