MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD AND MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR

MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD

AND MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR

Fr Luke Veronis

My souls magnifies the Lord and My Spirit rejoices in God my Savior. On this Feast of the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary, we not only remember her peaceful transition into eternal life but we reflect on her as the perfect example of what it means to live for God. The words she spoke when she first conceived Christ—“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” summarize her entire life.

When Mary says she “magnifies” the Lord, she doesn’t mean she makes Him bigger. God is the Almighty and Infinite One. She implies that her life acts as a magnifying glass through which others can see God more vividly.

St. Ambrose of Milan explains, “Let the soul of Mary be in each of you, so that it magnifies the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each of you, so that it rejoices in God.”

Here lies our challenge in life! Every day we magnify something, whether our problems, our challenges, our insecurities, or maybe our achievements, our successes, our own ego. The Blessed Mother magnified only God. When people encounter the Panayia, the All-Holy One, they saw Christ is her.

I’m reminded of St. Seraphim of Sarov, whose life was so filled with Christ that people who left an encounter with him saying, “I saw the light of God in his eyes.” He greeted everyone—rich or poor, sinner or saint—with the words, “My joy, Christ is risen!” His soul reflected Mary’s, acting as a magnifying glass through which people could get a clearer glimpse of the radiance of Christ.

The way the Virgin Mary’s “spirit rejoices in God” was not spoken in a time of ease. She was a young, poor woman in a small, occupied land. She faced gossip, misunderstanding, and uncertainty. Her life would fact the sorrow and horror of her son’s suffering and death. Yet, her joy was rooted in God’s faithfulness, not in her circumstances.

“The joy of the righteous comes not from worldly ease," St. John Chrysostom highlights, "but from the hope of the good things to come.” We rejoice in God, not in the comforts of this world.

Right before the Theotokos offers these inspiring words, she noted, “He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden.” In her humility, she did not pretend to be more than she was, nor did she doubt what God could do through her.

St. Gregory Palamas writes “Her humility drew God down into her womb; her purity made her worthy to be His dwelling place.” And so, she teaches us that God does not work through the proud or the self-sufficient, but through the humble of heart who are willing to say, “Let it be to me according to Your word.”

The Church reminds us that the Holy Mother’s death was peaceful because she had already died to herself long before. Her will was completely united to God’s. Her life was one long Magnificat, and her Falling Asleep was its final verse.

The Virgin Mary’s Magnificat is not just her hymn of praise, let us make it our song as well.

• When we are tempted with the trials of life, let our soul magnify the Lord.
• When we are weighed down by sorrow, let our spirit rejoice in God my Savior.
• When we are thinking about our future and may not understand God’s plan, let us say let it be to me according to Your word.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”