Forming Consciences

Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm and 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."

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home. (Luke 1:46-56)

Really Mary!  Many of your words ring hollow unless your words are simply an expression of hope.  Yes, your soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; your spirit rejoices in God your savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant.  Yes, the Almighty has done great things for you, and us.  However, has God shown the strength of his arm and scattered the proud in their conceit?  Has God cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly?  Has God filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty?  This appears to be a wish list and a prayer with high expectations.  Nothing wrong with that.  But we shouldn’t assume it’s a foregone conclusion.  

Mary’s “prayer” is the Magnificat – a very important Catholic prayer.  We all should pray this passage from Luke – and daily.  When we do, these heartfelt requests will remain with us for far more than three months.  

We ask a lot of God.  We must do our share especially to cast down the mighty from their thrones or prevent them from ascending to where they can lord over us and send us away empty. We are not lowly servants to those who would rule us and scatter us.  

It’s long past time for us to form our consciences.  Helping us is the publication: “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.”  We need to heed that call in 2024, so read and form. 

Deacon David Pierce