“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”[i] These words of Mary’s Magnificat, chosen for the Gospel reading for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, highlight the mystery of election and predilection, being chosen and loved. The second reading for the Mass of the Assumption speaks of Christ as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”, having been raised from death. [ii] Mary, as the one immaculately conceived, is the firstfruits of His merits, though born ahead in time. Mary knows neither sin nor the effects of sin because of the special grace of the immaculate conception, merited by Christ. Because of her “fiat” (meaning let it be done) to become the mother of God (Luke 1:38), a Tabernacle of the Most High, she has also been preserved from the corruption of death and has been taken up, body and soul, into Heaven.
Praying the Magnificat after receiving Holy Communion
Recently, on the feast day of St. Mary Major, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated in our Convent in the evening, with the inclusion of Vespers in the Mass. Under this arrangement, the Magnificat is prayed during the Mass, right after the reception of holy communion. At this moment in the Mass, we are particularly united to Christ, and so it is appropriate to pray the Magnificat at that time.
Visitation de la Vierge by Jean Jouvenet
Tabernacles of the Most High
Each one of us who can stand in line to receive the Lord in Holy Communion, have been chosen and loved: chosen to be a member of His Church and baptized into His Body. By the power of his precious blood, out of love for us, he has taken away our sins. Receiving him in reality in His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, the Eucharist is the pledge of future glory. Christ literally comes to dwell in our bodies, and we too become tabernacles of the Most High. Although each of us will taste death on our way to Him, by of the power of our baptism, He has already chosen and called us to Himself. By His Spirit He dwells in our soul as in a temple and He will raise us up.
Fiat Mihi secundum verbum tuum
Each one of us, day by day, can personally say the words of the Magnificat from the very depths of our being. When we approach the Lord to receive him in Holy Communion, we say, “Amen” which is a statement of faith in Who we are receiving in the Eucharist. But with that Amen, we may also rightly say “Fiat,” that is, “Let it be done unto me to be according to your Word.”
[i][i] Luke 1:39-56. “Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” USCCB. Accessed August 9, 2022. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081522.cfm.
[ii] 1 Cor 15:20-27
Posted for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 15, 2022
