Doctoral Dissertation Presented at the International Marian Research Institute (Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum)
Mary Catherine Nolan, OP
THE MAGNIFICAT, CANTICLE OF A LIBERATED PEOPLE: A Hermeneutical Study.of Luke 1:46-SS lnvt'stigallng the Wodd Behind the Text by Exegesis; The World In Front of the Text by Interpretive Inquiry
Doctoral Dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology with Specialization in Marian Studies
Directors: Reverend Bertrand Buby, SM Dr. Mary Jo McGee-Brown
The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA 1995 Nihil obstat: Johann G. Roten, S.M., Director
Vidimus et approbamus: Walter T. Brennan, O.S.M., Revisor
Theodore A. Koehlet, S.M., Revisor
Johann G. Roten, S.M., Revisor
Dayton (Ohio), ex aedibus /nstiluti "International Marian Research Institute," et Romae, ex aedibus Pontificiae Facultatis Theologicae Marianum, die VIII, mensis Decembris 1995. DEDICATION
In memory of my mother, a teacher par excellence, from whom I first learned to' love Mary and to quest for truth. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest gratitude goes to my directors: first to Reverend Bert Buby, SM, my major director, who has given me confidence and encouragement in the task of doing this research even as be guided me through the work with great skill and patience; then to Dr. Mary Jo McGee Brown who has shared her expertise in qualitative research with me and has generously given of her time to both teach me the method of interpretive inquiry and to guide the field work and reporting of the research.
Many persons have made it possible for me to be free to pursue this work. I am especially grateful to my Adrian Dominican sisters who have supported me in many ways, especially Molly Nicholson, Director of Studies, and my Prioress, Kathryn Cliatt who read and commented on the manuscript as well as Dorothy Folliard, Geneal Kramer, Norma Dell, Pat Spangler and the sisters of my local community who helped with suggestions or proofreading. Among the members of my congregation who are in my debt are those sisters who are not named but graciously and lovingly shared their thoughts on the Magnificat with me.
My father, brothers and sister have been wonderfully encouraging and supportive of this project A special note of gratitude goes to my brother, Dr. John Nolan, who made many helpful suggestions and offered much support. Jeanne Nolan lent her artistic talents to the project by presenting me with the sketches of Mary of the Magnificat which illustrate this work.
Finally, a thank you to Marietta Geray, OSB, for her constant help and encouragement, and to Joanne Beirise, who gave me valuable assistance in preparation of the final text TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE: THE WORLD BEHIND THE TEXT
CHAPTER ONE: STATIJS QUESTIONIS
Introduction ......
Hermeneutics ...... 2
Exegesis ...... 3
Subject. Objective, Methodologies ...... 5
Definition of Terms ...... 6
Sources for the Study of the Magnificat ...... 7
CHAPTER lWO: EXEGESIS OF THE MAGNIFICAT
Methods and Background ...... 9
Literary Genre ...... 10
Poetic Structure ...... 20
Commentary, Luke 1:46-55 ...... 28
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION AND REFLEcnONS
Conclusion ...... 50
Reflections ...... 50
1. Mary, Type of the Church in Mission ...... 50 2. The Message of Mary's Song ...... 51 3. Mary's Magnif~eat and Women ...... 53 PART 1WO: THE WORLD IN FRONT OF THE TEXT
CHAPTER ONE: METIIODS FOR INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY
Background ...... 56
Research Questions ...... 59
Context of the Inquiry ...... 60
Selection and Sampling Pocedures ...... 61
Researcher as Instrument ...... 62
Data Collection Methods ...... 64
Triangulation ...... 67
Data Analysis Strategy ...... 69
CHAPTER TWO: FINDINGS
Introduction ...... 15
I. Mary: Image and Relationship ...... 76
A. Personhood of Mary ...... 76 B. Relationship to Mary ...... 83
II. God: Image and Relationship ...... 91
A. Concept of God ...... 92 B. God in Relationship ...... 95 C. God's Action on Behalf of Justice ...... 102 D. Jesus and the Spirit ...... 105 E. Changing Perceptions of God ...... 106
Ill. Prayer: Magnificat as Medium ...... 108
A. Use of the Magnificat for Prayer ...... 109 B. Prayer in General ...... 115 C. Changing Modes of Prayer ...... 123 D. Prayer Moves to Action ...... 125
IV. Themes of the Magnificat: Interpretation ...... 126 A. Personal Spirituality ...... 127 B. Communal Message of the Magnificat ...... 133
V. Dominican Charism and Mission ...... 139
Summary ...... 143
CHAPTER 11-IREE: COMPARISON, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, REFLECTIONS
Methodologies ...... 144
Substantive Comparisons ...... 147
Conclusion ...... 150
Hypotheses and Implications ...... 152
Pastoral Implications ...... 153
Member Check ...... 154
Reflections Upon Implications of the Research ...... 155
1. Mary of the Magnificat: Image of Liberation ...... 155 2. Bringing the Gospel into Dialogue with the World ...... 156
APPENDIX A ...... 158
APPENDIX B ...... 159
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 163
PART ONE
THE WORLD BEHIND THE TEXT
CHAPTER ONE: STATUS QUESTIONIS
INTRODUCfiON
In his Marian encylical, Redemptoris Mater, Pope John Paul II reflects upon the scene of the Visitation and says of Mary's response to Elizabeth,
The words used by Mary on the threshold of Elizabeth's house are an inspired profession of her faith, in which her response to the revealed word is expressed with the religious and poetical exultation of her whole being toward God. . . . In them shines a ray of the mystery of God, the glory of his ineffable holiness, the eternal love which, as an irrevocable gift, enters into human history. (RM, 36)
Today we, post-resurrection people, people of God's new creation, stand in eschatological tension between the time of the in-breaking of the "Reign of God" and its final fulfillment. The "Reign of God" announced by Jesus is here in our midst, yet is coming. We herald its presence yet wait for its final fulfillment. The coming about of "God's Reign" is God's action in history; it is a dynamic movement. But as disciples of Christ we do not wait passively for its fulfillment. We are called to active involvement. This is our mission, a mission which is a participation in the mission of the church which in turn must be the same as the mission of Jesus Christ.
In Mary's Magnificat, Pope John Paul 11 sees a model for mission. The church, which .. . does not cease repeating with Mary the words of the Magnificat, is sustained by the power of God's truth, proclaimed on that occasion with such extraordinary simplicity.... The church's journey, therefore, near the end of the second Christian millennium, involves a renewed commitment to her mission. Following him who said of himself: "God bas anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (Lk 4:18), the ch~ucb bas sought from ge.neration to generation and still seeks today to accomplish that same mission. (RM, 37)
As a member of the Order of Preachers, I am aware that my vocation calls me to an active involvement in this mission. "As participants in human history, it is their responsibility to bring the Gospel in dialogue with the world." (Adrian Dominican Constitution, 2) This study is, in part, an attempt to shed some light on how the gospel is indeed brought into "dialogue with the world." It is of interest to me that the Holy Father expresses a connection between the words of the Magnificat and the mission of the Church and that this connection is also expressed in the constitutions of a congregation of Dominican sisters. The Adrian Dominican sisters have set Mary before their members as a model of discipleship: Jesus called disciples to follow him, laying the foundation for the ,, continuation of his mission. First among the followers of Jesus was Mary, characterizing true discipleship through her attentiveness to the word, her active and responsible "fiat," her choices made in faith. A woman of strength who experienced poverty and suffering, she witnessed, through her life and her Magnificat, the qualities of justice, peace, mercy and love. (ADC, 2)
Wherein lies the connection? Is it contrived or does it, in truth, exist in the common understanding of the baptized who constitute the Church? Pondering this initial question led me to other considerations. The Word of God is both dynamic and noetic.. To accomplish its purpose it must be preached and taught. To understand the meanin·g of the Word of God is essential for the preacher and teacher. But what of the liste'!ers and students? How do they bear the Word? Is it an active force in their lives? Do the life experiences which the hearers of the Word bring to the scripture form a filter through which the Word is heard? It seemed to me that it should be of interest to preachers and teachers to know something of the dynamics of how the Word of God is heard and acted upon by their listeners and students. The above questions led to my interest in the interpretation of the Magnifacat from a double point of view. First, from the perspective of the theological meaning intended by the author, known as Luke, who placed the Magnificat at the beginning of his gospel. Second, from the perspective of a representative group of persons who are familiar with the Magnificat because of its traditional use within Vespers, the liturgical evening prayer of the Church. This double interpretation is intended to cast light on the translation of meaning of the text from the context of the worldview of the CE first century author to the context of the worldview of a late twentieth century group of women.
HERMENEUTICS
The task of interpretation and clarification of a biblical text is known as hermeneutics. Raymond Brown describes three processes to which hermeneutics can refer. First, it can refer to speech itself, inasmuch as language interprets and expresses what is in one's mind. In the scripture it is human language which attempts to communicate God's mind, will and person and this entails the use of analogy. Secondly, hermeneutics can refer to translating from one language to another which may entail, also, transfering from one culture and worldview to another. Thirdly, the term can be used to refer to interpretation by commentary and explanation. 1
1Raymond E. Brown and Sandra Schneiders, "Hermeneutics," The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990) 71:3. Also, see 71:7 for an explanation of scripture as the "word of God in the words of men." Brown explains this as the self-revealing communication from God which comes to expression in human language and is committed to
2 In biblical hermeneutics different forms of research can be use to interpret a text. In seeking to uncover the literal sense2 of scripture, use can be made of historical research to determine the source of the text. This may include looking at the probable date of the writing as well as the religious/culturaVsociological context. Literary criticism includes determining the literary form and structure of a text as well as tracing the development of the language used. All of these methods of research help to cast light on how the text was meant to be understood at the time it was written. That meaning can then be interpreted by translation into language understood by the modern reader and by commentary which helps translate the meaning from its original historical context to a contemporary one. A gap of two or three thousand years needs to be spanned to make the scriptural meaning relevant to people of a different time, place, culture and worldview. The literal sense of the bible gives us the "world behind the text." However, there is another sense in which scripture can be interpJeted known as more-than-literal. Brown, in speaking of general readers of the Bible, asserts that our "religion is based on a belief that God bas communicated with human beings and that the Bible is a privileged vehicle of that communication."3 More than an understanding of the literal sense of scripture is involved in this communication of God for comprehension of the literal sense may not entail a religious appreciation for what the text means in the life of a contemporary reader. The more-than-literal sense of scripture goes beyond what the human author of a text intended to convey by words. Sandra Schneiders states:
Often the original author did not envision those future readers, but his or her written words keep reaching out in a dialogue confronting new issues - a new "world in front of the text,...
A more-than-literal sense of the Magnificat is what is being addressed in the use of interpretive inquiry as a method of investigating the meaning that emerges from the interaction between text and reader of Mary's Song.
EXEGESIS
My investigation of the Magt~ificat starts with an exegesis of the text of Luke 1:46- 55. Sandra Schneiders defines exegesis as "the process through which, by the correct application of appropriate methods, one extracts from the text the meaning intended and
writing by human authors. It must not be understood as a dictation from God.
2Brown defines "literal sense• as: The sense which the human author directly intended and which the written words conveyed. NJBC 71 :9.
3Brown, "The literal Sense of Scripture," NJBC 71:17.
"sandra Schneiders, "More-Than-literal Senses," NJBC 71 :30.
3 established by the author."5 My task as exegete is to discover, as far as it is possible to know, what Luke intended the words of the Magnificat to mean. This content of the canticle is its "literal sense." As with any text of scripture once the literal sense of the Magnificat is ascertained by exegesis it can be applied to contemporary situations within the believing community in a theologically, religiously, or spiritually relevant way. Theologians and pastors attempt to do this.6 But because of the 2000 year historical gap between the original context and the contemporary context of the Magnificat a problem of interpretation arises. Both the findings of exegesis and the contemporary meaning of a text as determined by Catholic theologians working with it have limits. New information coming from various sciences may expand future exegetical understanding and boundaries determined by tradition may be set by Church authority to assure that theological understanding is orthodox. There is, however, another way of u11derstanding a scriptural text which is linguistic and literary but not purely historical, that is, to see the text as a structured mediation of meaning. In this way of interpreting scripture, meaning is not understood to be contained in a text but to be an event of understanding between that text and the reader.7 The interpretations of a text, however, are not all equally good or are even all valid.
Thus it is necessary, to develop criteria of validity. And to submit diverse interpretations to these criteria applied both by the community of scholars and by the community of believers.8
In this process there is no one and only valid interpretation. Thus as the reader, singer or prayer of the Magnificat interacts with the words of the canticle many valid interpretations are possible. There is no final or definitve meaning nor is one sought. The only way to know how an individual interacts with the text of the Magnificat is to ask. Interpretive inquiry lets a person speak for him/herself. The collection of meanings
5Sandra Schneiders, Beyond Patching: FaiJh and Feminism in the Catholic Church (New York: Paulist Press, 1991) 37-71.
6See Schneiders, Beyond Patching 55-56. Schneiders asserts that the process of exegesis is independent of later applications but the degree of validity of any application must be judged according to its fidelity to the literal sense.
7See Schneiders, Beyond Patching 56. "Because every reader is different the interaction of text and reader will never be exactly the same twice."
