Thoughts for the Day

And Mary said,
'My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God
my Saviour.
For he has looked with favour 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.'

(Church in Wales lectionary, from New Revised Standard version)

Thoughts

The sixth 'O Antiphon' traditionally sung before or after the psalm on this day, and another title for Jesus the Messiah, is 'O King of all Nations'. It was a hope when written by Isaiah, that the Messiah would come to save the people of Israel. The early Christians saw it as a call for Jesus to return to His world. We too see it as calling the King of kings to come and save His people and deliver us from all that is wrong with our world. Isaiah chapter 9.7 says this:

'His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.'

Mary's response to the Angel Gabriel was 'let it be with me according to your word', and with her cousin Elizabeth she praises God in the traditional words of the Magnificat. We can learn from the way she accepts God's wishes for her life, and remember to give Him thanks each day.

O Wisdom,
O Lord,
O root of Jesse,
O key of David,
O Dayspring,
O King of all the nations,
creator of the world
and ruler of Your people,
we remember that You
came to live among us
as a baby,
in order to offer us eternal life.
Amen.