Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Lectionary: 198

“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.

 

Often, as we watch dramatic television, movie, or stage presentations, and as we read short stories and novels, we are invited to be the protagonist of the story. We enter the mind of that person, recall their memories and feel their feelings. We love whom they love and fear whom they fear.

We do the same when we encounter Mary’s Magnificat. We “amen” her delighted feelings of joy and confidence in God. We remember the long history of Israel and God’s interaction with Israel, which has brought her to this point. In the New Testament she and Joseph are the ancestors where Abraham and Sarah were the ancestors of the Old Testament.

But reading, reciting, or singing the Magnificat is more than a literary experience for us; it is religious, and the prayer evokes her story from her Immaculate Conception to the Sorrow of Calvary, the Joy of Easter, and the Glory of her Assumption into heaven. The words draw us into communion with Mary. Her blessings are ours and we celebrate the privilege she has been given, a privilege which she also deserved for she grew in innocence from grace to grace.

Further, in the same communion, we say, “All generation call us blessed” for we know her Son through our Baptism, Eucharist, and life of prayer. We know this privilege not as something to boast about for it is very costly; and we protect it like a secret, a mystery not revealed carelessly to the indifferent.

As a I prepared to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a Protestant colleague wondered how I might make relevant such an esoteric doctrine to my congregation. I assured him we give glory to God for the wonderful blessings he has given Mary. And the second reading that day, from Saint Paul's Letter to the Ephesians put the words in my mouth:

...so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

If I thought salvation was all about me, then I might wonder, "What does a blessing for Mary have to do with me?" I might even ask, "Am I my sister's keeper?" as if her life is somehow removed from mine.

Catholics celebrate Mary and the Saints for their blessings are ours and our blessings are theirs, and we're all albout praising God -- "for the praise of his glory."

If someone from your hometown won the Heisman Trophy you might tell people about that, even if you were a Protestant! Because that athlete's achievement somehow reflects on you. Only a hardened cynic could deny that. But the glory of Mary's Immaculate Conception is infinitely more wonderful than a football award. Our Mother, Sister, Consoler, and Companion is the highest honor of our race. We are happy for her, and happy to be in the crowd that surrounds her.