11Schneiders 57. Here Schneiders refers to the work of Paul Ricocur for a theoretical discussion of the logic of validation. See Paul Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (Fort Worth, TX: Texas Christian University Press, 1976) 78-79.
4 which emerge from many individuals, however, point to themes which are common and these themes can then be further explored in order to arrive at an understanding of the impact of the text on a contemporary group of readers. Schneiders has the following to say about extending hermeneutics beyond the historical:
The distance between the ancient text and contemporary interpreter must be bridged in and by the interpretation itself, not by means of a separate and subsequence process of theological or homiletical application. Interpretation terminates in the transformation of the reader whose horizon of self-understanding now coincides, at least to some degree with the horizon of the world of the text. 9
In this study exegesis of the Magnificat is the first part of a larger process of interpretation of the canticle. Interpretive inqqiry searches for meaning that goes beyond that which biblical exegesis can give. In the process of interpretive inquiry as a way of looking at the meaning of the Magnifieat' it is possible to see how these words of scripture put upon the lips of Mary has come to life in the lives of those who pray it.
SUBJECf AND OBJECfiVE OF RESEARCH
The subject of my research is "llte Magnificat" (Luke 1:46-55), is also known to many as "Mary's Song." The specific question that I am addressing is: What is the meaning of Mary's song, a psalm prayer originating in a first century Palestinian Christian-Jewish community, taken by Luke and placed at the beginning of his gospel for his specific theological purposes? The question of meaning is twofold. It includes the literal meaning intended by the author two thousand years ago and the meaning that it has today for a contemporary community of Dominican sisters. A larger question that follows from the specific question bas to do with the way, in general, that scripture is beard and interpreted within the life experience of its bearers. In this study of the Magnificat then, my objective is twofold: first, to investigate the original meaning of the passage using the best tools of biblical research that are at my disposal; secondly, to uncover the meaning which the passage has today in the lives of a representative group who have traditionally used it for prayer.
METHODOLOGIES
The procedures used in this investigation were: First, modern exegetical methods to study the text of Luke 1:46-55 in order to understand, as well as possible, the meaning that Luke intended in placing this psalm at the beginning of his gospel; secondly,
9Schneiders, Beyotld Patching 51. Schneiders considers exegesis to be a moment in a larger process of interpretation where the quest for meaning does not terminate in the intention of the author.
5 interpretive inquiry to uncover the meaning given to the text today by a group of contemporary readers. This process of exegesis is deductive. The proceSs of interpretive inquiry is inductive. My advisor for the entire dissertation and director in the methodology of exegesis is scripture scholar, Dr. Bertrand Buby, SM, of the International Marian Research Institute. Exegesis of the Greek text of Luke 1:47-55 proceeded by researching the literary genre, structure, language, Hebrew Scripture background, sitz im Ieben and theology of the hymn. The second part of the study proceeds in the field of qualitative research. The tool of interpretive inquiry is used to establish a grounded theory of how the Magnificat is understood and responded to by a specific group of hearers. This type of research originated in the field of anthropology. My primary resource for addressing the question of meaning in the second part of this research is data obtained from the women interviewed. Dr. Mary Jo McGee Brown, antlu"opologist/methodologist. of the University of Georgia, USA, introduced me to the theory of qualitative research and directed me in the methodology of interpretive inquiry.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following definitions pertain to the methodologies that were used: Hermenuetics: The science of interpretation. It consists of a body of principles which governs the interpretation of any statment or text. Exegesis: The scientific interpretation of the texts of Sacred Scripture to establish the meaning intended by the author. QualiJative Research: Research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification. It can refer to research about person's lives, stories, behavior, world view, value system, etc. Interpretive Inquiry: Collecting narrative data for the purpose of understanding other people's interpretation of their own experience. In this study the data is the sisters' experience of Mary's Song as expressed by them. Grounded Theory: Theory inductively derived from the study of the phenomenon it represents. It is discovered, developed, and provisionally verified through systematic data collection and analysis. In this study the theory will emerge from the analysis and coding of responses given to the question of meaning of the Magnificat by the sister participants in the study. Data Analysis: The process of organizing raw data into patterns, categories and basic descriptive units. For example, if several respondents speak in some way of identifying with Mary in her attitude of gratitude, then these responses point to a category. The process of identifying repeating terms or concepts in a piece of data is called coding. Interpretation: Attaching meaning and significance to the analysis. Triangulation : The use of multiple methods in the study of the same phenomena. This study uses the exegesis of the Magnificat. personal interviews with
6 Sisters, and responses to questionnaires. The question of the validity in interpretive inquiry may arise. TI1e validity is established through the process of triangulation.
SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
Literature on the Magnificat contains many fine commentaries. Raymond Brown has done an extensive and comprehensive study in his monumental work, The Birth of the Messiah. Joseph Fitzmyer has dealt with Mary's Song in his commentary on the gospel of Luke and recently has published a new work, Luke the Theologian, which contains a chapter on the role of Mary in Lucan salvation history. Another recent work on Luke's gospel is volume 3 from the Sacra Pagina Series done by Luke Timothy Johnson. I. Howard Marshall's commentary on the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke is a valuable resource. Earlier but valuable studies have been those done by Pere Lagrange, Etude.r Biblique: Evangile solon St. Luc and Rene Laurentin, Structure et theologie de Luc 1-1/ and The Truth of Christmas: Beyond the Myth . Elio Peretto's work on the Magnificat from his Nuovo Dizionario di Mariologia has been surveyed. Insight into the background of the Magnificat is found in the work of Aristide Serra, E C'era kl Madre di Gesu. More recently, Rene Laurentin's The Truth of Christmas: Beyond Myths offers insights into the Magnificat. Studies of the Greek language of the poem by Alfred Plummer and Max Zerwick as well as an extensive etymology of the words provided by the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, (ed. Gerhard Kittel), are fine sources. An indepth study of the meaning of the term, 'Ta"ITHVO,, "lowly," by which Mary defines herself, has been done by Albert Gelin in his book, The Poor of Yahweh . Father Bert Buby's study, Mary, the Faithful Disciple, as well as other unpublished notes and commentaries have been helpful. A useful study on the literary background of the gospel of Luke has been done by Charles Talbert, Literary Patterns, Theological Themes and the Genre of Luke-Acts. Robert Tannehill has examined the poetic structure of the Magnificat in his book, The Na"ative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation. Three recent dissertations have been published on the topic of the Magnificat: Paul Bemile, The Magnificat within the Context and Framework of Lucan Theology; Stephen Farris, The Hymns of Luke's Infancy Na"atives; Alberto Valentini, /I Magnificat: Genere letterario. Struttura. Esegesi. Leopold Sabourin's study, The Psalms: Their Origin and Meaning, is a valuable reference in estrablishing the literary classification of the Magnificat as an Hebrew hymn. Lucien Deiss sets before us the image of the "Daughter of Sion" and stresses the Magnificat as her hymn celebrating the fulfilment of God's promises to Abraham in his work, Mary, Daughter of Sion. James Forestell has developed this theme in his article, "The Old Testament Background of the Magnificat." Three landmark articles in understanding the background, language and structure of the poem have been written by: Douglas Jones, 'The Background and Character of the Lukan Psalms"; Paul Winter, "Magnificat and Benedictus-Maccabaean Psalms?";
7 Robert Tannehill, 'The Magnificat as Poem." Most exegetes today agree that the Magnificat came out of an e~rly Christian Jewish Palestinian community. Studies of some literature of late Judaism by Menahem Mansoor, The Tlulnksgiving Hymn.r, and Catherine Dimier, The Old Testament Apocrypha, as well as Joseph Fitzmyer, Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, help to ascertain the Sitz im Leben of the poem. A review of literature for the second part of the study was conducted looking for already published works which used the methodology of interpretive inquiry to surface meaning in a passage of scripture. No such study was found. Therefore, my conclusion is that a study of the Magnificat using the methodology of interpretive inquiry, a branch of qualitative research, has not been done previous to this study.
8 CHAPTER 1WO: EXEGESIS OF THE MAGNIFICAT
METHODS
Exegesis of the text of the Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55) has been done working with the Greek text and establishing it within the context of Luke's gospel. Form and redaction criticism were used to ascertain the literary genre, poetic structure, language and Sitz im Leben of the poem. In researching the Old Testament background of the Magnificat it was found necessary to reach beyond the Biblical texts and to examine some apocryphal literature of late Judaism. Maccabaean hymns and Psalms of Solomon as well as other Jewish literature of the first century of the Christian era, for example, Essene hymns and accounts of Philo of Alexandria were examined.~ Two important Old Testament concepts which give insight to the meaning of the Magnificat are those of "Daughter of Sion" and "Anawim." These concepts were researched separately but included within the line by line exegesis at the appropriate places.
BACKGROUND
The Magnificat is set within the context of the infancy narrative of the Third Gospel. This gospel is the first volume of a two-volume work of the New Testament, "Luke-Acts." The author was a writer of literary skill who shares with his readers an understanding of the significance of Jesus Christ and of the mission of which Jesus is the central figure.10 Traditionally, he has been known as Luke, a Syrian of Antioch, a physician and sometime collaborator of Paul. There is a long-held, cherished tradition in Catholic circles that Mary was a member of the early Jewish-Christian community from which Luke received his kerygma and that Mary was thus a source of the information Luke ~ts forth in his infancy narrative. This could make Mary truly the authoress of the Magnificat. Biblical scholarship, however, holds that this is uncertain. 11 The audience to whom Luke addresses his Gospel were probably Gentile Christians in a predominantly Gentile setting. There may have been some Jews and Jewish Christians among them. Certainly, there is within the Gospel an attempt to relate the salvation promised to Israel in the Old Testament to non-Jews. 12
1'7annehill, Robert C, The Na"ative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Lilerary Interpretation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986) 1.
11 Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Gospel According to Luke (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1981) 89. Joseph Fitzmyer states that Mary could have been one of the eyewitnesses that Luke refers to in the prologue to his gospel but this cannot be historically verified.
12Fitzmyer has surveyed the literature concerning the readers to whom the Gospel is addressed as well as examined the internal evidence in the Gospel itself 57-59.
9 Luke writes in elegant Greek, however, in the infancy narrative (Lk 1-2), Semitisms are found that indicate a Palestinian background of the material. Thus Hebrew or Aramaic words and phrases may have been translated into Greek. At any rate a great deal of influence from the LXX is evidenced.13 The Third Gospel is most commonly dated between 80-85 C. E. A form of the Magnificat, however, may have existed in the Palestinian Jewish-Christian community in Semitic form before 70 C. E. t4 In Luke's account, Mary is presented as the central figure at the beginning of the salvation-event (I :26-56; 2) . She who was first to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit at the time of the Incarnation (I :35) is seen present in the midst of the disciples when the Spirit descends upon them at Pentecost (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4). The Magnificat (1:46-54) is a post-resurrection canticle. It is the song of one now centered in the mission of Christ who has experienced salvation and is able to be the spokesperson for all who have had or will have this experience. Who better than Mary could reflect back upon the whole Christ-event and rejoice in God's great work and in her vocation. 15 Luke appropriately puts this canticle upon the lips of Mary for his own theological purposes. Mary's Song sets the tone for themes that he has developed in the rest of his Gospel.
LITERARY GENRE
From the Exodus to the Incarnation, God is celebrated as the liberating and saving One by whose mighty deeds the people are delivered from slavery and the tyranny of conquerors. A golden thread of salvation-hope runs through the Old Testament as remembrance of the wonderous interventions of God in Israel's history is kept alive in songs of joy and thanksgiving. In her expression of gratitude and praise Mary stands in the line of the ancient women of Israel, Miriam, Deborah, Judith and Hannah whose canticles ring out acclaim for God's saving deeds. Yet in the understanding of the absolute and eternal fidelity of God in bringing about a final act of salvation, Mary's song remains unsurpassed. In tone the Magnificat contains no vindictiveness. Mary does not rejoice in the defeat of Israel's enemies but in God's faithfulness to His promises. The whole sweep of salvation history seems to be present to her as she sings out God's praise. The movement of history has an end, a purpose, a fulfillment planned by God. In the Old Testament salvation is seen as victory over the enemies of Israel who are the
13See Perc Lagrange, Etudes Biblique: Evangi/e selon Saint Luc (Paris: Librairie Lecoffre, 1948) 44-54 for a discussion of the Semitic background of the Magnificat.
141. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Ml : Wm . B. Ecrdmans Ml, 1978) 34-35. Also, see Stephen Farris, The Hymns of Luke's Infancy Na"atives (University of Sheffield: JOST Press, 1985) 98.
15J. Roten calls Mary the faith-memory of the Church. The dynamics of her faith experience and development occur in the development of the individual Christian's faith. "Memory and Mission" 125-26.
