Pre-Lent · Quinquagesima Sunday
Psalm 89:18-29
Mary’s Song
February 15, 2026
Overview & Insights
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)
In our first two sections of Luke’s text the angel Gabriel has announced two births to mothers who should not have been expecting a baby (one too old, the other not yet married). Before the births of John and Jesus are narrated, the two families are brought together, and we have in this domestic scene an opportunity to reflect on the significance of these two special people. The unborn John and his mother recognize the superior status of Mary’s son, and Mary speaks with delight and wonder of the incredible honor of being the mother of God’s Son. The paradoxical values expressed in Mary’s song prepare the reader for the repeated challenges to the status quo that will mark Jesus’s ministry as this Gospel will describe it.
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What is the Magnificat?
Mary's song at the Visitation praises the God who lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things, casting down the proud and the mighty. It is the church's evening song of the great reversal.
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