What’s Your Magnificat?

On Monday we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, and we’ll recount the powerful biblical scene when Mary proclaims the Magnificat after her cousin Elizabeth asks, “How can it be that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

It is a rich Gospel passage, and Father Edward Looney, a regular Morning Air® contributor, stopped by this week to discuss the Feast of the Visitation, the Magnificat, and how we can adopt this Marian prayer in our own lives.

Father Looney pointed out that in the Magnificat, “We really see the anticipation of the Gospel. All of these things that God has done. The hungry are filled with good things, the rich He has sent away empty. He has sent down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the lowly. Well, this is exactly what Jesus is going to be preaching as He goes about His public ministry 30 years later.”

A significant part of Mary’s prayer is that she not only expresses her gratitude at what God has done, but she also proclaims a prophetic word about God will do.

“She says all generations will call me blessed,” Fr. Looney said. “And here we are in 2021 and we call Mary blessed. Sometimes we call her blessed 53 times in a day when we say, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’ In that moment Mary gives this prophetic word which is true.”

In your prayer, how often do you thank God not only for what He has already done, but for what He has yet to do? When you share your story of God working in your life, do you act as though His work is done now that you’re holier? The Magnificat reminds us that God is always working in and through us, throughout our lives and even after our deaths.

“We’ve seen that not only did God do all these things throughout human history as she recounts it, but we also see how God has accomplished so many great things through the intercession of Mary,” Father Looney said. “So many stories of people turning to Mary’s intercession at her shrines or through devotional prayers, and they experience the miraculous. So it’s a testament that God really honors the Marian devotion that we have, as we indeed call her blessed among women.”

So what is your magnificat? How can you thank God for what He has done and what He will do in your life? As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Visitation on Monday, let our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior.

Listen to the full conversation below, and tune-in to Morning Air weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. Central on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.

Stephanie Foley serves as a Digital Media Producer at Relevant Radio®. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she studied journalism, and she has worked in Catholic radio for 12 years. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of three boys, and in her free time she enjoys reading, running, and really good coffee. You can find more of Stephanie’s writing at relevantradio.com and on the free Relevant Radio mobile app.