10 enemies of God. The will of God to save Israel is rooted in the covenant relationship of God and Israel and therefore in his promises, his righteousness and his fidelity. In an eschatological sense, the salvation of all is God's final victory over evil. The sense of the final victory grows with each saving event and keeps hope alive. The core of salvation hope is found in the coming of God to set up his dominion over the world. In the psalms and canticles which form part of the daily prayers of the devout people of Israel past saving acts of God are remembered and the expectation of ultimate deliverance from all evil is strengthened.16 Was the Magnificat sung by Mary or is this beautiful hymn a liturgical song, composed and sung by an early Jewish-Christian community for whom Mary became a spokesperson? If Mary had indeed been a member of such a community there is no reason to believe that the sentiments in the hymn were not her own and remained in the memory of the people who knew her. It is not surprising that Luke should put t1Je Magnificat upon the lips of Mary, the woman "highly favored" (Lk 1:28). Nor is it surprising that in structure the Song should resemble Israel's psalms of praise. In discussing the literary form of the Magnificat, J. Forestell classifies it as "a thanksgiving hymn for national salvation," spoken in the name of the "Daughter of Sion."17 It has long been recognized that in structure, thought and poetic imagery, the Magnificat bears a striking resemblance to the hymns of the Canonical Psalter. The great themes of the Old Testament are recapitulated in these psalms under the form of prayer.18 A pioneer in the classification of psalms according to their literary form was Herman Gunkel who investigated them according to their content, Sitz im Leben and stylistic form. Gunkel held that the psalms originated in the context of cultic worship, thereby, being communal rather than private prayers and that it was only later in Israel's history that some psalms became expressions of individual piety. In a given psalm, the content and form, which are interrelated, are determined by its function in the cult. 19
16For a discussion of psalms that celebrate the saving deeds of Yahweh see Claus Westermann, "The 'Re-presentation' of History in the Psalms," Praise and Lament in the Psalms, trans. K. Crim and R. Soulen (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981) 214-49. Westermann holds that the historical events "re-presented" in the psalms are conceived as acts of God. What enables these psalms to be entered into or handed down is the activity of God which is experienced in them. What is represented is not isolated incidents but events of a single on-going relationship between God and his people. Some examples of historical psalms are Pss 78; 80; 136; Song of Miriam (Dt 15:21 ).
17James Forestell. "The Old Testament Background of the Magnificat," Marian Studies 12 (1961) 205-10.
18Leopold Sabourin, SJ, The Psalms: Their Origin and Meaning (New York: Alba House, 1974) 4. H. McKeating calls the Psalter a microcosm of the whole Old Testament, cf. "Divine Forgiveness in the Psalms," ScoiJT 18 (1965) 69-83.
19Sabourin 30.
II Gunkel divided the psalms into five main categories: hymns, communal laments, royal psalms, individual laments, and individual songs of thanksgiving. A few psalms were put by him into the smaller categories of: songs of pilgrimage, communal songs of thanksgiving, wisdom poetry and Torah liturgies.20 He considered the Magnificat to be a Jewish eschatological community hymn adapted by Luke.21 Thus, there is the addition of a personal allusion to Mary in Lk 1:48,49. Following Gunkel, Mowinckel categorized the psalms into four categories: hymns of praise and thanksgiving of the congregation; private or individual thanksgivings; congregational lamentation and prayer psalms; individual lamentation and prayer psalms. He held that all psalms were cultic in origin and that, in fact, the natural fonn of cultic prayer is the psalm. The psalms, according to Mowinckel, were composed for and used in the actual services of the temple. He believed that the psalms voiced experiences and moods that were common to the cultic community. "The set fonnality of the psalms can only be explained on the bas.i.s that they are not primarily meant to be personal effusions, but are, in accordance with their type and origin, rituallyrics."22 Following the fonn analysis of Gunkel but ignoring the liturgical hypothesis of Mowinckel, Westennann has proposed that lament and praise are the two dominant tonalities that characterize the Psalms of Israel.23 Walter Bruggemann considers Westennann to have made an important contribution to the study of the psalms in so far as he has shown that "the lament psalm expresses the basic moves of faith in God, ranging from deep alienation to profound trust, confidence and gratitude."24 An act of praise and thanksgiving culminates the statement of the problem in the lament and
20Sabourin 29-32. The information is from a book on Gunkel by J. Begrich, Einleitung in dk Psalmen (Gottingen, 1933).
21Paul Bemile, The MagnifiCat within the Context and Framework of Lulwn Theology (Frankfort: Peter Lang, 1986) 63.
22sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship Vol. 1, trans. D.R. Ap-lbomas (Oxford, 1962) 30. Mowinckel was struck by the uniformity and formality which characterizes most of the psalms. He notes that the individual element is pushed into the background so that there is rarely a clear allusion to the poet's personal situation. Thus he believes the psalms were primarily meant to be not personal prayers but prayers of the cultic community. Cf. Sabourin 38.
23Ciaus Westermann, The Psalms: Structure, Context and Message, trans. Ralph Gehske (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1980) 24. "Even though worship was the Sitz im Leben from which the Psalms arose, the laments are still genuine human laments, and the praise is the verbal joy of actual people, the joyful response to God's great acts in all its breadth and fullness ."
24Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984) 18.
12 follows resolution of that problem.25 In the Magnificat, however, there is no complaint or statement of a problem, only praise for the wonderful way that God has acted in history, is still acting and will continue to act. Westermann believed that the Magnificat was a "declarative hymn of praise of the individual." He considered that "declarative praise was again awakened when God performed the decisive, final deed of salvation for his people in the sending of his Son."26 Heinz Schurmann classifies the Magnificat as a psalm of mixed type such as is found in the post-exilic period of Israel when the classical forms had somewhat broken down. He considers it to be a mixed form of eschatological hymn and personal thanksgiving. 27 It is interesting to note that in the Psalter there is no psalm attributed to an individual speaker who is named in the song. Luke names the speakers of his canticles. We know them to be Mary, Zachariah, Simeon~. thus making the songs personal. Raymond Brown points out that of the three canticles attributed to human spokespersons in the Lucan infancy narrative:
The Benedictus portrays the reaction of the community of the oppressed but never mentions the speaker in the first person singular; the Nunc Dimittis portrays the reaction of the speaker; and the Magnificat combines both aspects: the reaction of the speaker in the first person singular (introduction; first strophe) and the reaction of the oppressed community (second strophe).
Thus the Magnificat exhibits the features of both the individual hymn of praise and the community hymn of praise.28 The Brazilian women theologians, lvone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer, consider the hymn to be eschatological. The Magnificat is put upon the lips of an individual, Mary, who sings it in the name of the Messianic people, thus making it both an individual and a community psalm. They write: "As the leading figure in the Magnificat, Mary is presented as the servant of the Lord, prototypical figure of Israel, consoled and set free, the one chosen for this historical and eschatological event of
25Brueggemann 124. Here Brueggemann is following the lead of Westermann who argues that the lament is the basic rhetorical pattern in Israel's faith. Brueggemann considers the thanksgiving psalms to be songs of new orientation which brings the speaker to the other side of the lament or complaint. God has intervened and the response is praise.
26Ciaus Westermann, The Praise of God in the Psalms (London: Epworth, 1966) 115.
27Heinze Schurmann, Das Lukasevangelium I (Freiburg: Herder, 1969) 71.
28Raymond Brown, The Birth of the Messiah (New York: Doubleday, 1977) 357.
13 salvation which has come for God's people."29 The canticle, then, not only reflects the internal feeling of Mary,: but is the voice of the whole church which sees itself in her. Gebara and Bingemer also bring out that the themes developed in the Magnificat, the raising up of the poor and the fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham, were common in the catechesis in the Jewish Christian community. This last point is made also by Elio Perreto in his discussion of the origin of the Magnificat. 30 Douglas Jones in an extensive examination of the literary genre of the Magnificat set against the background of Hebrew poetry of the post exilic period, including the Psalms of Solomon and the Qumran "Hodayoth" disagrees with Gunkel's classification, claiming that the "eschatological hymn" as a type does not exist. He agrees with Mowinkel that the main line of development in the post-exilic period seems to have taken place on the basis of the individual psalm of thanksgiving. However, according to Jones, the use of the Old Testament is more e_xtensive in the Lucan hymns than in psalms of late Judaism. Yet, the use made of the Old Testament in Luke's hymns is new. Salvation is no longer anticipated. It has·come, and it is nothing less than the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. Jones does not believe it is possible to interpret the Magnificat as a victory hymn along the idea that to give victory in war was to keep the covenant. Therefore, he disagrees with Paul Winter who believes that it was originally written by some Jewish poet who wished to express gratitude for the help God had given in the struggle against the Syro-Macedonian armies, thus making it a Maccabaean War Song, possibly composed by a woman, the mother of a warrior, thanking God for her son's safe and victorious return.31 Jones puts the most probable setting of the Magnificat as the worship of the earliest community of Jewish-Christians. This would make it a liturgical hymn.
The psalms must then belong to the very earliest period of Jewish Christianity, before a specifically Christian theological language had developed. In these circles the tradition of psalmody was preserved and practiced, indeed re-activated by the Christian experience. Among them
291vone Gebara, and Maria Clara Bingemer, Mary: Moth~r of God, Molh~r of th~ Poor, trans. Phillip Berryman (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989) 166.
~io Peretto, a cura di Stefano De Fiores e Salvatore Meo. Nuovo Dizionario Di Mariolagia (Milano: Edizioni Paoline, 1988) 854-55.
31 Douglas Jones, "111e Background and Character of the Lukan Psalms," Th~ Journal of Th~ologkal Studies Vol XIX (Oxford: Clarendon Press, Ap 1968) 47. See also Paul Winter, "Magnificat and Bcnedictus - Maccabaean Psalms," Bulletin of th~ John Rylands Librtuy 37(1954- 55) 340-47. Winter holds that the author of the narrative of the John the Baptist's birth knew war songs of Maccabaean times that had been revised in oral transmission and passed on as folksongs in Hebrew. The Magnificat was originally a psalm of thanksgiving after battle.
14 was the disposition to celebrate the place and function of the significant secondary personalities- the Mother of Jesus and the Forerunner- in relation to the messianic event.:'l
Mark 14:26 presents us with a scene from the final passover that Jesus celebrates with his disciples during which, as was the custom at the meal, the group sang hymns of praise before departing to the Mount of Olives. The singing of psalms was an familiar part of Jewish prayer. The earliest Christians continued to pray them. Luke's gospel ends with the disciples in Jerusalem where, "they were to be found in the temple constantly, speaking the praises of God" (Luke 24:53). That Luke remembers Mary as a significant member of the earliest Christian· community is attested to in Acts 1:14, where she appears in prayer with the Apostles in the upper room. In his discussion of the role of Mary as model of the "Ecclesia-Orans," Bert Buby informs us that her presence in the upper room was more than symbolic for she was a person who actually gave witness to a deep prayer life.33 Certainly, Mary would have been familiar with temple worship and with the traditional psalms of her people. Brown argues that the Magnificat was added to an already composed Lucan narrative. He rejects McHugh's suggestion that it is probable that the early Christians sung hymns to honor Mary pointing out that in the earliest writings, the Pauline letters and Mark, Paul shows no interest in Mary and the Marean scene in which she figures is unfavorable to her. "Outside of verse 48 the Magnificat has little direct reference to Mary's situation and is a hymn that describes Israel, specifically the poor and oppressed remnant."34 However, both R. Brown and J. Fitzmyer agree that even if Luke did not compose the canticle himself, he adopted it because he found its theology compatible with his own. Many parallels can be found between the themes of the Magnificat and themes found in the body of Luke's GospeJ.35 Brown asks the question, "If the Lucan canticles came to Luke from a non-Lucan source or circle of writers, what group composed them?" They have their closest parallel in the Jewish hymns and psalms attested in the literature from 200 BCE to CE 100, e.g., in I Maccabees, Judith, II Baruch, IV Ezra, the Qumran "Hodayoth" (Thanksgiving
320 . Jones 33.
33Bert Buby, SM, "Mary, A Model of Ecclesia-Orans," Marian Studies 35 (1984) 89. "Among all the names mentioned in Acts I: 13, she is the person who actually has given witness to a prayer life modeled on the psalms and to personal reflective prayer."
34R. Brown 339-40. Cf. John Me Hugh, The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975) 71 -72. McHugh is citing the origin of Elizabeth's greeting to Mary as reflecting a liturgical form of an early Christian prayer to Mary.
35R. Brown, K. Donfried, J. Fitzmycr, J. Reuman, cds. Mary in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978) 141.
