Magnificat - Mary’s Song

Latin

Luke 1: 46-55

English

Magnificat anima

mea Dominum.

My soul doth
magnify the Lord.

Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Quia respexit humilitatem

ancillae suae:
Ecce enim ex hoc
beatam me dicent
omnes generationes.

For He hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall
call me blessed.

Quia fecit mihi magna
qui potens est:
et sanctum nomen eius.

For He that is mighty hath done to me great things:

and holy is his name.

Et misericordia eius a
 progenie in progenies
 timentibus eum.

And his mercy is on them

that fear Him

from generation to generation.

Fecit potentiam in
brachio suo:
dispersit superbos
mente cordis sui.

He hath showed strength

with his arm:

He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

Deposuit potentes
de sede,
et exaltavit humiles.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted them of low degree.

Esurientes emplevit bonis:
et divites
dimisit inanes.

He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich He hath sent empty away.

Suscepit Israel
puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae.

He, in remembrance of his mercy, hath helped

his servant Israel.

Sicut locutis est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula.

As He spoke to our (fore) fathers, to Abraham and his seed,

for ever.

Gloria Patri et Filio
et Spiritui Sancto.

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Originating from the Latin word for “magnify,” the Magnificat is the name given to the words of Mary in Luke's Gospel, beginning “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” There has been some debate over whether Mary or Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, spoke this poem, but most attribute it to Mary.

The Magnificat, also known as “Mary’s Song,” has four major parts which praise God for selecting Mary to be Mother of God as well as for God's divine mercy and sympathy.

The first part expresses Mary’s joyous exaltation, gratitude, and praise for her own personal blessing.

My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For He hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

She then goes on to praise the character and gracious disposition of God to all who reverence God.

For He that is mighty hath done to me great things: and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.

In the third part Mary proclaims God’s sovereignty and special love for the lowly.

He hath showed strength with his arm: He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich He hath sent empty away.

The last part of the prayer speaks of God’s particular mercy to Israel.

He, in remembrance of his mercy, hath helped his servant Israel.
As He spoke to our (fore) fathers, to Abraham and his seed, for ever.

Gallery | St. Luke's Black Madonna | The Magnificat and The Good Book