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INTRODUCTION: The Gospel according to St. Luke provides us with four Canticles, also

referred to as Songs of Praise. These canticles include the Magnificat, the Benedictus, Nunc

Dimittis and Gloria in Excelsis. Raymond Brown commenting on the Magnificat says that these

Canticles were composed by those to whom they were attributed in the narrative, namely, the

Magnificat by Mary (1:46-55), the Benedictus by Zechariah (1:68-79) and the Nunc Dimittis

by Simeon (2:29-32)1. Some canticles take their name from their opening words. For instance,

the Magnificat takes its name from the Latin Vulgate which reads “Magnificat anima mea,

Dominum”, meaning, “My soul magnify the Lord”2. The Magnificat and the Benedictus,

which may have come to Luke are from a Jewish Community. These canticles would have been

the longest ‘prefabricated’ elements Luke used in Chapter One.3 Brown et al. posse three

questions which are crucial to the understanding of the Magnificat. These are: (i) did Luke

intend that Mary be the speaker of the Magnificat? (ii) If so, did Mary really compose it? (iii)

What does the Magnificat tell us about Luke’s overall picture of Mary?4

The Magnificat is in many places very similar in thought and phrase to the Canticle of Hannah

(1 Sam. 2:1-10), and to various Psalms such as Ps 23: 3-5. Similarities are found with Hab.,

3:18; Mal., 3:12; Job 5: 11; Is., 12:8; Genesis 17:19. The Magnificat steeped, thus in Scriptural

thought and phraseology, summing up in its inspired ecstasy the economy of God with His

Chosen People, indicating the fulfilment of the olden prophecy and prophesying anew until the

end of time; the Magnificat is the crown of the Old Testament singing, the last canticle of the

Old and the first of the New Testament. It was uttered (or, not improbably, chanted) by the

Blessed Virgin, when she visited her cousin Elizabeth under the circumstances narrated by St.

Luke in the first chapter of his Gospel. It is an ecstasy of praise for the inestimable favour

bestowed by God on the Virgin, for the mercies shown to Israel, and for the fulfilment of the

promises made to Abraham and to the patriarchs.5

It has been said that religion is the opiate of the people; but it has also been said that the

Magnificat is the mostly revolutionary document in the world. For Barclay, the Magnificat

speaks of three of the revolutions of God. Firstly, He scatters the proud in the plans of their

heart. i.e. a moral revolution. Christianity is the death of pride because if people set their lives

1 Brown, Raymond. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke,

New York: Image Book. 1979. page 346 2 “Magnificat” in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910 3 Brown, Raymond. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke.

New York: Image Books. 1979. Page 247 4 Mary in the New Testament, Edited by Brown et al., Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978. page 139 5 Opt. cit.

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beside that of Christ, it tears away the last vestiges of their pride. Secondly, He cast down the

mighty- he exalts the humble. i.e., a social revolution. Christianity puts an end to the world’s

labels and prestige. Thirdly, He has filled those who are hungry-those who are rich he has sent

empty away. That is economic revolution. A non- Christian society is an acquisitive society

where people are out for as much as they can get. A Christian society is a society where no one

dares to have too much while others have too little, where everyone must get only to give away.

There is loveliness in the Magnificat but in that loveliness there is dynamite. Christianity brings

about a revolution in individuals and revolution in the world.6 Caird is also of a similar view

when he said “if the Magnificat had been preserved as a separate psalm outside of its present

context, we might have taken it to be the manifesto of political and economic revolution.”7

In the message of the angel, Mary is the exponent of the Old Testament expectation of God

and the Messiah. She is the synthesis and the ultimate expression of Israel’s messianic desire.

