05/27/2026
The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise
46 Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary is often depicted as a young, innocent, even naïve girl who receives the incredible word that she will become pregnant with Jesus. But this song she sings, known as the Magnificat, is anything but naïve! She calls herself a lowly servant girl and rejoices that in sending the Messiah, God has lifted up the lowly and turned away from the high and mighty ones. It is a powerful testimony of faith in the promises God made to Abraham and his children forever. This summer, we’ll be looking at the stories of that promise in Genesis, and for today, let’s think about the prophecy in this passage, that God’s preference will be for the poor and humble and lowly. It’s easy to think that people who have everything they could want are blessed, but in this passage and in Jesus’ own teachings we see the reminder that God’s standard is faithfulness to the covenant—that God is our God and we are God’s people—rather than high status and great riches. This is a powerful declaration that we are not blessed when everything works in our favor. We are always blessed as we live and move and have our being in the indwelling Spirit of God, and with God there is always returning even when we have fallen.
Prayer: God of Abraham and Mary, God of the apostles, God of our lives too, we thank you that our salvation is not due to our excellence and instead pours forth from your love and mercy. When we make mistakes, when we fall short of the goal, when we struggle to have faith, bless us, opening hearts and minds to what you are always doing in the world. We thank you and praise you for this gift of grace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
By Mimi Biedron
