Week Four: Love
The Magnificat in the Light of Advent
Original Image by Allison Beyer
On this final week of Advent, as we meditate on love, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite quotes about Mary. Bishop Pedro Casildaliga of Brazil said that Mary is “so full of God, yet so much ours.” What a beautiful picture of both the Mary we imagine at the nativity and the Mary who sings the Magnificat. Holding Christ in her body, in her arms, she was indeed so full of God. Yet within this narrative of a prophesied and miraculous birth, stands a woman whose Magnificat reminds us of her compassion for and understanding of the real world in which we live.
In verse 48, Mary proclaims that “surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.” Her statement echoes God’s words to the Israelites in the Old Testament as he promises them that they will be the beacon of his love for humankind (Malachi 3:12). Yet, even as Mary sings of her blessedness and the great things which God has done for her (v. 48-49), she also praises and thanks God for the generations to come who will be blessed through her son.
Mary sees the miracle of Christ as evidence that, like in the stories from the Hebrew Bible, God’s mercy has not failed his people. Mary understands that through her son, God’s love is given generously to the world. Sister Nolan writes that “Mary sees beyond her personal blessing to the blessing that the child will be for all people, for all ages.”
In the psalms of the Old Testament, an individual sings praise for personal blessings but speaks with a collective voice. This was a liturgical practice used to express how all are blessed through the good fortune of one. This collective blessing occurs when the blessed has concern for all, for the common good of humanity and their community, as Mary does.
Mary’s love for all people, and her hope for peace and joy through her son, models for us Christian love. Pope Leo wrote in Dilexi Te, “Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies. It spans chasms that are humanly impossible to bridge, and it penetrates to the most hidden crevices of society. By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen. Love is above all a way of looking at life and a way of living it. A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.” (120)
This type of love is radical; it doesn’t make sense to the world. Like God’s choice to send his son to earth, it confounds and confuses. Mary saw clearly the reversal of the world’s order that God brought to earth through his son, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (v. 51-53).
Though this reversal can feel harsh to those of us living in comfort, we need to remember that the rich are sent away empty because they already have enough; it is the hungry who need to be filled. I believe these words are meant not as a chastisement or threat, but instead as a call to action, a call to love, a call to share our blessings with our community. Like Mary, like the Psalms, our gifts can impact and bless our communities when we choose to share them.
Mary’s words are in praise of God’s action through the incarnation, and they are a call for us to love one another in the radical way God modeled for us.
Advent reminds us of how Mary answered this call to love others: first through her willingness to bear the son of God (her fiat), then through Christ’s birth, and finally through sharing her son with the world. Mary embraced the difficulty and pain of raising and allowing Jesus to live out his purpose on earth.
Jesus was undoubtably Mary’s biggest blessing and she trusted God with the plans he had for his Son. Even when this meant finding her twelve-year-old teaching in the Temple. Or worrying for her adult son who was facing the dangers of Roman and Jewish scrutiny. Or even enduring the agony of remaining at the foot of the cross during his crucifixion. Mary’s trust in God’s love meant that she shared her greatest blessing with the world.
Mary understood that we are called to love, as God loved us. His love led to the unexpected: an incarnation that came not in worldly glory and the might of armies, but in the lowliness of a stable, born to a poor mother. Mary knew God’s love was for all people, for the betterment of the world. And so, she embraced the heartbreak and joy of sharing her son – God’s love incarnate – with the world. Sister Nolan reminds us, “The more we share our blessing of gifts and talents with others, the more God is magnified in us.”
Mary shared her son and, as we conclude our Advent spent together meditating on her words, let us also recall that she shared her Magnificat with us - a song of prophesy and deep love. A song that, like Mary’s soul, magnified the Lord (v. 46). Mary’s song is our song, calling for a better world, a more just world, a world that receives Christ with hope, peace, joy, and deep love.
Contemplation Exercise
As our last contemplative invitation, I’d like to share my friend Allison Beyer’s beautiful rendition of The Magnificat as an Audio Divina. This practice of Audio Divina, or divine listening, is another form of prayer that begins with connecting to God through music. As the Magnificat is a song, it felt fitting invite you each to listen to it sung aloud. Click here to listen.
Soak in Mary’s words, think back on the themes we’ve journeyed through this Advent and how Mary speaks to each in her song. Then, respond to God in whatever way calls to you. Perhaps through a prayer written in song form, or an examen of your Advent, maybe you felt inspired by the Viso Divina and want to sketch a prayer. Allow the Spirit to move and see where it leads you.
Questions:
Reread Pope Leo’s quote on love from Dilexi Te written above. What do you think of this powerful love? Which parts of his definition stand out to you?
Does it feel scary or intimidating to love this way? How do you think Mary felt about her call to trust God’s plan for her beloved Son?
As you read or listen to the Magnificat, what speaks to your heart? What aspects of Mary’s song call you to contemplative action?
Thank You!
Friends, thank you for journeying through Advent with Mary’s song! I hope and pray that this devotional was helpful in bringing you ever closer to Christ in this season of light. This devotional would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my friends and family as well as the wisdom and scholarship of other authors.
There were numerous moments in the creation of this devotional where the topic and scope felt too important and daunting for me to craft. Each time these feelings of doubt crept in, a friend would mention a book that might help, or share a word of encouragement, or provide an insight that dovetailed perfectly. It rapidly became clear to me that the Spirit was moving, and my role was to trust, listen, and put pen to paper.
This Spirit-led approach made the crafting of this devotion an incredible joy! I was genuinely thrilled to research new facets of the Magnificat, and with each discover the joy doubled at the thought of sharing the information with you. I hope you enjoyed reading and praying through it as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you’d like a copy of this devotional on pdf or access to any of the resources and books mentioned, check out this post for all the details.
Once again, thank you for journeying through the Magnificat in the Light of Advent!
Wishing you hope, peace, joy and love,
Alli
