Going To Bat

 Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

The Magnificat is a powerful proclamation of God's siding, of where and with whom He stands in time and space. Our Lady during the Visitation, filled with the Holy Spirt, gives testament to YHWH Sabaoth.  We can share in this proclamation, as it draws richly from the Old Testament and vaults it into God doing a "new thing" in Christ. Our Lady is integral to God's plan for that new thing.

What is Our Lady's canticle and how does it relate to God's "siding" with the unassuming elect? 

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. 

He has shows the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. 

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. 

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever. (Lk 1:50-55)

Depending on where you are sitting, you should be either very grateful, or very afraid.

Herod makes claim to wanting to worship the new King, but really sees him as a threat to his power, and thus seeks to annihilate him as a man of the world does--with earthy power, and violence.

And yet, the Lord of Heaven and Earth has come for those who fear Him, for the lowly, the hungry, those who come to Him as children to lift them up. Whereas those who refuse to submit to His Lordship--the proud, the strong, the rich--will be leveled. 

Our Lord recounts how hard it is to be rich and enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 19:24). He tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man as a warning (Lk 16:19-31). He says we must become like children (Mt 18:3)--those without standing and without power or clout. He goes to bat for them.

Our Lady, too, as Queen of Heaven and Earth is also our advocate. Would you ever approach the Queen of England, or the Queen of Ethiopia, or some other high matriarch as a commoner? And yet Our Lady, our Queen, invites us to do so: to ask for her intercession, to hide ourselves under her mantel. She goes to war with demons on our behalf and they can't hold a flame to her. 

One of the most important instances in our family's history was consecrating ourselves to the Immaculate Heart. Because we are so weak, so unable to fend for ourselves, it is a comfort to know we can place ourselves under her for protection. We did the consecration to St. Joseph a couple years later, and he too is a model of charity and we have been recipients of great graces because of this most chaste spouse of the Virgin. 

In essence, Mary and Joseph are the model disciples who show us those whom God has sided with. The Lord hears the cry of the poor (Ps 34:6). He didn't have to come for us. He could have forgotten about us. But his love compels Him to save in His great mercy. 

It's an awful feeling not having someone watching over you. Especially when one is put on trial, the powerless and those without advocates often get the short end of the stick of justice. In a fight, you want someone who has your back, that you can count on. The Lord is our sure deliverer, our mighty helper. He can be trusted. He saves. 

Lord, make us meek and humble of heart. To the degree what we have and own keep us from you, take it Lord, for nothing can compare to the riches of Heaven. The Holy Spirit rests on the humble, but pride puts Him to flight. Make us strong in You, with Mary as our Advocate, to plead for us against the terrible Judgement we are faced with. Lift us up, and redeem your people. Amen.