According To His Promise

             

               My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant,

and from this day all generations will call me blessed.

The Almighty has done great things for me:

holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and has sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

-Luke 1:46-55

The Church knows this prayer as the Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat. With these words, the Blessed Mother gives thanks to God for His gift of love to her and to all of Israel. For the child in her womb is the mercy, the strength, the fulfillment, and the help they had been waiting for.  

The Magnifcat is the perfect Advent prayer. As Saint John Paul II said, Mary’s “words convey the hope-filled expectation of the ‘poor of the Lord’ and at the same time an awareness that God has fulfilled his promises, for he ‘has remembered his mercy.’”

My Spirit Rejoices In God My Savior

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on 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.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

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

                  -Luke 1:39-56

On this Feast of the Visitation, please pray for us oh most Blessed Mother, that we may become more like you in your devotion to God the Father.

Praying During the Year of Faith

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published a list of prayers that can help us strengthen our prayer lives during the Advent season and throughout the Year of Faith. One of these prayers is the Magnificat. The Bishops say, “The Canticle of Mary in the Gospel of Luke (1:46-55) gives a glimpse of the faith of someone who trusted God so much that he entered the world through her.”

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on 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.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.