15 Psalms), and the Qumran War Scroll. It is not only a parallelism in style (a centro or mos 36 R. Brown, Birth of the Messiah 349. 37Catherine Dimier, The Old Testament Apocrypha, trans. S. J Tester (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964) 10-12. For a comprehensive list of the words and phrases of the Magnificat that are reflected in the literature of Late Judaism consult P. Bemile, The Magnif~eat within the ContexJ qnd Framework of Lucan Theology (New York: Verlan Peter Lang. 1986) 116-33. 38Dimier 12. 39 P~rc M. J. Lagrange, O.P. Etudes Biblique: Evangile selon Saint Luc I (Paris: Librairie Lccoffre, 1948) 45-54. P~re Lagrange in his commentary on the Magnificat points out the prominence of Hebrew expressions whicp arc given a Greek translation by Luke. 40Paul Winter, "Some Observations on the Language in the Birth and Infancy Stories of the Third Gospel", New Testament Studies I (1954) 121. Winter contends that the presentation of the subject as a whole and its composition in minute detail such as turns of speech, co-ordination of sentences, position of verb and noun in the sentences are markedly Hcbraistic. So much so that in some instances. the text can only he interpreted correctly hy retranslation into Hebrew. 16 intriguing to note that in the Qumran "Hodayoth" the writer frequently refers to himself as the "poor one"(l QH ii 34-35).41 References to the whole Qumran group as Anawim and as the Community of the Poor ('ebyonim) are found in tQH xviii 14; tQH xi 9. 42 Brown suggests that Luke may have gotten his canticles from a somewhat parallel community of Jewish Anawim who had been converted to Christianity, "a group that unlike the sectarians at Qumran would have continued to reverence the Temple and whose messianism was Davidic."43 The Qumran group used hymns to express thanks to God and to celebrate their anticipated victories in the eschatological war. Although the Magnificat makes sense in such a setting, A. Serra has also pointed out that the Essenes were a separated sect and that the temple has great importance for Luke.44 In New Testament times the classical types of the psalms had broken down, as is seen in the hymns of Qumran, and there are many mixed types. It must be noted, however, that in Mary's Song there is no notion of anger or vindictiveness against enemies such as can be found in the Qumran or. the Maccabean Hymns or in Hannah's Song (1 Sam 2:1-10). As regards classification, Brown holds that the Magnificat most closely resembles the type known as a hymn of praise.45 Both Brown and Fitzmyer mention a comparison of the Magnificat with the speeches in Acts, the theory being that the speeches composed by Luke were given to the persons whose sentiments best fit the content. Thus because Peter and Paul were known to the early Christians as great preachers, great speeches were given to them. Likewise, the Magnificat is put upon the lips of Mary because it expresses the ideal sentiments of the one chosen to be mother of the Messiah. However, Fitzmyer believes that it is hardly likely that Luke composed it himself. He comments that the song praises God's salvific activity in generic terms and it could be omitted without anything being lost to the Visitation narrative. He sees no evidence that the Magnificat ever existed in a Semitic form and therefore thinks that there is no reason to suppose that Mary composed it. 41 Menahem Mansoor, The Thanksgiving Hymns (Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1961) 133-34. Translation of 1QH V 13,14: 13 And Thou hast judged my grief, (and) Thou hast regarded my sighing and thou didst deliver the soul of the afflicted ('ani) in the den of lions who sharpened their tongue as a sword. 14 But Thou, 0 my God, Thou didst clamp their teeth shut, lest they tear the soul of the afflicted ('ani) and the destitute (ras). 42R. Brown 352. Also, see Mansoor's translation 191. 43Brown 352. Cf. note 40. Brown claims that the thesis that Luke got his canticles from a Christian group of Jewish Anawim is associated with Benoit; the presence of Anawim mentality in the canticle is also recognized by Schnaekenburg. 44Aristide Serra. Private conversation at IMRI, February, 1992. 45Brown 35~. 17 A factor in considering the canticle as non-Lucan is that, apart fro~ v. 48, which Luke may have composed himself and inserted into a hymn he inherited from an earlier Jewish Christian tradition, much of the Magnificat is not specific to Mary. This is thought to be the reason that in three, ancient, Latin manuscripts it is attributed to Elizabeth, and is apparent when the structure of the canticle is considered.46 Fitzmyer classifies the M<~gnificat as a song basically resembling the pSlllms of praise in the canonical psalter but not as perfectly structured or built with the Slime amount of p<~rallelism as they usually are. He agrees with Brown and Jones that it also resembles some of the hymnic rompositions of late pre-Christian Jewish literature found in I Maccabees, the Qumran Thanksgiving PSlllms (Hod<~yot) or the Qumran War Scroll (Milhamah). Fitzmyer further agrees with Brown that in the last third of the century when Luke was composing Luke/Acts, he came upofl the canticle in a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian community in an area influenced by JeruSlllem Christianity.47 (Cf. Acts 6.) ~ Rene Laurentin considers the Magnificat to be akin to the traditional thanksgiving canticles but having a prophetic character. It fits the well-known model of biblical pSlllms and canticles with some reworking. "These reworkings illustrate the traditional character of prayer in those days, and its trait of anamnesis."48 This role of "anamnesis" or memory in the prayer of the Church, as it regards Mary's place, has been discussed by Walter Brennan who points out that, in the Sllcred group memory of the Church, Mary was remembered and revered.49 Emphasizing the role of memory, Laurentin argues that there is no reason to believe that Mary is not the author of the Canticle which he considers "a personal thanksgiving of Mary, Daughter of 46Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1981) 359. The controversy regarding the attribution of the Magnificat to Elizabeth has been reviewed by S. Benko, "The Magnificat: A History of the Controversy," JBL 86 (1967) 263-75. Also, seeR. Brown, Binh of the Messiah 334-36 and R. Laurentin, Bib 38 (1957) 15-23. There are three Latin manuscripts found from the fourth to the eight centuries which attribute the song to Elizabeth. Support for this attribution is found in passages in translations of lrenaeus and Origen as well as a fifth century bishop Nicetas of Remesiana. Most scholars today accept the Magnificat as attributed to Mary by Luke. Phe Lagrange believes that there is no doubt that the speaker is Mary not Elizabeth. Cf. Evangile selon St.Luc 46. 47J. Fitzmyer 363. 48 Ren~ Laurent in, The Truth of Christmas: Beyond the Myths, trans. Michael J. Wrenn (Petersham, MA: St. Bcdc's Publications, 1986) 103. 49Walter Brennan, OSM . The Sacred Memory of Mary (Mahwah, NY: Paulist Press, 1988) 11- 12. Beginning with the call of the Second Vatican Council to "reverence the memory" of Mary, (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Vat. II, No. 52), Brennan relates the sacred memory of Mary to "encountering her today, praying with her, and living our faith ." 18 Zion, heir of the promises and of the new covenant now beginning."50 This thanksgiving then extends to the whole people of whom the singer is the personification. He states that "Mary, to whom Luke attributes the canticle, was a real person, and the Magnificat is eminently appropriate to her personality and her circumstances as we perceive them through the Gospels." 51 In discussing the role of oral transmission with regard to the Magnificat Laurentin agrees that ecclesial and communal mediation has played a part in how the text has been handed down but states that "to transmit is not to create." He argues convincingly that "the prayer of those times lies within a living tradition" which was characterized "by a faithful and retentive memory-a phenomenon totally unknown to us."52 It was within this context that Luke wrote. Laurentin believes that it is impossible to reconstruct the stages between the visitation event and the form that Luke bas given it in his gospel. He proposes that the transmission must have involved Mary herself, as she lived and worshipped in the primitive community of Jerusalem where Luke places her in Acts 1:14. Also, Laurentin believes that it is improbable but not impossible that there was contact between Mary and Luke.53 · · In conclusion it seems probable that the Magnificat is a hymn which originated in an early Jewish Christian community probably familiar with temple worship and with the literature of the Old Testament as well as the literature of later Judaism. It is also possible that the community of origin bad contact with the Qumran community. The Canticle fits the category of canonical hymn but not rigidly, showing a mixture of types. I accept Forestell's description of the Magnificat as a thanksgiving hymn for national salvation spoken in the name of the Daughter of Sion. Furthermore, it seems reasonable that the Canticle should be given a liturgical setting. Of all the commentators mentioned, Laurentin argues most strongly for the probability of Mary being the author of the song attributed to her by Luke. All agree that it is a pre-Lucan composition. No one of the commentators gave consideration to the fact that the lyrics of the song beg for a musical accompaniment although Tannenbill bas discussed the poetic form . I propose that it is poetry that lends itself to song, community song. Is it any wonder that the Magnificat bas been set to music so many times in the long tradition in which it bas been a part of the official daily prayer of the Church? In my own experience of singing or chanting the Magnificat as an integral part of Vespers each evening, the musical setting emphasized the mood of the occasion. There were two Gregorian settings, one for regular days and one for feast days. On major feast days the community broke into four-part harmony with an even more festive ~ . Laurentin 156. 51 Laurentin 380. 52Laurentin 381. 53Laurentin 382-83. 19 musical background. . That countless musicians have set the text, or a paraphrased text, to music attests to the power of the song to express sentimentS of praise and thanksgiving of individuals as well as of communities. Music is also a language. It has power to move the heart, to energize. When the lyrics are divorced from their musical setting they lose something of their power. This is why it seems so understandable that the Magnificat should have come out of a liturgical setting. In the Exodus account of the crossing of the Red Sea we read that Miriam not only sang a hymn of praise and thanksgiving but that she led the women in dancing to the accompaniment of musical instruments (Exodus 15:21). David, also, danced before the Ark of God as it was borne into the city of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14). Many hymns of the canonical Psalter contain instructions in the psalm headings to guide the music director and there are also allusions to cultic dance. 54 Thus, it does not stretch my imagination too far to consider that the Magnifi~t may also have been a danced prayer of the early Christian community. There is an exuberance in the text that is borne out in the rhythm of the verses which lends itself to motion. As regards the composer of the Magnificat, it is perhaps impossible to get back to the original author. However, if Mary were indeed a part of the earliest Jewish Christian group would she not have done what women have been doing for centuries, working with and visiting with the other women of the community? And what do women visit about as they work together? They tell their stories; they teach each other practical bits of wisdom gleaned from their experience; they share the significant events of their lives. It is easy for me to picture Mary doing this. Did she do it? Why would she not? POETIC STRUCI'URE L. Sabourin has dealt extensively with the classification of psalms of the Canonical Psalter. He lists the hymns or psalms of praise which appear outside the Psalter as ancient hymns: the canticle of Moses (Ex 15:1-21) and the song of Deborah (Jg 5 and 2), and more recent hymns: the canticle of Hannah (1 Sam 2-10), Hezekiah (Is 38:10-20), Habakkuk (ch 3), the three young men (Dn 3:52-90), Judith (16:1-7), Mary's Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55) and Zechariah's Benedictus (Lk 1:68-79).55 The characteristic structure of the hymns corresponds to the general pattern of introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction expresses the intention of praising God or is an invitation to others - musicians, singers, people, nations - to praise. The body or main section of the hymn gives the motives for praise, the phrases often beginning with the conjunction "for" or "because." These reasons for praise may derive 54For a discussion of psalm headings see, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary 524. Also, Sabourin 39-40. Allusions to cultic dance can be found in pss 30:12; 87:18; 149:3; 150:4. 55L. Sabourin 175-76. Sabourin lists the hymns of the Canonical Psalter as: Pss 8, 19, 29, 33, 100, 103, 104, 111, 113, 114, 117, 135, 136, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. 