This is St. Luke’s conception of Mary in the Magnificat.8

In one or two Old Latin manuscripts and in quotations of this passage (Magnificat) by Irenaeus

(c. A.D. 180) the name of Elizabeth is found here in the place of that of Mary. Some Scholars

have argued that the Magnificat would sound more natural on the lips of Elizabeth, since she

is the one, who like Hannah, had been raised from humiliation of childlessness; and that verse

56 implies a change of subject. This reading has been particularly popular among those who

have held the view that the whole nativity cycle originated among the followers of John the

Baptist and later adapted to Christian purposes. On the other hand, the proper place in the story

for a psalm of thanksgiving from Elizabeth would have been after verse 25. In any case the

manuscript evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of the generally accepted reading.9

McKnight also holds this assertion when he said [that] the song (Magnificat) attributed to Mary

is controversial; some doubt Mary’s ability to produce such song. It may not have been

composed on the spot, yet it is reasonable to see a young peasant girl celebrating her religion,

especially given the tradition of Jewish women involved in bringing about or celebrating God’s

work in Israel’s history and relying on the promises of redemption (e.g. Miriam and Deborah,

who both sing; II Maccabees 7, Esther, Judith). In particular, the Magnificat evokes the

6 Barclay, William. The Gospel of Luke, USA: Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2001. pp 18-20 7 Caird, G.B. The Gospel According to Luke (The Pelican Gospel Commentaries), New York: The Seabury

Press. 1963. page 55 8 Schillebeeckx, E. Mary, Mother of the Redemption, New York: Sheed & Ward, Inc., 1964. page 17 9 Caird, G.B. The Gospel According to Luke (The Pelican Gospel Commentaries), New York: The Seabury

Press, 1963. page 56

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expectation of God’s “Coming Age” of fulfilled promises, restoration, and the reversal of

fortunes which would have been common among those in her Jewish context. 10 Brown’s

conclusion is worth quoting: “Thus, it is not impossible that, in the last third of the century

when he was composing Luke/Acts, Luke came upon these canticles in a Greek-speaking

Jewish Christian community in an area influenced by Jerusalem Christianity.”11

For Macrina Scott, when Mary heard the greeting of Elizabeth “Blessed are you among

women”, she (Mary) expanded it by proclaiming very accurately “All generations will call me

blessed”. But this is no expression of pride. Pride is claiming for ourselves what is God’s gift.

Mary is very clear that it is the Lord who has done great things for her. To refuse to recognise

what God does in us is not humility, but lack of gratitude. Mary proclaims her greatness, yet

she is the humblest of women.12

Commentators divide the Magnificat into three or four stanzas, of which easily accessible

illustrations may be found in McEvilly, "Exposition of the Gospel of St. Luke" (triple-division:

verses 46-49, 50-53, 54-55); in Maas, "Life of Jesus Christ" (also triple, but slightly different:

vv. 46-50, 51-43, 54-55); and in Schaff and Riddle, "Popular Commentary on the New

Testament" (division into four stanzas: vv. 46-48, 49-50, 51-52, 53-55).13 Although the

Magnificat resembles in many ways the psalm type known as the hymn of praise, we cannot

expect a strict adherence to pattern. This pattern usually consists of three parts: (i) An

introduction praising God, (ii) The body of the hymn listing the motives of praise (iii) The

conclusion which may recapitulate some of the motives and blessing or make a request.

The Magnificat has an introduction (46-47) which praises God. The body of the hymn (48-53)

begins with a “because” clause in 48a, or, should Lucan insertion into the original canticle,

with a “because” clause in 49a. The motives of praise that are listed involve both God’s

attributes (mighty, holy, merciful) in 49-50 and His deeds in 51-53. The viewpoint is the first

that of the speaker (“for me”) and then that of the circle of anawim14 whom the speaker

represents (“those of low degree”; “the hungry”). Thus, the body of the Magnificat can be

10 McKnight, Scot. The Real Mary, MA: Paraclate Press, Brewster, 2006. 11 Brown, Raymond. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke.

New York: Image Books. 1979. page 355 12 Macrina, Scott. Discover your story in the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of The Apostles, Ohio: St Anthony

Messenger Press, 2004. pp 16-17 13 “Magnificat” in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX. New York: Robert Appleton Company.1910 14 The word Anawin is a Hebrew term, meaning the “Poor Ones” may have originally designated the physically

poor, it came to refer more widely to those who could not trust in their own strength but had to rely in utter

confidence upon God: the lowly, the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, the widows and orphans. The anawim

showed their trust in God by being faithful to the times of prayer and sacrifice.

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divided into two stanzas or strophes of equal length. The conclusion of the Magnificat (54-55)

summarizes what has been said in 49-53, both the deeds of God (“He has helped His servant

Israel”) and the attribute (“in remembrance of His mercy”). It then puts all this under the rubric

of God’s fulfilment of His promises to the fathers.

