December 11 – The Magnificat, Mary’s Expression of Gratitude
Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes (Lk 1:46–48).
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (Lk 1:46–48).
First Prelude: I will listen to the splendid manifestation of Mary’s gratitude while she carried Jesus in her womb; this is the Magnificat, which has become the Church’s hymn of thanksgiving.
Second Prelude: O Jesus, do not allow me to grieve your Heart any longer with my ingratitude.
FIRST POINT: The Example of Mary and the Saints
The canticle of thanksgiving by Mary is what we meditate on today. This canticle marks her habitual disposition. Mary herself has just been praised and complimented by her relative. Elizabeth, feeling the grace poured out on Mary’s lips and alerted by the leaping of John the Baptist, exclaimed through a movement of the Holy Spirit: “Blessed are you among women, and how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” [Lk 1:42–43].
But Mary thinks only of her God. She sings her canticle of thanksgiving: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Completely absorbed in her humility, she returns all the praise given to her back to God. She is called the Mother of God, yet she regards herself and wishes to be regarded only as His servant. She proclaims with thanksgiving that it is God who has done everything in her; she publishes the holiness of God’s name, the extent of His power, and the magnitude of His mercies. Therefore, her hymn of thanksgiving has become the usual expression of gratitude for the faithful.
She was inspired by the spirit of Jesus. He himself desired that the outpourings of His gratitude towards His Father be noted in the Gospel, notably before and after the Eucharistic Supper, the marvel of His Father’s love for us.
The saints ceaselessly poured forth in acts of thanksgiving. We have proof of this in the Holy Scripture. It is said of Tobit that he gave thanks to the Lord all the days of his life (cf. Tb 2:14). David exclaimed: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” (Ps 116:12). He exhorted himself to gratitude: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Ps 103:2). And he reviewed the countless blessings of his God: He forgives our sins, He heals our infirmities, He crowns us with His mercies: “coronat te in misericordia et miserationibus” (Ps 103:4). The Psalms are often hymns of thanksgiving.
Saint Paul said: Let us give thanks to God without ceasing (cf. 2 Thess 2:14 cf. 2:13); and again: Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:18).
SECOND POINT: It is a Debt of the Heart
Gratitude is a debt we contract as soon as we receive a benefit. It would be an injustice not to pay this debt or not to acknowledge it.
Gratitude is a virtue that leads us to God to acknowledge that all gifts come from Him, and to praise and thank Him through our words and our deeds.
It is a sacrifice, it is the host of praise, which is pleasing to God and which draws new blessings upon us.
Are not the reasons that impose this gratitude upon us countless? Our God drew us out of nothing; we owe Him our being and our life; this entire life we should dedicate to thanksgiving.
And has not Our Lord given us the life of grace? Did He not clothe Himself in our flesh to suffer and die, in order to merit the life of glory for us? Let us think of Bethlehem and His self-emptying, of Nazareth and His labours, of Our Lord’s apostolic life, of Gethsemane and Calvary. Let us think of the Eucharist, Baptism, and the Sacrament of Penance.
Has not each of us also received special graces? Our Lord has tolerated us in our faults, He has awaited our conversion, He has called us to a chosen vocation. Yet our memory forgets Him, our mind does not think of Him, our heart is cold, and our mouth is silent, instead of bursting into acts of thanksgiving.
THIRD POINT: The Qualities and Conditions of Gratitude
Our gratitude must be above all affectionate, full of tenderness and love. Could we love too much the One who loves us with such paternal love and who overwhelms us with so many blessings?
Our gratitude must be continual. It must manifest itself upon waking, at the first sound of the bells, which recall the message of the Angel Gabriel to Mary; after a successful undertaking, after meals, upon hearing happy and pleasant news, even amidst tribulation and adversities—the cross is so precious for purifying us and meriting graces for us! Let us ensure that our life is a continual act of thanksgiving.
Have I practiced this virtue until now? Has my mind thought of it as often as it should? Is my heart permeated by it? Does my mouth speak of it often? Does it offer to my God the sacrifices of praise that He expects from me?
I hear the poignant complaints expressed by Our Lord to Blessed Margaret Mary: “I receive from most people only ingratitude, through the scorn, irreverence, sacrilege, and coldness they have for me in the sacrament of my love… The ingratitude of men is more painful to me than all that I suffered in my passion.”
Resolutions. – O my God, inflame my heart with gratitude and love for you. I want my memory and my thoughts to turn often towards you and my heart to express its gratitude to you in the morning, in the evening, during moments of examination, after happy events, and even after crosses, which are gifts of your love for my purification and sanctification.
Colloquy with Mary as she speaks her Magnificat.
