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Commentary on the Gospel – December 22, 2025
Mary’s Song
God created the world out of nothing in an act of pure love and total self-giving. The history of salvation continues this creative work of complete generosity. We see it expressed in the gift of life blooming in women who could not conceive: Sarah, the wife of Abraham; Samson’s mother; or in the case we look at today, Hannah, the mother of Samuel. We see it later with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and it reaches its peak in Mary, Virgin and Mother of Jesus.
But even though God’s grace is clearly a free gift in all these stories, we shouldn’t forget St. Augustine’s warning: “The God who created you without you, will not save you without you.” God gives us life as a gift, and then He invites us into a dialogue—that is what salvation is: communion with Him. For this dialogue to take place, a human response is necessary. God gives, and we answer by recognizing it, giving thanks, and, in a way, giving back to God what we received from Him. We see this clearly today in Hannah’s thanksgiving. She offers a young bull, flour, and wine—a true offering—and she dedicates the son she received from God back to His service.
When this exchange of gifts happens, the deepest and strongest family bonds are formed. What better way to express and celebrate this than by singing? It is not crazy to imagine that Mary didn’t just say the Magnificat, but actually sang it. They say St. Augustine used to say, “He who sings prays twice” (and even if he didn’t exactly say it, it is a beautiful thought). When we look at the Magnificat—that explosion of prayer and joy—it is only natural to put it to music.
Inside Mary, the fullness of God’s gifts is already happening. It started with the creation of the world and culminates with the gift of God’s own life in human flesh—in Mary’s flesh (where the Word became flesh, and flesh became Word). Since Mary is of our race, of our own flesh and blood, her words of thanks, praise, and joy must be ours, too.
Mary sings her Magnificat when Jesus is already present, but not yet visible to the eye. How can we join this song of thanksgiving and praise when we do not yet see the One who is already among us? We need eyes of faith. Faith is trusting that God is working in our favor, despite all the heavy burdens we carry. These burdens speak of oppression, injustice, and violence—evil that often leads us to curse.
But if we open our eyes with faith, we are able to see the signs of God’s presence, just as Elizabeth saw them in Mary. Instead of cursing, we bless. Mary and Elizabeth had plenty of reasons to complain and curse, but they found many more reasons to rejoice and bless. That is how we perceive that God, though not yet visible, is already among us and saving us. Let us bless like Elizabeth so that we can sing with Mary. Sadly, we cannot know what melody Mary used. But happily, we can add our own music to it.