My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

This passage is called the Magnificat of Mary. A magnificat is a canticle from the bible, used in daily prayer. But even more, it is is a great statement of faith, proclaiming that a great grace has been given and a great miracle that has taken place. This is Indeed a great miracle and grace, because this reading takes place immediately after Mary travels to the hill country is recieved by Elizabeth and the infant John. Elizabeth calls Mary the mother of God, and ask how it is that she has come to her.

This canticle may sound prideful, but it is not. But instead it should be read as if Mary is both prophesying and proclaiming the fulfillment of prophecy all at the same time.

The sin of adam and eve was to succomb to pride. and to take the fruit that was forbidden. They did not trust in god, and sought to usurp Him. But in the simple humble yes of Mary, she the “Ave,” reversed the sin of eve the “Eva”, and fulfills all of the prophecy before her that fortold this moment. This is the moment when she became, as Augustine said, the ladder by which god decended from heaven and became man, and thus through his divine act of mercy would die on the cross and redeamed all of mankind.

The prophesy she is proclaiming at this moment, is that because of the part she played, in her humble yes, that she will be forever called blessed. And indeed she has been and forever will be. Mary is the mother of all humanity, the greatest disciple of Jesus, and the perfect servant of the Lord. We should all strive to be some fraction of that in our own lives.

Oh lord, help me today to be a faithfull servant, and to love you and trust you like mary did. Amen.