20 from the Lord's great deeds or refer to God's attributes, such as, God's power, wisdom, mercy, or fidelity. The conclusion can take various forms, an inclusio, a summary of the motives, a blessing, a request, or perhaps a statement of trust. Joy is a prominent motif of the Hebrew hynm.56 The Magnificat fits loosely into the classical pattern of the hymn. There is an introdoction (46b-47) in which Mary praises God with a sentiment of joy, a body (48-53) which states reasons for the praise, and a conclusion (54-SS) which summarizes the reasons for praise, referring to both God's deeds and God's attributes, as well as directing the reader's attention to God's fidelity in keeping the promises made to Abraham.57 In this scheme verse 48b is problematic because of its personal nature and is thought to be an insertion by Luke into a hymn, taken from the Jewish-Christian community, in order to make the hymn pertain to Mary.58 Aside from the question of verse 48b, there is considerable disagreement about the structure of the poem as regards division of.it into verses, strophes and metric units. R. Tannenhill, who considers the poetic form of the Magnificat to be significant for the understanding of its meaning, divides tlie structure in two ways. First, stressing the praise aspect of the hymn, it can be divided into an introduction, verses 46-47, which consists of a statement of praise and the body, verses 48-54, which begins l>rt and lists reasons for the praise. The second division marks the hymn into two strophes, verses 46- 50 and verses 51-55. This pattern serves the purpose of marking off two aspects of expanding thought. The first strophe speaks of "the mean in~ of God's act for the child's mother and the second of its meaning for Israel as a whole." 9 In Old Testament thought the great marvels performed by God are always for the people even if they are done for an individual.60 In this scheme Tannehill finds verse 48b to be interruptive, S6L. Sabourin 176-77. R. Brown agrees that the psalms of this list are commonly accepted as hymns of praise. Cf. Bifth of the Messiah 355, n. 54. 57R. Brown, Bifth of the Messiah 355-56. 58Brown, Bifth of the Messiah 356; 360. Brown discusses the addition of v. 48 to the Magnificat and agrees with Mowinckel and Tannenhill that it is a Lucan addition. Cf. Peretto 856. Gunkel also supports this theory but Jones believes that v. 48 belongs to the original hymn as it was composed by the psalmist. Cf. Jones 19-22. 59Robert C.Tannehill, "The Magnificat as Poem," Journal of Biblical LiJerature 93 (1974) 263- 68. In his breakdown of the parts of the Magnificat, Tannehill is concerned with internal unity of the poem. He determines that the interaction of the parts is what gives the poem its complex unity and makes its vision distinct. E. Peretto has a similar division for the praise aspect but calls vv. 46-47, the laudative part and vv. 48-55 (omitting v. 48b), the celebrative part, Nuovo Dizionario di Mariologia 856. The breakdown of the poem into two strophes follows the thought of Heinz Schurmann, Das Lulcasevangelium 70-71. 60Aristide Serra, OSM. Comment by Fr. Serra during a private conversation about the development of thought in the Magnificat. 21 unrhythmical and of a parenthetical nature.61 Omiting verse 48, which he considers an interpolation, John McHugh divides the poem into two parts of three couplets each: w. 46b-47, 49, 50; vv. 51, 52, 53 and a conclusion, vv. 54, 55. The first part, which is Mary's personal thanksgiving, uses Old Testament phrases which express the collective thanksgiving of the nation of Israel. The second part develops the idea that God has performed these wonders for the those who are meek and humble. In the conclusion, the favor given to Mary is seen as the final accomplishment of the promises made to Abraham on behalf of the entire nation.62 R. Brown considers four parts in the poetic structure of the Magnificat, the introduction, vv. 46b-47, the body of the hymn which begins with a "because" clause and consists of two strophes, vv. 48-50; 51 -53, and the conclusion, vv. 54-55 which summarizes what has been said in vv. 49-53. Brown notes that the motives for praise are first from the speaker, Mary, and then from the circle of Anawin that Mary represents.63 J. Fitzmyer basically follows Browp's analysis, pointing out that vv. 54-55 repeat what vv. 51-53 have set forth as Yahweh's great deeds but making them relate specifically to Israel. Vv. 49-50 are related in the singing of three attributes of Yahweh: his might, his holiness and his mercy.64 Although both Brown and Fitzmyer consider verse 48 as a possible addition of Luke to an already existing generic hymn, Brown points out that the language of v.48 fits well as part of the Lucan narrative. In this verse Mary refers to herself as "OOiiA1Jt" as she did in the annunciation scene (1 :38), as well as, "l'aKapta" (1 :45).65 Other scholars have attempted to divide the Magnificat into strophes and proposed various schemes. Keeping in mind the rhythmn and thought of the lines, Pere Lagrange found five strophes: vv. 46-47; 48-49; 50-51; 52-53; 54-55).1'i6 Ramaroson 61Tannehill 270-71. Mowinckel, also, finds that v. 48b breaks the metrical pattern of the hymn and considers it a later addition. However, D. Jones points out that the metrical pattern of the Magnificat is uncertain especially in the first part of the poem. Jones believes the verse 48 belongs to the poem as it was first composed by the psalmist. Cf. Jones, Douglas, "Background and Character of the Lukan Psalms," JTS XIX (1968) 21. 62J. McHugh, The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament, 74-79. McHugh notes that he is following J. T. Forestell in his analysis. 63R. Brown 356. 64J. Filzmyer 360. 65R. Brown 356. Gunkel considers v. 48 to be a secondary addition to the poem but Tannehill points out that if v. 48a is omitted from the text the connection with Luke's narrative setting vanishes. Tannehill 268. 66P~re Lagrange 52. 22 found three: vv. 46-50; 51 -53; 54-55.67 Plummer found four: vv. 46-48; 49-50; 51-53; 54-55.68 S. Farris points out that although there are changes in emphasis throughout the poem, for example, the shift from individual to national, there is a smooth progression of thought. The content of the various sections is closely intertwined and the divisions are not too definite.69 This is certainly borne out in the fact that each commentator establishes his own structure. Farris proposes his own divisions as: vv. 46- 47, word of praise; v. 48, first motive clause with saying about the future; v. 49a, second motive clause; vv. 49b-53, statements amplifying the second motive clause; vv, 54-55, summary.70 Tannehill reflects that it is the interaction of the parts of the Magnificat that gives the poem the complex unity which makes its vision distinctive. The repetitive pattern or parallelisms double back on what has been said to express it in a new way, thus giving the text intensity and depth. The traditional language of the poem is already heavy with meaning and it is used to celebrate the deed ~ich fulfills Israel's hope. Viewed in the narrative context, "the Magnificat is like an aria in opera."71 In discussing the metric pattern and the parallelism in the Magnificat I will be basically following the analysis of Tannehill with a few observations of my own. The charts on the following pages can be used to follow the discussion. The first chart shows the poetic structure as determined by Tannehill who divides the poem according to its thought and a division into strophes by Brown. The second chart illustrates my own summary and analysis. In this scheme, words denoting God are in deep red; verbs of God's action are green and God's attributes are shown in gold. Verbs of Mary's response to God are shown in blue. Nouns for the Anawim are purple, nouns for those in antithesis to the Anawim are brown. The essential feature of Hebrew poetry, its rhythm, lies in its balance of thought. This balance is achieved by the expression of parallel ideas.72 Thought rhyme, or 67L. Ramaroson, "Ad structuram cantici 'Magnificat,'" Verbum Domini 46 (1968) 30-46. Ramaroson calls: vv. 46-50, an individual hymn of thanksgiving; vv. 51-53, another hymn of thanksgiving commemorating the intervention of Yahweh on behalf of the weak; vv. 54-55, yet another thanksgiving hymn commemorating divine acts of intervention on Israel's behalf. 611 Alfred Plummer, A CriJical ~ Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Luke (Edinburgh, England: T & T Clark, 1922) 31. 69Stephen Farris, The Hymns of Luke's Infancy Na"atives: Their Origin, Meaning and SignifiCance (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1985) 114. 'lOfarris 114. 71 R. Tannenhill 264-65. "Tbe artistic conventions of opera allow the composer to stop the action at any point so that, through a poetic and musical development exceeding the possiblities of ordinary life, a deeper awareness of what is happening may be achieved." nL. Sabourin 26. 23 POETIC STRUCllJRE L\ T.l AOTIUN Mary'o SoDC ol Praiae ··- I u Kal .r,n- MopuJ.~• Mary'o SoDI of Prai8t 1st Strophe Mcy~uvnII IJivxY, i'O"' dv ~eup&ov, t7 KC1i#ty&lllczar.o TO mo«ii,... ~"~"•Kt ~jj»ftcjj» ~lfl u Kal .r,n- Mopul.~, ewrijpl ~ov, I n t r Mty~ul'flII ""'xi! !'OV m WplOY, t7 Kai lly&lll•en TO ffWii,... lAD" iwl fi; h~ fi; i ewrijpl ..-v, t8 o.,, •fti~>.·~iwt Tllv ftK•l-v ~~ W>.11~aV-roii. &&.1yG.p ci~roToii ..V.. ~O{J'oiioiv~ wciacu ai II f8 OTl mi~).ciJin.Kl '"'" ftftciVWGIV ~~6oU).Y]~ ClVTOU. y~ai· &&.1yG.p a~roToii ..V.. ~Kap•oiioiv~ "ciaa• ai • ' • • _., • ~ 1 tl O"T"&tlro&,'J~D lAD'.~W\4 o ,ow:!'Tor, yno«ai· 1(41 11y&OI'TO 01'0~ C1lfT"OII, 41 o.,, J~roi.,ablAD' ~cyt1\a o8vvaT<)r, 60 Kal To l:4.tor 11V-roii«lr yn-«cir ~taly~cir ICai dytov .,.QOvoiU' atiroU, Toir ~fJov~raV-r& .. . 60 Kal TO ~:4.«oraV-ro~«lr y~cir Kai yno«ar TO&S.;o{Jou~&cnr ctlfT"ov. Body 2nd Strophe II I U 'Ewoi7JaD. ~tpa'Tos(.., f3paxiov• Clv.,.oii, 'E , , • Q , • .. U 1rO&'JaD~p4TDr «:',..paX':'"' ·C1lfT"OII,, , 8&«a~eopmaoVrr«f1'1fxivollf 8.avoiq..~eop(>iar 8&ta~toprr•an-vrr«~llf8u&1'1Kf Kop8tc&r a.n-Wv· e~VrciW· 61 K<18c~~~.,..OCFTas &.. o 8~ovwv U ~ta8t~D8.,..QCFTI1S cl"O 8p4i KCU vt/Jwacv T<11rfli'OIIS", ~ra.i;i.pwoo f"CIWf,.-otk-. U ,,,.,u,...,11s '"'" A'Jano ciya8wv U , .... u....,ar Jv«":4.'1a«~'ciya8wv ~eal~r:4.owoiii'TI1rJfa,.(a-rf&:4.«v"""our. ~tal":4.owoiii'TI1r Jf4"'a-rt&:4.o lffi'OUr. U civ-rcNJ./Jno 'lapa?,:4."cu80r 11VTOV, IU"''a~llfUJMollf, KC18wr TOUr .;~, U J:4.t1\'JaD "pt}r ff4Tfp4S IV U d.v-r«:4.4f3no 'lapaT,:4.wa.80r <11iToii, TY, 'Af3pa~~tal TY, awlp~T&11V-roii clr Tov IU"''a8ijvo.& (Aiollf, a.icdl'CL. 66 ICC18wsJAt1\'JaD 1rpOS 1"0Vs TTCl1"fpClS"~~WV, TY, 'Af3paa~~tal TY, aw(p~.,.,ClVToii «is 1"ov Division into strophes and metric units a.iWN. according to R. Tannehill Strophes determined by Raymond E. Brown 23a Mary's Song of Praise (vv . 46b-47 ) vv. 46-50 God's action toward 47 rJI""'""•"""'"" • I • v """vfA:v. fA:V Vf £nl.ffliC6EW 't'W ' Mary X I I 48 First strophe . __ _ _ , (vv. r 48 53) Secon d strop h e 49 61 O'Ttplt7TUH/U~V!f£0LJLtjXM 8j f OVIfiTO" ~~~11... -.. L - .. H . I l 60 av-rwv·, - 62 63 I I" nvv 1 vvr 1 V..3f~~v..u ~v • ~"IH~r1KE'VOVS'. vv . 51-55 CONCLUSION God's action toward Israel 64 66 , \ HS 'TOY 46 & 47 Parallels 48 a & 54a Antithetic Parallel i sm J~2a& 52b (Chiastic Unit ) 3a & 53b { 50 & 54b l: 48b & 55b 23b parallelism, establishes a repetitive pattern that slows down the action of the poem and gives an intensity to the major ideas. This slower pace allows time for the reader to be drawn into the poem and to perceive its deeper meaning.73 The coupling of ideas in the Magnificat is quite complex. Although various kinds of parallelism is found there is no regular pattern thoughout the psalm. A mood of joy is established in the first two lines by the use of synonymous parallelism. this is typical of Old Testament hymns. 46b Magnifies/ my souV the Lord, 47 And has exulted/ my spirit/ in God/ my Savior, Verses 48a and 49a are synonymous in describing God's graciousness to Mary but there is also a contrast between the words "lowly" and "great" or "mighty". Verse 48b, which seems to break the thought between verses 48a and 49a, could be deleted without losing anything of the structure. As we have already seen, verses 49 and 50 are related in as much as they name the divine attributes. 48a Because he has regarded/ the lowliness/ of his handmaid. 48b For behold from now on/ will call me blessed/ all generations. 49a Because he has done for me/ wonders/ the mighty one, 49b And holy/ His Name. 50 And His mercy/ to generations/ and generations For those fearing Him. There is a progression of thought in verse 51, sometimes called synthetic parallelism. The second line builds upon the first but both describe the same event. . 51 He has done/ might/ with his arm, He has scattered/ arrogant ones/ in thoughts/ of their hearts. Antithetic parallelism is pronounced in the couplets of verses 52 and 53. Both verses refer to a reversal of social conditions coming about by God's action thus giving the set of couplets a synonymous parallelism. This, with the inverted order of the verbs and nouns of verse 53, forms a chiasm. Tannehill points out that the doubling of the antithetic parallelism is one sign of a very strong rhetorical emphasis.74 52 He has pulled down/ the powerfuV from thrones And has exalted/ the humble, 53 The hungry/ he has filled/ with good things And the rich/ he has sent away/ empty. 73R. Tannehill 266. Concerning a purpose in parallelism: 'This interaction between words encourages us to turn a thought over in our minds. Generally words slip past us too quickly ." 74R. Tannehill 267. "We are forced to compare extremes, and so to think of a radical overturn of society." 24 Verse 54a can be compared to verse 48a. Mary is God's Jowly handmaid while Israel is God's servant-child. God's eternal mercy is mentioned at the end of each strophe. It falls upon the fearing ones, the anawim, personified by Mary in vv. 49b-5075 and then upon Israel, personified by Abraham and his descendents in vv. 54b-55. 54a He has helped/lsraeV his servant, 54b Remembering/ his mercy, 55 Just as he spoke/ to our fathers, To Abraham/ and to his seed/ forever. For most of both strophes strong action verbs are -Rresent at the beginning of each clause. This gives a rhythm and vigor to the poem. 6 But at the end of each strophe the vigorous verbs are missing and the perspective shifts to a broader scope, all generations, forever. The event of the birth of ~ary's child is put within the context of the history of Israel and given a prophetic and eschatological tone. A change of rhythm also occurs in the closing lines of each strophe ~ Verse 49b of strophe I has two metric units followed by the longer verse 50, while at the end of strophe II, verses 54b-55 have a similar metric pattern. The sense of dramatic action recedes and the final long lines create a sense of pause. n There is no consistent pattern of line length in the Magnificat. It is modeled on Hebrew poetry in which regularity of stress is subordinate to regularity of balanced ideas.78 Exact parallelism is found in verses 46, 51-55 but in other verses the parallelism is not clear. This is not inconsistent with the variations of Hebrew poetry.79 The small sense units and the parallelisms that are found in the first parts of the strophes give us a repetitive pattern that when read rhythmically gives the effect of a musical beat. This beat involves us more fully in hearing and elicits an emotional as well 75 Albert Gel in, PSS, The Poor of Yahweh, trans. Mother Kathryn Sullivan, RSCJ (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1964). "In it (Magnificat) we hear the woman who has so identified herself with the 'anawim' that, conscious of the newness of the Incarnation, she has become their perfect and living expression." 