We usually hear the song of Mary, the Magnificat, during one season only, Advent.  It is a reading for many seasons and many days. 

 Scholar Sr. Elizabeth Johnson wrote in an essay about the Magnificat, “The Magnificat is a revolutionary song of salvation whose political, economic, and social dimensions cannot be blunted. People in need in every society hear a blessing in this canticle … all who are discarded: all are encompassed in the hope Mary proclaims.

 “So revolutionary is the Magnificat, at times its reading has been banned.  In India under British rule, it was banned from being sung or read.  In the 1980’s, it was banned in Guatemala.  In Argentina, after the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo —whose children all disappeared during what’s called the “Dirty War” from 1976-1983 — placed the words of the Magnificat on posters throughout the capital plaza, the military junta outlawed any public display of Mary’s song.”

 Please stand in body or spirit for the reading of the holy and revolutionary gospel.

Mary said,
“My soul proclaims your greatness, O God,
and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior.
For you have looked with favor upon your humble servant;
surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your Name.
Your mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear you.
You have shown strength with your arm;
you have scattered the proud in their conceit;
you have brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and raised the humble to high places.
You have filled the hungry with good things,
while you have sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the aid of Israel your servant,
mindful of your mercy —
the promise you made to our ancestors —
to Sarah and Abraham and their descendants forever.”

The Good News as spoken through Luke.