Madonna of the World II: Song of Lowliness

There are times when we feel like there is no hope. We look around us and see the world in turmoil and desolation and feel so small beside it. And we know that no matter how good our intentions are or how hard we may try, nothing we can do will even begin to make a dent.

Being in Africa, you can get this feeling quite often. Looking around you see endless poverty, corruption in the schools, and isolation of entire communities from the Word of God. This is the crucial point, though. At this point we can either pack our bags and go home because of the sheer magnitude of the situation, or we can turn to God in our lowliness.

Our Blessed Mother is again our model of humble courage in the face of a world gone wrong. It was at the Visitation to Elizabeth when the song of the Magnificat sprang from the lips of Mary. Here she praises the Lord, her Son, for looking upon her lowliness. While most of us do our best to hide our weakness and prove our own strength to the world, our Mother magnifies not herself but her Son. And this is a lesson we all need to heed. For only a soul that does not magnify itself can magnify the Lord.

And this is meant to give us hope. It is precisely in our weakness that God makes us strong. But for this we must first recognize our lowliness before Him. And for me, at least, this is a heavy burden lifted off my shoulders. Or, I guess it would be more accurate to say that it is an exchange of my own yoke for the yoke that Jesus has offered us, one that is easy and light. Because rather than giving up in the face of the world, we realize that we ourselves are not able to do anything, but it is the Spirit moving inside us that will set the world on fire.

God looked upon Mary in what she believed was her nothingness, so God once more created a world out of nothing. And if Mary saw herself as nothing, who are we to think we can transform the world without the help of our Lord?

But I pray that the Lord continues to grant His strength and humility upon us all so that we may never lose hope. For me as I continue in my journey here in Africa, and for Bob and Chris, that as they will soon travel home they will continue to allow themselves to be emptied only to be filled by the Lord and not any other distractions that they will soon encounter.

It is times when we are overcome with great emotion that a song springs forth from our mouths. Putting all musicals aside, you can see this throughout the Bible, as in Miriam’s song after the crossing of the Red Sea. So may we always be overcome by the love and fidelity of our God, and may the Magnificat of Mary always be on our lips as she prayer:

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.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name... (Luke 1:46-49)

-Dan
written 07/19/11