7~ . Tannehill 268. The controversial verse 48b as well as the chiastic verse 53 are exceptions to this pattern. nRobert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unily of Luke-Acts: A Literary lntetpretation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986) 28. 78R. Tannehill, "Magnificat as Poem" 269. Tannehill is quoting N. K. Gottwald who states that parallelism of thought, and corresponding word-mass, is the substance and mode of Hebrew poetic expression. cr. note 17, 269. 790 . Jones 49. Jones is supporting the thesis that the language and structure of the Magnificat support a Hebrew origin. 25 as intellectual response.80 The Magnificat contains a basic triangular tension between God, the anawim and the world's rulers. God is called, "Lord," "Savior" and "Mighty One." His mercy is toward the "fearing ones," "the lowly/humble ones" and the "poor," while those antagonistic to God and to the poor are "Proud in their·thoughts," "powerful," and "rich." The attributes of God mentioned are also threefold. He shows" might with his arm," his Name is holy and his mercy is eternally faithful. The following chart illustrates this tension. wVptov ~ ( ciy&ov ;::.~: J;·~~ .~: · ~" ·. ~ . Tannehill, "Magnificat as Poem" 270. Tannehill asserts that the rhythm of the poem invites a response of the feelings and the body so that the whole person is able to step into its meaning. Also, rhythm is one of the ways the poem asserts its own unity and particularity. "Rhythm's role in both inviting full participation in meaning and in asserting the poem's individuality helps to explain the traditional importance of this aspect of poetic form." 81 R. Tannehill, "Magnificat as Poem" 274. 26 tell of the effects to be produced by the Messiah as if they had already been . produced."82 Thus, the sense is that of realized eschatology. Verse 51a repeats the verb of verse 49a, ETTOif10lv, thereby giving continuity between the strophes. In the poetic vision of the text. Mary's personal experience is already a fulfillment of the wonderous works of God's mercy which are still to come.113 Within this set of couplets, verses 52 and 53 take on an added intensity with their pronounced antithetic parallelism and chiastic reversal of verbs and nouns. The rhythm of the lines is accented by pairs of rhyming words. Thus Opbvwv and aya06Jv at the ends of vv. 52a and 53a, respectively, rhyme, while the same is true for TaTT£tVoilt; and KfVoVt; at the ends of vv. 52b and 53b. Thus, the celebration of the Almighty One's powerful and merciful deeds on behalf of the poor and lowly is brought to a climax. The internal unity of the poem presents God's wonderous regard for his humble handmaid and his overturning of society as one act. God's act for Mary has become a sign of an eschatological act for the world. Mary's child is a gift of God's mercy, given in accord with the promise made to Israel, and celebrated in traditional biblical language as the fulfilment of Israel's long history of hope.84 The Magnificat is truly a song of salvation-hope in the tradition of Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and Judith, and yet it surpasses them, for hidden within the song is the mystery of the now and future reign of God, both fulfilment and hope held in the tension of realized eschatology. 112A. Plummer 32-33. Plummer rejects the suggestion that the verbs in vv. 51-53 are gnomic and express God's normal acts, claiming that it is doubtful that the aorist is ever used of what is normal or habitual. 83R.Tannehill, "Magnificat as Poem" 274, n. 26. Tannehill is here in agreement with Plummer that the use of the aorist tense in vv. 51-54a describes actions which, even for the Christian, are still largely future and holds that this can be explained by the need of the poem to present the events described in vv. 48-49a and 51-54a as one. 84R. Tannehill, "Magnificat as Poem" 274-75. The text is a unity in which form and meaning are inseparable. It is the text which enables ~s to see the mother and her baby as signs of eschatological reversal and fulfilment of the promise. 27 COMMENTARY, LUKE 1:46-SS The Visitation scene has brought together the two mothers, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this meeting the parallel traditions of the two birth narratives intersect. The witness of the Baptist to Jesus begins as the unborn child leaps in the womb of Elizabeth and she then acknowledges the presence of "Kvplov 11ov" in Mary's womb as well as proclaims Mary "11aKdp10~" because of her faith (Lk 1:43-45). Mary responds to her cousin's greeting with her Magnificat, a song of joyful praise for God's marvelous deeds both for her and for all the faithful of Israel. 1:46a Kal £1TT£V Mapui-11 (And Mary said) Here a new process of thought begins with the introductory conjunction Kal. The verb £1TTEV is 2nd aorist, irregular, denoting a definite moment in time past, a completed spoken word. The speaker is Mapt&IJ., a translation of the Hebrew, "Miriam." The controversy concerning whether Elizabeth or Mary was intended by Luke to be the singer of this psalm has already been mentioned. According to Bruce Metzer the weight of both the external or textual evidence and the internal evidence points to Mary,85 who thanks God for the salvation of her nation in the name of the "Daughter of Sion," that is, in the name of the spiritual community of the poor who as the true people of Yahweh wait and long for salvation through the Messiah.M Paul Winter, who holds that the Magnificat had its origin in a Maccabean Hebrew psalm, believes that Luke received the song from a Baptist source which had ascribed it to Elizabeth but that it is fitting that Christian tradition should have put the song on the lips of Mary, the symbol of motherhood. 87 1:46b-47 Meya.l.ilv£1 1J '/JVXfl IJ.OV -rlw KfJpuw, Kal TJyalllaaEV -rl> m>E'f)IJ.& IJ.OV lTTl -rc\1 8£c{l -rt{l owrftpl IJ.OV (My soul magnifies the Lord, and my 85Bruce M. Metzer, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York: United Bible Societies, 1971) 131. Although perhaps neither name was present in the original text, the overwhelming weight of external evidence, as well as the balance of internal probilities, led the committee to prefer to read Mapt&IJ. as the subject of tJ.rrEV. 86James Forestell, "The Old Testament Background of the Magnificat" 225. The community of the afflicted and restored Jerusalem appeared under the literary figure of the Daughter of Sion. 87Paul Winter, "Magnificat and Bcnedictus - Maccabean Psalms?" 331. Because he finds the Magnificat to resemble, in form and content, post-canonical psalms of the Maccabean era (2nd century, BCE), Winter thinks that by the first century of the Christian era it was a community hymn, possibly sung by alternating choirs of men and women after the manner of the Therapeutae as described by Philo in "De Vita Contemplativa." 28 spirit rejoices in God my Savior) The opening verse of Mary's Song in its Latin translation, Magnificat anima mea Dominum, gives the hymn its name, "The Magnificat." It is written in the style of the openin~ verse of many Hebrew hymns which begin with parallel statements of joyful praise. In the Old Testament the 1/Jt'X1J (soul) is the subject of praise of God and is typically found alongside m•E'flll& (spirit). Here the meaning of both words is simply "I."R9 Forestell points out that the restoration of Sion is the salvation of the afflicted remnant of Israel. An individual might magnify the Lord for deliverance from distress, while at the same time being associated with all the poor and lowly who sought the same deliverance.90 Phrases found in the Old Testament or in intertestamentalliterature are put on Mary's lips to express thanksgiving not only for herself but through her, on behalf of all of Israel. It was common practice f_9r the psalmists to associate with themselves all the lowly, or the whole nation, or even all peoples of the earth.91 The similarity to Hannah's hymn in thanksgiving for her child (I Sam 2:1-2) has often been noted, as has the canticle of Habakkuk (Hab 3: 18). These provide the closest parallels to the opening lines of the Magnificat which is written in perfect synonymous parallelism. The sentiments are those of gladness and rejoicing on the part of an individual for the favor of Yahweh, which will be for the salvation of all the nation. In psalm 35:9 also, the psalmist rejoices in Yahweh because of his salvation.92 Psalm 34 brings together the themes of rejoicing in Yahweh's deliverance on the part of the psalmist and the notion that salvation is extended to all the lowly, poor, afflicted and 88Consider Ps 35:9, "But I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful because of his salvation." Other psalms expressing the sentiments of praise and joy similar to Lk I :46 are Pss 34:3a; 40: 17; 70:5; 95:1; 103:1; 104:1; 105:2. 89E. Schweiger, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament IX, cd. Gerhard Kittel, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromeley (Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm B. Eerdmans, 1986), 641. 90J. Forestell, "Old Testament" 207. Joy and gladness are classical themes in those passages which announce eschatological salvation. Cf. Ps 9. 91John McHugh, The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament 75. Some examples of these psalms are Pss 34:3-4; 40: 17; 57:10-11. 92My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God. (1 Sam 2:1-2) I shall rejoice in the LORD I shall exult in God my Savior. (Hab 3:18) But I will rejoice in the LORD I will be joyful because of his salvation. (ps 35:9) 29 brokenhearted who fear and cry out to the Lord. Throughout the Infancy narratives, with the exception of 1:43 where it is applied 93 to Jesus, the term KiJptor;. stands for illil , . Yahweh is referred to as Savior many times in the Old Testament (cf Mi 7:7). The phrase TcV 8£c{1 TcV owrijpl "God my Savior" of the LXX represents the Hebrew ~vVJ ~ ~ il )X "God of my salvation."94 Pere L..agran~e points out that God as Savior of the people from peril is a theme of the psalms. 5 In commenting upon the remarkable aorist t,ya.UiaoEV in obvious parallelism with the present ~ry£rA(Iv£t, M. Zerwick suggests that an underlying written original in Hebrew might explain the unusual form .96 This is further support for the theory, strongly supported by Jones, that the Magnificat was composed originally in Hebrew and not in Greek. Although psalm phrases and echoes are heard throughout the Magnificat the author does not seem to be citing any specific passage. The influence of the LXX is explained by the hypothesis that the author was.familiar with the Greek Bible. Also, the form indicates a late stage in the development of psalmody.97 Paul Bemile has compiled a detailed list of Old Testament words and phrases that are equivalent or similar to those in the Magnificat. Included in his study are the works of late Judaism including the Songs of Solomon, Enoch and the Qumran hyrnns.98 The similarities are numerous, yet in spite of this, the Magnificat is remarkably original. In it the joy and gladness of eschatological salvation is made present, thus rendering it a 93P. Winter, "Some Observations on the Language in the Birth and Infancy Stories of the Third Gospel" 113. Cf. TDNT Ill 1087-89. The use of tclJpun- in Peter's sermon (Act 2:36) shows that for Luke the resurrection and the ~roptln-qr; of Jesus were related. 94G. Fohrer, TDNT VII 1012f. Other examples are Pss 24:5; 25:5; Sir 51:1. In the apochrypha of late Judaism the noun uw$1 occurs only with reference to God as the One who keeps Israel past and present from many dangers. p.1014. Cf. Franz Delitzsch, Hebrew New Testament (British and Foreign Bible Society, 1937) 101. 95Lagrange, Evangile seton Saint Luc 46. ~aximilian Zerwick, S.J. Biblical Greek, ed. Joseph Smith, S.J. (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1963) 85. This has been explained as a servile version of a Hebrew inverted future which, though it commonly refers to the past, can itself take a present value after a participle with that value. The same explanation is supported by Paul Jouon, S.J . Grammaire de l'Hebreu Biblique (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1947) 312-37. 97Douglas Jones, "Background and Character of the Lukan Psalms" 21 . ... though every word in verses 46-47 can be traced to a psalm passage, one feature is not found in the Psalter, viz., the exact equivalence of vroxf! (W ~ J) and 1TV£011a (n ll), expressed in parallelism. This occurs in Is 26:9; Jb 12:10; Wis of Sol 15:11; Dn 3:39,86-that is, in comparatively late literature. 98Paul Bemile, The Magni[teat within the Context and Framework of Lukan Theology 116-33. 30 song of thanksgiving for eschatological fulfilment.99 The Messianic promises made to David are to be carried out by Jesus, Son of David! who will inherit the throne of David and reign in the House of Israel forever (Lk I :32). 00 Mary's words in the opening lines of the Magnificat are a commentary on her status as Kqapt-rw~lv1J (1:28), that is, as one having already been "transformed by the grace of God."101 She has "found favour with God" (1 :30) and the result is eschatological joy. 102 Meya.l.ilvEt meaning "to proclaim great" or "to praise" is used with iJyalllaoEV "rejoiced" in several psalms of the LXX. The sense is that of cultic joy which celebrates and extols the help and acts of God. These may be the saving acts of God shown to an individual or to a community. In the psalms ayalltao~a, has an eschatoloftical sense. "It denotes the joy of the last time represented as cultic festivity." 