My Soul Magnifies the Lord

 

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent we read of Elizabeth’s greeting as Mary arrives (Luke 1:39-45). Some lectionaries extend this to include the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), which starts with Mary’s amazingly simple statement “My soul magnifies the Lord”. Luke has Mary making this statement with amazing (at least to me) confidence and purpose. I read it as a statement made by our Blessed Virgin Mary in the confidence she had from God. OR I can own this as a call to make this MY OWN statement of confidence in our Lord. It is a more difficult statement to make when I try to make it “mine”. Often, I am not confident in God. It can feel as I am not worthy of God’s care, let alone confident that my soul is magnifying anything worthy of sharing.

Oh Lord, give me the confidence to know my sole magnifies you, just as Mary said in her prayer. Help me act today so my living reflects Your call in my life, and give me the humility to ask Your forgiveness when I fail today, and every day. I ask this in your Son, Jesus’ name. Amen.

Picture Information: Mary, Mother of God statue in Stella Maris Chapel, St. Benedict/St. John’s University, St. John MN. Sculpted by Alexander Tylevich. Stella Maris Chapel | SJU Archives

Mary and her Auntie Elizabeth

 

As my mind wandered from reading Forward Day by Day today (FDD Thursday Dec 19, 2024) on John the Baptizer and how prophecy can be uncomfortable I ended up re-reading the story of Mary, Elizabeth, and the unusual prophecy and birth stories of John the Baptizer and Jesus in the first chapter of Luke. My first thought was something of why does the NRSV bible not claim a specific relationship between Mary and Elizabeth? I always remembered them as "cousins". After checking all the print Bible versions in the house, I only found one, The New Jerusalem Bible, that used the word "cousin" for the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth.

But, as I reread the story in the first chapter of Luke, what struck me today was the wonder and power of Mary having Auntie Elizabeth to visit and stay with. I am using “auntie” in the sense of an older, perhaps mother-like female in a person’s life. Regardless of the “blood” relationship between Mary and Elizabeth (it appears clear they were related) there looks to be a true “auntie” relationship of love and support of Mary by Elizabeth. Not only does this fulfil the biblical stories and prophecies, but it also shows, again, our Lord's support of the marginalized and downtrodden. We all need support like this in our life, especially during our more difficult times. And we are all called to give this support to others, regardless of relationship or gender.