Great Things

August 15, 2008

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mass during the Day

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Revelation 12:1-2

And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:46-49

Piety

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.

He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.

He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Luke 1:46-55

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/081508.shtml

Mary prays that “the mighty one has done great things for me.” Can we even imagine us voicing the same prayer if we were in her circumstances? Can we even imagine us voicing the same prayer from our current circumstances?

Does the Magnificat sound like the prayer of such a woman? Mary was living in a poor village in a nation occupied by the brutal army of a foreign power. As a teenage girl, she found herself pregnant and unmarried, although betrothed. Any day now, when her fiancé found out about her condition, he was sure to disown her and abandon the wedding promise. Maybe she would be stoned and then die quickly rather than live in shame for the rest of her life because no other man would want her as a wife. Does the Magnificat sound like the prayer of such a woman?

Instead of seeking comfort or asking for sympathy and pity, she offers nothing but unqualified praise for the God who put her in this situation. There is no desperation in her voice. She sounds no message other that the purest trust and delight.

Action

The Mighty One has done great things for me.

From our perch in the richest, most favored, most powerful nation in the world, can we offer this prayer with our whole hearts, our whole minds, and our whole souls?

What great things can you count among God’s blessings for you?