3 Luke uses the term ayalltao~a' to refer to the eschatological joy of Elizabeth and Zachary at the birth of John the Baptist (Lk 1:14) and to denote the rejoicing of John as be leaps in his mother's wo.mb (Lk 1:44). Jesus himself rejoices in the Holy Spirit (Lk 10:21) and the Christian community celebrates its meals with rejoicing (Acts 2:46). We see then, that joy and gladness are classical themes in those passages which announce eschatological salvation. 104 Brown proposes that the Magnificat originally referred to a general salvation in Jesus Christ given to Jews who had become Christians. Luke placed the hymn on the lips of Mary, the first Christian disciple, giving her a role as spokesperson for the Anawim. In her song (1 Sam 2:1-10) Hannah has a similar role. The parallelism between Hannah and Mary continues in Luke 2 when Mary brings her infant to the temple at Jerusalem just as Hannah bad brought her child, Samuel, to the temple at 990 . Michel, TDNT V 213. lOO.Son of David" is Joseph's legal title for according to Luke he is of the house and family of David (Lk 2:4). 1011gnace de Ia Potterie points out that the verb K£Xap1Tw!1lvTJ is in the past perfect participle form. It signifies that in Mary the grace of God has already brought about a change. In the entire bible Mary is the only person for which this term is used. I. de Ia Potterie, Mary in the Mystery of the Covenant, trans. Bertrand Buby, SM (New York: Alba House, 1992) 18. 102Raymond Brown, Binh of the Messiah 360. 103R. Bultmann, TDNT /19-20. Cf.Pss. 95:11; 96:1,8; 125:2,5f; Is 12:6; 25:9, Jud 25:5. Also, Acts 16:34; 2:26. 104J. Forestell 207-8. The joy and gladness of the poor in the salvation of Yahweh is also expressed in Pss 34:9-10; 39:14-18; 50:10; Is 29:19. 31 Shiloh.105 Another woman of the Old Testament who sang a song praising God's wonderful deeds in coming to the deliverance of an afflicted people was.Judith, although her song (Judith 133: 18) has a militant flavor that is absent from the Magnificat. Gebara and Bingemer call the Magnificat "the o~ning proclamation of Christ's new Gospel, the prelude to the Sermon on the Mount." 106 As a post-resurrection hymn, Mary's Song becomes the voice of the whole Church expressing joy and gladness for the great saving event. I :48a l'>TI I:Trl~flJJ£V l-rrl rftv m-rrdvwotv ri)t; cSo1IA1Jt; aiJTaO. (for be has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant) In keeping with typical psalm structure the reason for Mary's praise is given. This is signified by the conjunction 1'>T1. The focus of her praise is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant through the conception of th~ Messiab. 107 Luke uses again the term by which Mary speaks of herself in 1:38, when she responds to the message of the angel Gabriel, cSaO.l1Jt;, meaning handmaid or female slave. The word is used here in the O.T. sense of the righteous in relation to God. 108 The gracious regard of God who looked upon (l-rrl~flJJ£V l-rrl) the lowly status (Ta-rrdvwo1v) of Mary is the God of the Psalmists who looks upon the afflicted to rescue them, (cf. pss. 25:16, 102:19, 119:132; also 1 Sam 9:16). In the cases of Leah (Gen 29:32) and Hannah (I Sam 1:11) the low estate which God regards is their sterility. 109 This is hardly the case with Mary. She here places herself in the midst of a whole group - those who have low social status, are materially poor, powerless and afflicted - who will be referred to in verses 51-53. These are the "Anawim" of the O.T. That Mary speaks for more than herself is shown by the change from the singular pronoun, ~ov (my), of verses 46-47 to the plural, l't~aw (our), of verse 55. Because God has looked 105Brown, Birth of the Messiah 357-60. Having the pregnant Mary speak of God as her Savior can make sense because Luke has now associated salvation (once attached to the death and resurrection) with the birth of Jesus (1 :69; 2:11,30). 1061. Gebara and M. Bingemer, Mary Mother of God, Mother of the Poor 166-67. Luke's Gospel interprets the pre-paschal events in the light of post-paschal events and experiences. 107R. Brown, Birth of the Messiah 360. 108K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT //265-73. In the LXX, SoOAo~; is the usual translation of lJV the word for a slave, his status and situation. However, &ro.l'l is usually used for ilfJK or iln9'lJ, maidservant. See also, William Gesenius, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, trans. Edward Robinson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951) 5 t. 109R. Brown cites IV Ezra 9:45 as an example of Zion being regarded as a barren woman: "God heard your handmaid and regarded my low estate, and considered my distress and gave me a son." Bitth of the Messiah 358. That the affliction meriting God's regard might be national as well as individual is shown in such passages as Exodus 14:24 and 2 Kings 13:23. 32 upon her lowly state, those of lowly state are exalted. In tracing the vocabulary of poverty used in the Old Testament A. Gelin presents Mary as the perfect consummation of Israel. After the Babyonian exile it was the small band of "Anawim", those who formed the faithful remnant spoken of in Zechariah 13 :8- 9,110 who deserved to be called the "people of Yahweh." All that these devout souls stood for is concentrated in Mary who forms the link between the Old and New Testaments.111 It is Mary who refers to her own Ta'ITflvwotv. Some have translated this to mean "lowliness" and others prefer "humility."112 But here the word is used to denote Mary's objective condition not merely a mental attitude. She is a "handmaid" of "low estate," that is, she occupies a position of poverty and powerlessness in her society like others of whom she sings. This "lowliness" is the opposite of the "arrogant" opposed by God.113 According to Gelin, when Mary speaks of God's regard for her lowliness, she is using a classic formula which in the Hebrew WC\)' of prayer expressed divine solicitude.114 In putting the vocabulary of the "poor ones" on the lips of Mary, Luke is associating her with all those that God has hetped with his might, be it the barren 110 In all the land says the LORD, two thirds of them shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left. I will bring the one third through fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested. They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them. I will say, "They are my people," and they shall say, "The LORD is my God" (Zech 13:8-9). 111 Albert Gel in, The Poor of Yahweh 92, n.6. The great symphony of prayer that arose from the Church of the poor was a prelude to the Magnificat. "The whole spiritual life ... of ancient times reached in Mary its apogee, its point of perfect maturity." 112rrbe translation, "humility" or "humiliation" is used by Zerwick, Tannehill, and Winter. However, most modern Catholic commentators follow Lagrange in translating "lowliness" or of "low estate," e.g., Brown, Gelin, McHugh, Fitzmyer, Johnson; also Marshall. Jones points out that TafTdvwotv does not refer to the humiliation of sterility in Mary's case and the meaning should not be decided on the precedent of 1 Sam 1: 11 . Cf. Jones 22 113Luke Timothy Johnson, Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Vol 3, ed. Daniel Harrington, SJ (Collegeville, MN: The Uturgical Press, 1991) 42. 114A. Gelin 95-6. Gelin believes that the LXX is of little help in understanding the use of TafTdvwotv. He points to the 1 JY of Pss 24:18; 30:8 to describe the violent situation of those who prayed as well as to a late insertion in Nehemiah (9:99), "You saw the afHiction (' JY, -ra1rdvwotv) of our fathers in Egypt." Citing literature of late Judaism, Gelin remarks that the term advanced slowly toward a meaning of humility. 33 Hannah or Israel which is reduced ~ oppression to the status of a "handmaid" (I Mace 1 2: II) of "low estate" (I Sam 9: 16). 1. . God's regard for the lowliness of Mary gives rise to the hope that God's eschatological action in casting down the mighty and raising up the low~ is now beginning, that is, the "Reign of God" has broken into human history.11 I :48b l&n> y~ lnrl> .,-o1) vOv J1aKaplo1)olv Jlf Traum al yw£al; (Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed) Isaiah 51 :2-3 associates joy and gladness with Sion and also with God's promise to Abraham. The salvation of the afflicted is associated with the restoration of Sion.117 The daughter of Sion, a collective literary personification of the remnant ~~le, appears in biblical literature from the time of Isaiah and Micah (after 742 B.C.E.).11 There was a notion that after the humiliation of the ~aughter of Sion her glorious restoration by God would be the object of eternal admiration and blessing. The restoration of Sioo is the salvific action of God in response to the prayer of the lowly in Ps. 102:16-19. It will be remembered and praised by future generations} 19 In Malachi 3:12 it is the restored land that will be called "blessed" by all nations. Mary, as the personification of the daughter of Sion, thus reflects the communal as well as the individual recipient of God's salvific regard.120 Forestell reminds us that the declaration of blessedness is a common form in biblical literature and many classes of individuals in various situations are worthy of such religious admiratioo. 121 In particular the response of Leah at the birth of her son, Asher, is recalled "all women count me blessed (J1aKapl~o1)ow) (Gen 30:13). Luke, 115R. Brown 361. 116W. Grundmann, TDNT V/1121. "Luke makes the election of the lowly and the abasement of the rich and mighty a basic feature of God's historical action from the eschatological perspective." 117Yes, the Lord shall comfort Zion .. . Joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of song (Is 51:3). 1111J. Forestell 209. The salvation of the afflicted is associated with the restoration of Sion. 11'1...et this be written for the generation to come, and let his future creatures praise the Lord (Ps 102:19). 120For a discussion of Mary as personifcation of the faithful remnant people under the title, "Daughter of Sion" see Aristide Serra, OSM, E Cera Ia Madre di Gesu: Saggi di Esegesi Biblico mariana (Milano: Edizioni Ccns-Marianum, 1989) 45-50. 121J. Forestcll210, n.t5. 34 however, uses "all generations" instead of "all women" for Mary is the first representative of faith among all those who will accept her son in faith. 122 The verb llaKaptoDolv is in the future tense and reflects the adjective llaKapla of Elizabeth's pronouncement (1:45). The verb is used only twice in the New Testament, here and in James 5:11 where it refers to the righteous ones who endure. The adjective, however, is very common and refers to the distinctive religious joy of having a share in the kingdom of God. 123 The temporal phrase lnrl> roD v1>v implies a time of personal blessing. 124 Luke uses the phrase several times to refer to the coming age of salvation (5 :10; 12:52; 22:18, 69; Act 18:6). For Mary, the time of which she speaks began with Elizabeth's greeting (1:42) and will continue on for "all generations." Again, the eschatological dimension of the Magnificat is noted, for in Mary, God is beginning the final age of the exaltation of the lowly. 1:49a l}rt ETrOITJolv !!OV lleyci:Aa o cSvvaro~ . (for he who is mighty has done great things for me.) The verse begins with l}rt which designates the second reason for Mary's praise. She refers to God as o Svvaro~. literally, the "Mighty One," the first of the three great attributes of God that she will praise in verses 49-50, his might, his holiness and his mercy. This title is used of Yahweh in the LXX version of Zephaniah 3:17 where God shows his might as a warrior in the battle to save Israel and in Ps 89:9.125 In Judaism there was a growing emphasis on the transcendence of God and the name of God, Yahweh, was avoided. Yet the essence of God was found in his power and the term, Mighty One was one of the ways by which God was named.126 Brown tells us that for the Jewish Christian Anawim the salvific might of God was made visible in Jesus 122 Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke I-IX 367. The verse expresses a fundamental attitude of all Christians toward the believing Mother of the Lord. 123F. Hauck, TDNT W 367. 124G. Stahlin, TDNT W llil. In the bible these words usually denote a divinely appointed period, such as, the age of salvation for the world, the new aeon (Mi 4:7; Is 9:6; 59:2I ; I8:7) or the time of salvation for the Gentiles (Acts I8:6). 125orhe Lord, your God is in your midst, a Mighty One will save you (Zeph 3:I7). Mighty are you, 0 Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you (Ps 89:9). tU>w. Grundmann, TDNT II 297. 35 as is seen in Acts 2:22 and 10:38.127 The power of Most High has already overshadowed Mary in the conception of Jesus (1:35). The tenn o cSvva-r6zj invests !lE}'&l.a with its meaning which is "astonishing", "beyond understanding."' Mey&l.a is an expression in the LXX for God's wonderful works done especially in rescuing his people from Egypt (Deut 10:21; 11:7; Judg 2:7) and in the restoration of Jerusalem after the return from Babylon (Jer 40:3). Although it is commonplace in Deuteronomy, the Psalms and the Prophets that Yahweh has done "great things", in the Magnificat the ·~reat things" are made more specific by verses 51- 54 and constitute the salvation-event. 29 A. Serra has done an extensive study of the semantics of the tenn llE}'&l.a in relation to its use in Jewish literature and in the Magnificat. In discussing the beneficiaries of the "great deeds" of God, Serra notes that although done for an individual the "great thinM" God has accomplished have a social funcion for the entire community of believers.' The "great things" !