Song of Mary

"Magnificat" by Sister Mary Grace Thul, a Dominican nun in New Castle, Delaware.

And Mary said,‘My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

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.

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

This is the last Sunday of Advent and we have two choices for a gospel passage, both from the first chapter of Luke. I decided on the Annunciation reading, the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary that she was pregnant. It could have been the Magnificat or Song of Mary, shown above. This is such a powerful declaration of a new world order, the promise of God's reign for the meek and lowly rather than the rich and powerful.

I thought of this reading when I heard that Time Magazine's Person of the Year is in fact all the "lowly" people who took to the streets in various and sundry ways in 2011 to declare that true might comes through the passion of the common folk. In most cases these protests and calls for change were non-violent on the part of the participants.

Let's pray that in 2012 the often courageous commitment of these people will be brought to fruition.

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