Mary’s song (Lk 1:46), known to history by the opening words in Latin, the Magnificat, begins with a word of praise: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” These words are important because they locate Mary squarely within the faith of Israel. Mary was a believer and a worshiper. Her song is more than a statement about political liberation. Her testimony includes the worship of the one true God. Political liberation (to use a modern dichotomy alien to the first century) had as its telos the liberty to worship, not merely an assertion of their own political vision.
