My Soul Magnifies the Lord

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:47)

A friend and I were discussing what it means to magnify the Lord, for the Lord is infinite; Mary could not increase the glory of the Lord or somehow added to His goodness.  So how does Mary magnify the Lord?

When we looked at how a magnifying glass functions, it was clear that it does not somehow increase the light of the sun, the sun becomes no brighter or hotter because the magnifying glass is below it. Rather, the magnifying glass focuses and intensifies the power of the sun and ignites a small part of a dry leaf. 

As does Mary.

Her fiat focused the love of the Lord to the point that He became human.  The yes of her soul magnified the Lord to the tiniest size of a single cell, imbued with the intensity of love to grow and choose the crucifixion. Mary did not somehow make God bigger; but rather, she became the magnifying glass that ignited the world with God’s salvation.

Today is the feast of The Most Holy Name of Mary, and what and appropriate time to celebrate she who magnifies the Lord.

While remembering September 11 yesterday, it is clear that so many people followed Mary’s example to magnify the Lord for their brothers and sisters.  There are countless stories of the people who made a sacrifice that intensely made the presence of God known.  In the midst of such horror, the love of God was able to piece the pain through the yes of generous souls.

How desperately there needs to be a magnifying glass between heaven and earth focusing God’s love and peace on the people of Syria.  I imagine the prayers of Pope Francis, and all those who joined in prayer and fasting on Saturday, focusing God’s goodness on Syria.  But it is clear that we need to focus the magnifying glass even more intensely.  As Pope Francis said on Saturday,

Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation.

We need to magnify the Lord in a very real way, a way that fosters dialogue and reconciliation in order to bring about peace.  People, especially the people of Syria need to know intensely the peace and love of God.  We are called to genuinely dispose our souls to magnify the reconciliation, and thus the peace, of our God. Pope Francis exhorts us,

Let us pray for reconciliation and peace, let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace!

Mary, Queen of Peace, teach us, and pray for us.

In Mary's Garden at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception