Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Luke 1: 46-56
December  22, 2025 | Monday

Today’s Gospel

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my savior!

He has looked upon his servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is his Name!

From age to age, his mercy extends to those who live in his presence.

He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden.

He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out his hand to Israel, his servant, for he remembered his mercy, even as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

Today’s Reflection

The Magnificat, a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, resonates with a central theme of divine reversal. This theme is vividly embodied in the person of Mary, a young and poor girl from a remote Galilean village. She defies the norms of her patriarchal society by ushering in the coming of the Lord and being profoundly blessed. The ‘divinely inspired reversal of fortune’ is a powerful concept that God’s plan often involves turning the expectations of the world upside down, choosing the humble and lowly to accomplish His purposes.

Moreover, Mary declares that the Lord puts down the mighty, raises the lowly, fills the hungry with good things, and sends away the rich empty (Lk 1:52-43). This dramatic reversal of fortunes is a cornerstone of divine justice. Saint Augustine echoes this theme of reversal, arguing that the prideful pursuits of the City of Man, a metaphor for a society that values material wealth and power over spiritual wealth, lead to destruction, while the humility and reliance on God in the City of God, a metaphor for a society that values spiritual wealth and humility, lead to proper exaltation. He states, “Two loves have made two cities: the love of self, even to the contempt of God, has made the earthly city; the love of God, even to the contempt of self, has made the heavenly city” (City of God, XIV.28).

Mary’s Magnificat is a clarion call to reject the transient values of the City of Man and live according to the eternal truths of the City of God. As present-day disciples, we hold the responsibility and power to work together to promote the truth and values of the City of God. This entails, among other things, working for justice—justice that restores to the poor and the oppressed what is rightfully theirs.

/Vulnerasti, 2025