THE MAGNIFICAT
In the Bible, there is a beautiful passage sung by Mary, the mother of Jesus, which we now call as the “ Magnificat .” The word Magnificat literally means “an utterance of praise” (Merriam-Webster). Mary sang this after the Angel Gabriel revealed to her that she will conceive and give birth to the Christ Jesus. As we read the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55 , we can easily sense Mary’s joyful spirit as she sang this. However, what we often fail to realize is the challenging situation in which she was praising God. At that time, she was just a humble teenager engaged to marry but also about to bear a child. People could have easily thought of her child as one born out of wedlock. That could have even been considered adultery which was punishable by stoning in Jewish law. Mary could have feared for her own honour and dear life. Yet in spite of all these, she chose to magnify the Lord. And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, a nd my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour."...