Bless Your Children


And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”  And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

This canticle, also known as the song of Mary, is famous all over the world as the Magnificat. It is frequently recited not only within the Catholic Church, but also within major Protestant denominations, which should tell the smaller break-aways something. But this reflection is not about the universality of Mary, but something that I found quite fascinating: Mary’s spontaneous outbreak of praise. Breaking out into spontaneous praise does not come to somebody unless they have been accustomed to praising God.

And composing songs on the spur of the moment also does not come easily unless one is habitually in worship. As for quoting Scripture, as anyone will tell you, this can happen only if one spends a lot of time hearing or reading Scripture. All this suggests that Mary is a young woman who spends a lot of time in the presence of God, praising and worshipping him, and despite her young age has a knowledge of Scripture that goes beyond the ordinary. And, do remember, in those days they didn’t have Bibles like we do.

When Elizabeth greets her warmly with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1:42), the Holy Spirit propels Mary to burst forth in song.  And what a beautiful song it is. There are allusions to the Song of Hannah from the Books of Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1-10) as well as echoes from the the Torah and the writings of the prophets. Mary begins by rejoicing at the privilege of being mother to the Savior, then glorifies God for his power and majesty, continues by looking forward to the wonderful things he is going to do, and concludes by testifying to his faithfulness.

Now, here is a question. How is a young girl so mature in the faith that she is able to do all this? The simple answer: her parents. They were a holy and faith-filled couple who brought their daughter up in the ways of God since she was an infant. How do we fare in comparison? Although we look after the material needs of our children today, there are very few who look after their spiritual requirements. Perhaps this reflection can inspire the new parents watching this to bring up their children the Mary way.

And, like Mary, they will be called blessed.

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/WGYZpv7fvDE


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