On the final days of Advent, the Church places on Mary’s lips a hymn that teaches us how to wait for Christ. The hymn is known as the Magnificat (Lk 1:46–56). This is not a quiet lullaby but a bold proclamation of what God is doing in Mary’s time, now, and forever.

Mary praises God not for what she has achieved, but for what God has done: “The Almighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49). It is a reading well placed in these last days of Advent. It reminds us that salvation begins with God’s initiative and not our own. While we often speak of “getting ready for Christmas,” in truth Christmas is a gift we receive. I wonder if we truly, deeply appreciated that we would be more ready to join Mary and proclaim, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”

But the Magnificat also reminds us to not be complacent because the hymn reveals God’s great reversal. He lifts the lowly, fills the hungry, and scatters the proud. As we await the birth of Christ, Mary teaches us that God’s coming always disrupts injustice and restores dignity. So powerful was the message that governments banned the public recitation, singing, or display of the Magnificat because they found its message politically or socially threatening (Guatemala in the 1980s | Argentina in the later 1970s and early 1980s). God’s preferential concern for the poor was seen as a subversive message during a time of political violence and repression.

Advent hope is not pious prayer but is meant to be a song of Hope that has the power to transform.

But perhaps most importantly, Mary reminds us to anchor our present moments in God’s ancient promises: “He has remembered his promise of mercy” (Lk 1:54). In these last days before Christmas, the Magnificat assures us that God is faithful. What He promised to Israel, He fulfills in Christ.

As we prepare for the Lord’s coming, may Mary’s song become our own—one of trust, humility, and joyful expectation.