SPIRITUALTY - A Long Magnificat

MAGNIFICAT

SYMPHONY OF OUR LIVES

From all eternity, God is the prelude of all our dreams of all our commitments. From age to age, his gratuitous love invites us to join in the chorus of his plans for humanity.

More than 2000 years ago, in the land of Palestine, the sincere yes of a young woman, Mary, made possible something God had never done before. By the impulse of the Holy Spirit, she was taken over by a song as by a rising light in the night of time.

More than one hundred years ago, the yes of a woman, Délia, echoed the song of Mary and enabled God to fulfill a dream. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, her life, and subsequently ours, would never again be the same.

Still today, the Magnificat of these two women enlightens our eyes that they may receive in faith the wonders which are offered; it warms our hearts and transforms us under the action of grace; it gives momentum to our journey as we walk in the footsteps of Christ and make the Kingdom visible.

"My soul magnifies the Lord and my being exults with joy in God my Saviour. He looked favourably upon his humble servant." St-Luke Gospel

"Yes, my daughter, you are 100 percent right in saying that God is a "mother," and an incomparable mother in the action of his divine Providence." Délia

"When I stop and think that God loves me divinely in spite of my profound misery, I feel that I am the happiest creature in the world! You too, my Sisters, be happy: He showers you with graces! " Délia

Like you, Mary of Nazareth, and you, Délia of Marieville, we marvel at the gratuitousness of our God, the memory of our hearts remembers and we give thanks for so many wonders.

"From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. May your name be held holy forever." St-Luke Gospel

"Ask the Blessed Virgin to put in your heart the dispositions that filled hers on the great day of the Incarnation." Délia

"Let all of our lives, therefore, through prayer, sacrifice and work, be a perpetual hymn of thanksgiving for ourselves and for all those who forget to thank the One to whom they owe everything. Let us permeate ourselves with this thought, let us live by it and act in such a way as to leave it as a legacy to those who will replace us." Délia

With you, Mary, woman of hope, and you, Délia, woman of the dream, may the Word be made flesh in the fabric of our daily lives, may it touch and transform every fibre of our beings.

May you be blessed, O my God, for:
"You extend your mercy to all generations, your love is revealed to ail the earth.
You scatter the proud and all their plans,
You welcome the cry of the humble and the lowly.
You fill the hungry with good things and dismiss the wealthy empty-handed.
You came to the help of Israel, your servant,
You remember your love." St-Luke Gospel

"Our life is to give ourselves! It is not enough to thank God in words We must also translate our gratitude into actions." Délia

""You are going on a mission to bring the Good News. The one who has good news to tell looks cheerful. You are going out there to bring the best news there is, therefore, you must always be cheerful." Délia

Like you, Mary of the Visitation, and you, Délia the missionary, energized by the joy of the presence of the Risen Christ in our lives, we set out once again on the roads of the world to make the Kingdom visible.

"Charity and Thanksgiving: what marvellous virtues you are going to practice. After the example of Mary, you will have to travel through "mountains and valleys" to assist your dear neighbour, and your lives will, from now on, be nothing but a Long Magnificat." Délia

With you, Mary lmmaculate, and you, Mother Délia, our lives are open in welcome, our hearts allow themselves to be transformed and our whole beings break into a symphony of thanksgiving.

"Magnificat is our favourite hymn. Let our whole lives be a perpetual Magnificat!" Délia

Mary's Magnificat is music to our lives. For so many years, its song has spread over our joys and sorrows and fashioned the way we are and the way we act; but has it really been enfleshed in our daily living ?

This world of ours has an urgent need of joy and hope. A little note is often all that is needed... for a symphony to start, and in between sharps and flats, to make the Kingdom visible from age to age, from culture to culture.

We have been shown the way… Who will engage in it?
The melody has been written… Who will sing it?