Magnificat

Magnificat
(vis-a-vis today's social media culture) 

[In the Visitation], when Elizabeth exclaimed “of all women you are the most blessed… Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” (Lk 1:42-43), Mary spontaneously burst with the familiar magnificat: “my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” (Lk 1: 46ff). Immediately Mary proclaimed her canticle of praise, exalting God, not taking any credit for her blessedness or her exalted dignity as Mother of our Lord, but rather giving God all the credit for His work in her. She magnified the Lord Who has done great things for her.

We can understand her reaction better if we look back to the preceding mystery of [the Annunciation], when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary “Hail, full of grace” (filled with God). She is transparent to God, so that when we look at Mary we see Jesus, God in her. In other words even if Mary were to exalt herself in all her dignity as the Mother of our Lord, she will have
ended up practically exalting God Who fills her whole being.

'God in her' is the very source of all Mary’s virtues. And she recognized and acknowledged God's work of grace in her. She merely cooperated with her complete and unwavering “Yes” to God all her life. Thus she exemplifies the foundational virtue of humility, along with all her other virtues–all stemming from his grace-filledness.

It is very unfortunate that today's social media culture lends to the opposite. More and more people, even clergy and religious, fall into the culture of self proclamation and self exaltation. Many are easily tempted to publicize accomplishments, accolades, and even trivialities, or simply venting— all ‘unintentionally’ magnifying SELF (rather than magnifying God).

Our present society has much to learn from our Lady who recognized that all she is, her privileges, her sinlessness, purity, charity, humility, are all God's work in her. We too ought to recognize God as the source of all that is good in us. We can boast of nothing as our own except our sins (our miseries), which we can lift up to God for healing, thereby making more
room for God to fill us.

We may not be “full of grace” as Mary is, but we are also “relatively” full of grace when we are in the state of grace. ‘God in us’ (sanctifying grace) has all the potential to produce in us, with our cooperation, manifold virtues, which are the very adornments of our soul--the work of God in us–enhancing our dignity–for which we ought to praise God. Indeed, God can do great things in and for us, too, if we but cooperate with His grace by our ‘Yes’ to Him.

We are also well advised to grow in the habit of praising and thanking God, even amidst our trials, which are also blessings God allows to form and mold us in virtue. We may do so quietly, simply exalting and rejoicing in God, our Savior, in our hearts, through interior acts. When was the last time we rejoiced in God's infinite goodness? For the more we praise God, the more we will appreciate that every good thing we have, every accomplishment, success, blessings and talents that we may be tempted to flaunt in social media are all from God. Then more and more as we decrease, ‘God in us’ will increase.

It is said that “Life is a battle between good and evil.” The only way to win is to cling to the only One Who is good (cf Mk 10:18, Lk 18:19). All the good we have is of God and a share in His infinite goodness, which we ought to recognize. Failure to recognize and acknowledge this truth may put us in danger of exalting or even making a ‘god’ of ourselves. St. Paul prophetically forwarned us of this: “...in the last days there are going to be some difficult times. People will be self-centred and grasping; boastful, arrogant and rude…” (2Tim 3:1ff). This very self centeredness can breed all kinds of evil. Then we lose the battle.

This season of Advent we have before us the example of our Lady (in her humility and hiddenness), who magnified our Lord all her life. We cling to her who ‘crushed the head of the serpent’ (cf Gen 3:15). For in, with, and through Mary we always win. And may through the intercession and example of Mary, our Lord Jesus be truly born in our hearts this Christmas, so that as we look inwardly and see the workings of grace(in us), we will be moved to exalt God and exclaim: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46).
May we all have a “Mary-Christ-Mass”!