In the first chapter of his Gospel, Luke offers us the only page in the New Testament in which the protagonists are two women, Mary and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth lived in a town near Jerusalem, about 150 km from Nazareth. Mary embarked on this long journey immediately after receiving the angel's announcement that she would be the mother of Jesus.Lc 1, 26-38). We don't know the details of the journey; we only know that he headed quickly to the mountainous region. But why did he go there?

Mary goes to share this joy with someone who, like her, had received from God the grace of expecting a child, and to be by her side and help her during the final months of pregnancy. It is the story of two women, of two seemingly impossible pregnancies. Who better than she could understand her and share this experience? From this encounter springs the Magnificat.

«My soul magnifies the Lord».

«These words spring from a burning fervor and overflowing joy […]. That is why he does not say “I praise God”, but “my soul”…, as if he wanted to express: “my life, all my senses, are focused on divine love, praise and joy […]”»^[1], writes Martin Luther in his commentary on the Magnificat.

The verb "to magnify," "to make great," reveals the joy that comes from discovering that God is greater than we expected. This joy brings about profound humility and a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation.

As Ermes Ronchi emphasizes, «the Magnificat is Mary’s gospel, her good news, which reaches all generations.» Ten times, the young woman from Nazareth repeats what God has done.^[2], like a kind of new decalogue, of ten new commandments that disrupt the logic of the world.

It's natural to wonder if we have retained a sense of wonder and awe in our daily lives and prayers in the face of all that God has done and continues to do. Without opening ourselves to newness and its surprises, without wonder, faith becomes a weary litany that slowly fades away and becomes a social custom.^[3].

«My soul magnifies the Lord».

Mary's song is not simply an intimate prayer of praise, but a prophetic praise, characterized by constantly referring to passages of Scripture.^[4], This indicates the direction of history according to God's heart. Praising Him means aligning oneself with the little ones, believing that the world can and must change.

The words of this hymn invite us to understand God's saving intervention in our personal and communal history, both our own personal experience and the universal one, both the present moment and the new heavens and the new earth that the social revolution of the Gospel inaugurates.

«My soul magnifies the Lord».

These words also invite us to make our lives a living praise, to recognize the "wonders" every day, to join our voices with Mary's to proclaim that God is faithful, that his mercy extends from generation to generation, and that his kingdom of justice and love is already being realized among us.

Chiara Lubich had grasped this revolutionary dimension of Mary's song when she wrote to young people: "Read the Magnificat and you will find the first and most powerful page of Christian social doctrine. Who will fully realize it, and when?"«^[5].

The question remains open and challenges us. God's intervention should not be confined to the intimacy of the heart; it needs to be manifested in relationships, in community life, in shaping future generations.

Patrizia Mazzola and the Word of Vine teamto

[1] Martin Luther, Commentary on the Magnificathttps://1library.co/document/zlvl282y-comentario-al-magnificat-por-martin-lutero.html.
[2] Cf. E. Ronchi, «Magnificat, a finestra aperta sulfuture», Avvenire August 12, 2021.
[3] Cf. Francis, Angelus, St. Peter's Square (Rome), July 4, 2021.
[4] Cf. G. Rossé, The Gospel of Luke, Città Nuova, 1992, p. 69.
[5] C. Lubich, Sign of contradiction, Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 1971, no. 203, p. 64.