Mary’s acknowledgement
of God’s greatness as she magnifies the Lord. (Psalm 103:1) tells us,
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy
name," and elsewhere we are told that out of the abundance of our heart,
our mouths will speak. Mary was filled with God and his grace; thus, she sang
about God and his attributes.
God Is Mighty…The first
attribute Mary speaks of is the might and power of God. He is the mighty God, Ho
Dunatos, and in Luke 1:49 she sings, "For the Mighty One has done
great things for me." Mary’s God was the Almighty God, the Creator of the
ends of the earth. There is no god mightier than her God. He alone is able to
do all things and with him alone nothing is impossible.
God Is Holy…The second
attribute Mary speaks about is God’s holiness. In verse 49 Mary declares,
"Holy is his name." Throughout the Scriptures God tells us, "Be
ye holy, for I am holy." God is light, and in him there is no darkness at
all. He is the One separate from us – that what it means sacred, holy! – the
One without sin.
God Is a Judge…The third
attribute of God that Mary speaks about in her hymn is that God is a judge. In
the latter part of Luke 1:51 she says, "He [God] has scattered those who
are proud in their innermost thoughts." Additionally, in verse 52 we find,
"He has brought down the mighty rulers from their thrones," and in
verse 53, "He has sent the rich away empty."
God Is Merciful…The fourth
attribute Mary speaks of is that God is merciful. The word "mercy"
appears five times in Luke 1—in verses 50, 54, 58, 72 and 78. Mary reveled in
the knowledge of this great attribute of God.
God Is a Covenant
God…The
fifth attribute of God that Mary speaks of is that God is a covenant God. We
must realize that God does not have to enter into a covenant with sinful man.
There is nothing in his being necessitating that he stoop down and promise
salvation to anybody. But the truth is, God did just that. He entered into a
covenant with Abraham, promising to show mercy to him and his descendants by
granting them salvation.
God Is Faithful to
His Covenant…If God promises through a covenant, he will
fulfill it, because he is the God of the covenant. The sixth attribute of God
Mary speaks of in this passage is the faithfulness of God to his covenant. Mary
realized that what was happening in her womb was the fulfillment of the age-old
promise to Abraham, that God was finally sending the divine Messiah, Jesus the
Savior, the eternal God incarnate. So she sang, "He has helped his servant
Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even
as he said to our fathers."
God Is the Savior…The final
attribute of God that Mary describes here is that God is her Savior. "My
soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." …and so we
pray together:
Hail
Mary, full of grace,
the
Lord is with thee.
Blessed
art thou among women and blessed is the fruit
of
thy womb, Jesus.
Holy
Mary, Mother of God,
pray
for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Fr. Phil