Johnson L. T. ‘close marking’ Brown asserts [that] “in the Magnificat, Mary’s praise for what

God has done for her personally widens out to include what God does for “all who fear him”

in every age, including what God is doing for Israel by the birth of its Messiah. As God “showed

power in his right hand” by his mighty works in the past, so does he now “take Israel by the

hand”. The song moves in stages from the reversal of Mary’s condition from lowliness to

exaltation (Luke 1: 46-49), then to a general statement of God’s mercy to those who fear him

(1:50), then to a recital of his past and present reversals (1: 51-53), finally to the statement of

how that mercy is now being shown to Israel in fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham (Luke

1:54-55)”.15 As the song moves outward, it also unfolds a density of symbolism. One cannot

avoid the sense that Mary is here made the representative, if not the personification of Israel.

The mercy shown her reflects and exemplifies the mercy shown to the people. The

representative symbolism of Mary is stated even more clearly later in the infancy account (Luke

2:34). Johnson L. T. and Fitzmyer A. J. notice as well that the epithets applied to God in the

song are attributed as well of the Son she is carrying. God is called ‘Lord’ and ‘Saviour’ and

‘Holy’.16

The Magnificat strives mightily to interpret the event of the Son of God’s conception by a

lowly woman. Jesus, the fulfilment of God’s fidelity to his promise of mercy, serves as a sign

of God’s fidelity to his promises. God’s action for the lowly handmaid Mary presents a

dramatic vision of what salvation is all about. In the end, the lowly will be exalted, and the

proud routed. The canticle announces and summarises some of the major themes of Luke-

Acts, in particular the work’s concern for the poor and politically weak, for Christian leadership

which must not assume the ways of human power, for the quality of Christian nourishment at

the Lord’s table, and for the fulfilment of God’s promise of blessing to Abraham and his

posterity.17

15 Johnson, L. T. Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke, Edited by Daniel Harrington, Minnesota: The Liturgical

Press Collegeville, 1991. page 43 16 Opt. cit. and Fitzmyer, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke I-X Vol. 28, New York: Doubleday

& Company Inc. 1981. page 360 17 LaVerdiere, Eugene. New Testament Series: Luke, Edited by Harrington Wilfrid (O.P.) and Seinor Donald

(C.P.), Delaware: Michael Glazier Inc., 1980. page 23

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church states Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her

union with Christ and flows directly from it. This union of the mother with the son in the work

of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ’s Virginal conception up to his death18.

In the letters of Paul, which are earlier than the Gospels Mary is mentioned only in Galatians

4:4 when it states ‘but when the appointed time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born

of a woman, born under the law’ Paul speaks of the Messiah by speaking of Mary though

without mentioning her name. According to this text, Mary is the place in which the Son of

God entered human history.19 Again, the Christology is indirect, proclaiming that God has done

something decisive but never spelling this out in reference to Jesus’s career.20 Consequently,

the Catechism of the Catholic Church can rightly conclude: That is why the Canticle of Mary,

the Magnificat is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the

Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of

graces poured out in the economy of salvation and the song of the "poor" whose hope is met

by the fulfilment of the promises made to our ancestors, "to Abraham and to his posterity for

ever".21

In conclusion, by pronouncing her fiat at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the

incarnation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish.

She is mother wherever He is saviour and head of the Mystical Body.22 Moreover, Luke gives

Mary an important role in that salvation history, a representative role that will continue from

the infancy narrative into the ministry of Jesus, and finally into the early Church.23

18 Chapman, Geoffrey. Catechism of the Catholic Church (C.C.C.) -Popular and Definitive Edition, India:

Thomson Press Ltd. 2000. No. 964 19 “Mariology” in Encyclopedia of Theology (Concise Sacramentum Mundi) Edited by Karl Rahner. India: St

Paul Press, 2010. page 893-896 20 A few scholars contend that Magnificat and Benedictus were Jewish and not Christian composition; but the

tenses suggest that they were composed by those who thought that God’s decisive action had taken place. 21 C.C.C No. 2619 22 C.C.C No. 973 23 Mary in the New Testament, Edited By Brown, Raymond et al., Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978, page 143