Week 6 (Year 3, NL)

Since my son’s accident, everything I understand about hope has changed.

I've long identified with Mary's fire. Now I want to learn from Elizabeth.

Is it hard to obey the angel's command, "Do not be afraid"?

Motherhood and ministry are intertwined for me.

When I read the annunciation story, I picture Mary as Clara.

The Magnificat rejoices in a God who acts within human history.

"I love you," says God. "We love you, too," our prayers reply.

What a relief it might be to middle-class America to be sent away empty.

This story is full of echoes—most famously, Mary's song echoes Hannah's. But there is another echo: Elizabeth's praise of Mary, which gets taken up into the Hail Mary, is an echo of Deborah's song in Judges 5.

Mary is a jazz singer, improvising on a familiar tune.

Would it be that we all could sing our souls. I think Mary helps us. I think we should read her song, and preach it, and sing it over and over again.

Sampling Isaiah, Mary's song sings of mercy, strength, humility, and the truest meaning of charity. Her song hears in each of these virtues a gift of God, and a sign of God's desire for all.

Mary’s song marks a transformation from seeing her condition’s weight to receiving a new power within the situation. And then, finally, she is a participant in the work of God’s spirit.

John 3:16 or Matthew 25? Both. Neither.