When I was in middle school, my mom assigned my sisters and me certain prayers to memorize. Mine was the Magnificat. Struggling to recall the second half of the prayer, I created hand motions for some verses to aid the memorization process. Though I didn’t recite Mary’s song of praise again until recently, praying it daily during evening prayer, I was surprised I could recall the words (and some of the hand motions!) I first learned over two decades ago.
Luke gives us three canticles, or hymns, in his Gospel — one of them being the Magnificat. He records Mary’s prayer in his first chapter, during the Visitation, when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Overwhelmed by Elizabeth’s recognition that she is the mother of God, Mary praises God through her Magnificat. Each evening, the Church echoes Mary’s praise during Vespers, the Church’s evening prayer.
LISTEN: The Power of the Magnificat
I’ve discovered the Magnificat to be a powerful prayer, beneficial for two reasons. First, it helps me grow in gratitude. The whole point of the Magnificat, as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in Deus Caritas Est, is that Mary glorifies God, not herself. Awestruck at God’s goodness in her life and throughout salvation history, she sings God’s praises by listing all the ways God has helped her people, the Israelites.
Secondly, this prayer helps train my memory. Memory plays an essential role in our relationship with God. Reviewing memories and events in God’s light helps us see his loving actions in our lives. In fact, this is so important that St. John emphasizes memory throughout his Gospel, showing it’s important to recall God’s word in our life! We see this with the cleansing of the temple and Christ’s triumphant entry to Jeruslaem, where the evangelist notes it isn’t until the resurrection that the apostles remembered and understood these events. And in his Last Supper discourse, Christ promises to send his spirit upon the apostles to help them remember everything he said and did.
When praying the Magnificat, we list God’s goodness throughout salvation history and recall his action in our lives. This helps embed those events in our memory, which in turn, helps us trust in God’s goodness, especially in difficult moments. When I pray through the Magnificat, I like to ponder its phrases on three levels: in light of salvation history, in light of Mary’s life, and in light of my own life. With Mary, we can pray with the following three phrases.
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He has shown the strength of his arm: Throughout the Old Testament, we can, with Mary, list the ways in which God manifested his power: the flood, the 10 plagues, the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea, and the barren women such as Sarah and Hannah miraculously conceiving. God’s mother also witnesses her Son’s wondrous work in her own life: She miraculously conceived the Messiah by the power of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on this verse, Mary shows me how God has also intervened for me, showing his strength and protection. Some years ago, I was driving home late from work. Without warning, a semi-truck rapidly emerged from the shrouded, rainy haze, swerving left into my lane. I said a quick prayer and jerked my car right. In that split second, God clearly exhibited his providence: thankfully no one was in the other lane, and I narrowly escaped being side-swiped.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly: Mary, well-acquainted with the Scriptures, must have reflected on how God loves the meek. This is a continual theme throughout salvation history: The shepherd boy David replaces the unfaithful King Saul; the young David kills the giant Goliath; Joseph, a slave, becomes pharaoh of Egypt, while a woman, Judith, saves her people by slaying the Assyrian General Holofernes. Similarly, it is through a handmaiden’s humility that the Messiah will come — not from the proud scribes nor royalty. Mary knows her lowliness before God as his servant, and she praises God for favoring her. This phrase invites me to think how God too has lifted me up — he has made my soul his dwelling place at Baptism — and reminds me of the times he has humbled my pride.
He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty: God does not abandon his people but provides for all their needs, both material and spiritual. He feeds his people manna and quail in the desert, provides water from a rock, and cares for the widows through his prophets Elijah and Elisha. Meanwhile, the rich Egyptians experience hunger during the plagues. Mary too reflects on God’s providence in her own life — from her youth, the Scriptures have nourished her soul, and God fulfills her longings for the Messiah: she bears him within her and is his mother!
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Praying this verse helps me recall the times when I’ve been nourished both materially and spiritually. One such instance occurred on pilgrimage walking the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James. Walking in Spain’s heat wave one particular morning, I kept thinking how refreshing it would be to have watermelon. Within an hour my friend and I encountered a man giving free fresh watermelon slices to the passing pelegrinos (pilgrims)! And I recall the times I’ve been fed spiritually: the advice I’ve been given, the moments I’ve been sustained by God’s Word, by Holy Communion, and through the Sacrament of Penance.
Praying the Magnificat’s verses with Mary can be a beautiful practice, for in echoing Mary’s prayer, I too create my own song of praise to God. It allows me to see my life according to God’s mercy and grace and it reminds me that God, who has been faithful to his promises throughout salvation history, will also be faithful to me.