~Jat the Almighty with whom nothing is impossible (Lk 1:37) has done for Mary in the virginal conception of Jesus is not her privilege alone, for Mary carries in her womb the destiny of all the people of God. Throughout scripture the noun 11EY&l.a and its synonyms refer to God's salvific works. Closer to New Testament times the tenns mean the "definitive redemfltion both political and religious that God gives to Israel by means of his Anointed One. 31 In the Magnificat there is a triple reference to Mary as an individual in respect to the collective Israel: the "lowliness" -raTrdvwutv of Mary (1 :48) and the community of "lowly" -ra'TrEtVoilt; exalted by God; Mary as "handmaid" &wA1Jt; and Israel as "servant" TTatcSbt;; Mary and the ancestor of the elect people. 132 Thus, the Magnificat takes on an ecclesial dimension. The universal tone of "all generations" calling Mary "blessed" puts her in relationship not only to the people of the Hebrew covenant but to the early Christian community as experienced by Luke and indeed to the whole Church. 127R. Brown 361. 128w. Grundmann, TDNT IV 531 . 1290 . Jones 23. "The giving of conception to Mary is an element in the supreme turning point in history, wrought by the mighty Lord of Israel." 130Aristide Serra, E C'era Ia Madre di Gesu: Saggi di E~esi Biblico-Mariona 219. Luke records that it is the miracles of Jesus which proves that God has visited his people (13:17; 21:11; Acts 2:22-23). That the "great things" of God are destined for the entire Church is borne out in the experience after the descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:5-11) and the following discourse of Peter. 131Serra 222. 132Serra 222-3. Individual and community arc found in reciprocal solidarity. Between the one and the other there exists a dynamic interaction, since both arc involved in the unique project of salvation. 36 Serra beautifully reminds us that "the conception of the WORD by work of the Spirit is the foremost favor granted to Mary. But this 'genesis' of the WORD .. . makes resplendent the 'love' (1 :50), the 'power' (1 :49a, 51a) and the 'holiness' (1:49b) of God."133 1:49b Kal &ytOI' Tl> in'Oila atiTOO, (and holy is his name,) In keeping with the practice in late Judaism, Mary does not speak God's name directly. In place of Yahweh, God is called "Lord", "Savior" and "Holy One." Elsewhere in the Infancy Narrative Luke applies these same terms to Mary's son. Jesus is called &ytOJI (1 :35), KvpiOJI (1 :43) and owrt,p (2:11). The name, person and work of God are inseparably linked with the name, person and work of Jesus.134 Brown comments that the holiness of God's name is related to his might. 135 In Ps. 111:9 we read "holy and awesome is his nam~." This holiness of God's name derives from God's covenant claim to be holy (Lev II :44-45). The holiness of God is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and references to "the holy name of God" become more common in the later literature.136 "Holy" expresses the transcendence of God. He is wholly apart, wholly other.137 But as Brown tells us, the traditional language of the Anawim takes on new meaning with Mary as their spokeswoman. The crucified and risen Jesus is recognized by the Jewish Christians as the embodiment of God's holiness (Acts 3:14; 4:27, 30). 138 Fitzmyer quotes Isaiah 57:15 in which the holiness of God is explained in terms of his exaltation. As the One who inhabits eterni~, and although exalted, dwells with the lowly, God is the source of Mary's bounty.1 In Ps. 113 the LORD is extolled and his name is praised and blessed. The praise on Mary's lips in Lk 1:49b will be on the 133 A. Serra 224. God creates the world out of nothing, the Israelites out of a non-people in Egypt and the humanity of the WORD from the womb of a virgin. 134H. Bietenhard, TDNT V 271 . "llle name is not just a designation but an expressed essentiality.• 135R. Brown 361. "God sanctifies His name by His mighty deeds which cause men to recognize His holiness. • 136E. Peretto, "Magnificat" 859, lists parallelisms with Pss 111 :9; 103:1; 145:2. Also "My name is holy" (Is 57:15; Ez 20:39; 36:20,21,22; 39:25; Mal 1:11) . . Jones 23-24, adds Eccl 17:10; 47:10; Wis of Sol 10:20; and Tobit 113:18. 137J. Forestell 212. The unique character of the Old Testament revelation about God consists in the knowledge that the all holy God is present to people and saves them. 138R. Brown 362. 139J. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX 368. 37 lips of the early Christians as they pray the petition of the Lord's Prayer, "holy be your name" (Lk 11 :2). 1:50 Kal rlJ lA£0<; at'Jrotl £1<; )'fl'fd-<; Kal )lfVf&<; TOi<; f/>o{3011~lvm~; aiJrtJv. (And his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him.) Mary, in whom is summed up all the religious aspirations of her people, expresses, in verse .50, the traditional Old Testament understanding of the covenant relationship between the people of Israel and Yahweh, their God. In the LXX lA£0<; is the word normally used for l\Jn which denotes both a disposition and an appropriate way of acting between two parties pledged to each other in a relationship of mutual trust and faithfulness.140 God's l\Jn always means his faithful and merciful help based upon the covenant relationship and this is the sense expressed in the use of lAw<; which is here translated "mercy." Mary has spoken first of God's regard for her and then of God's mercy for those faithful to the covenant. This transition from the·first person singular to the plural is common in the psalms and canticles of the Old Testament and may indicate that the psalmist speaks in the name of a collectivity. 141 This would fit the symbolic role of Mary as the personification of the daughter of Sion. The happiness and prosperity of those who expect salvation from God will come from Sion and will be associated with the prosperity of Jerusalem. 142 Also it demonstrates the expansion in the Magnificat from Mary's praise for what God has done for her personally to include what God does for "all who fear him" in every age.143 There is an eschatological tone to this expansion. What God has done for Israel in the birth of the Messiah has inaugurated the mysterious "Reign of God" which is present now but will come to fulfilment in future eons. Those who will benefit from God's mercy are those "fearing" him (4>of3ov~lv01<;), that is, those who have a religious and filial attitude of respect for God. This dynamic is spelled out in Ps. 103:17.144 Yahweh's "mercy" l\Jn is toward those who "fear" PKl 1 140R. Bultmann, TDNT 1/479-80. "God's lOn rests on then 'lJ by which he has freely bound himself to the people, so that the righteous can appeal to God's lOn assuming that they for their part have kept their obligations." Cf.ls 55:3; Ps 143:12; Ex 20:6. 141J. Forestell 213, n. 27. Examples of psalms in which the case of the individual becomes typical of the group: Pss 9; 30; 66; 68; 72; 117; 137. 142 Forestell 214. 143L. T. Johnson 43. "The song moves in stages from the reversal of Mary's condition from 'lowly' to 'exaltation' (1 :46-49), then to a general statement of God's mercy to those who fear him (1 :50)." 144"But the kindness of th e LORD is from eternity to eternity toward those who fear him" (Ps 103: 17). 38 him. In Wisdom literature "fear of God" is depicted as "the beginning of wisdom" ~Prv 9:10; Ps. 111:10) and is equated with knowledge and insight (Prv 1:29; 2:5 ; 13:14)_1 5 The attributing of "fear of God" to righteous ones is fairly common in late Jewish literature. D. Jones shows that the sentiment is characteristic of the later period of psalm~raphy being found in the Psalms of Solomon, Tobias and the Testament of Levi.1 It is the proper response to the covenant mercy of God. 147 Gelin equates "those who fear Yahweh" with the "'anawim."148 The thought of fearing God is frequent in Luke both in the third Gospel and in Acts.149 The phrase £1~ yfll~:~~ Ka~fll£~~ is simply the translation of a Hebraism meaning "to many generations."1 It is consistent with God's fidelity to the covenant that God's "mercy" endures forever. Mary has been told not to fear (1 :30) for her child's reign would last forever (1:33). The new covenant in Jesus is an example of God's mercy lasting from generation to generation.151 The faith of Mary in God her savior and per response to the great things that God has done for her is expressed in the first part of the Magnificat (vv. 46-50). In the second part (vv. 51-55) we see that Mary's faith is the faith of Israel. The canticle that Luke puts on Mary's lips is sung not only for herself, as an individual, but for the messianic people who yearn and hope for the promises of the Lord to be fulfilled. Gebara and Bingemer call the Magnificat, "a meditation in poetic form on the wonders God works in the history of salvation."152 The same God who formed the Messiah in Mary's womb is the God who made possible the exodus from Egypt. For Yahweh, God of Israel, nothing is impossible (Lk 1: 37). 145H. R. Balz, TDNT IX 202. It is also the avoidance of evil (Ps 34:11; Job 1:1; Prv 8: 13). 1460. Jones 24. Jones lists Pss 136; 89; 103, as well as, Tobias 12:12; Ps of Sol 2:37; 6:9; 10:4; 13:11; 15:15, and the Test. of Levi 18:8. Brown, Peretto, Jones and Plummer all list Ps 103:17 and Ps of Sol 13:11 as examples of the sentiment closest to Luke 1:50. 1471. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: a Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1978) 83. 1411A. Ge1in 96. Cf. Ps 21:26-27; 33:3-8. The "'anawim" are not the ones the world favors, in fact, their real poverty is the cause of their spiritual elan. 1 ~. H. Marshall 83. Luke uses the phrase in 12:5; 18:2,4; 23:40; Acts 10:2,22,35; 13:16,26). Also see TDNT IX212-13. 150p. Buchsel, TDNT I 663, n. 6. Cf. Is 51:8; Ps 102:24. Also, see Marshall 83. 151 R. Brown 362. 1521. Gebara & M. Bingcmer 166. These wonders have reached their high point in the arrival of the WORD on earth in human flesh. 39 Both Mary and Israel are God's servants (1 :48, 54). Mary, positioned in the midst of the "lowly ones," has the prophetic vision to observe the reversa·J of the situation of social sin, rooted in personal sin, that is brought about by the Incarnation of the Word. This reversal is consistent with the way that God has dealt with his people in the past, especially in the Exodus. Here, Mary stands at the head of the line of women of Israel who have sung of the deliverance of their people: Miriam, who praised God for the deliverance of her people from slavery in Egypt after crossing the Red Sea (Ex 15:21); Hannah, mother of Samuel, who sang of God breaking the power of the mighty and reversing the condition of the poor (1 Sam 2:4-8); Deborah in her song of victory (Jdg 5); Judith, who praises God by whose strength she has been able to save her people from Holofernes (Jth 13:14). Mary, the figure of the faithful people of Israel, is also, the prophetic woman who denounces sin and announces liberation according to God's saving plan. 153 In verses 51-53, of the second part of the Magnificat, the forces opposed to God and to God's clients, Mary and the 'anawim, are set forth. They are three human "greatnesses" or "self-sufficiencies," pride (v. 51),· power (v. 52), and riches (v. 53).154 But in a great eschatological act, God is bringing about the reversal of their situation. Much has been written about the fact that the six verbs of verses 51-53 which depict God's action in effecting this reversal are all in the aorist tense. Plummer summerizes the various explanations that have been given for the use of this tense. 155 He opts for the prophetic usage of the aorists. According to Brown, the best explanation is that the Magnificat is voicing the sentiments of the Jewish Christian 'Anawim. "The aorists refer to a definite action in the past, namely the salvation brought about through the death and resurrection of Jesus."156 Pere Lagrange's explanation is that the ordinary way that God has acted in the past is confirmed by what he is doing in Mary now. It is the time of the in-breaking of God's reign. 157 153 I. Gebara and M. Bingemer 170. These Brazilian women authors call upon the "church of the poor" to reflect upon the person and mystery of Mary within its context of oppression, struggle, resistance and victory. 154 A. Gelin 97. 155 A. Plummer, The Gospel According to Lu~ 33. The aorists in vv. 51-53 could mean: 1) things which the Divine power has already accomplished in the past; 2) things which speak of the future as already past (prophetic usage) and tell of the effects to be produced by the Messiah; 3) the verbs are gnomic and speak of God's normal actions. 156 R. Brown 363. L. T. Johnson adds to the discussion that what God has done in the past he continues to do, age after age. 157 Lagrange, Evangile selon Saint Luc, p. 48. 40 I :51 · ETTol11oiV tepthor. lv f3paxtl)llt aimn1, (l-Ie has done might with his arm,) The image of the might of God's arm teptrTor. iv f3paxll)llt is an anthropomorphism that signifies the miraculous demonstration of the power of God. It is a Hebraism that is found in texts relating to creation but it especially relates to the election and redemption of the people by the wonderful exodus from Egypt. 158 An oppressed people were brouyht out of slavery in Egypt by God with "strong hand and outstretched arm" (Dt 4:34). 59 In Isaiah the term relates to the bringing of eschatological salvation (Cf lsa 51 :9ff). This arm of God has shown its power and fulfilled the ancient promise in the birth of the Messiah.160 For the Jewish Christian the redemption in Jesus Christ was the supreme manifestation of the strength of God's arm.161 The verb · ETTOIT/OiV refers to the saving work that God has done.162 Brown considers that the praise for what God "has don«:_" is put on the lips of Mary because Luke is interpreting the conception of Jesus in the light of both the post-resurrection christology and the soteriology of the Church of the Jewish Christian Anawim of Jerusalem as described in Acts.163 1:5lb St£otebpTTtoiV VTT£{)1/t/Kxvavr. Stavolq tecrpSiar. aiJrtiJv (he has scattered the proud in the understanding of their hearts) Salvation implies judgment. Who are these proud ones that God "has scattered" (St£ote()p1TioiV)? P. Winter, who interprets the song as based upon a Maccabean war chant celebrating victory in battle, holds that it is the enemies of Israel that are being overthrown.164 It is clearly the enemies of Israel which are being scattered by the might of God's arm in Old Testament antecedents to this verse. (Cf. Nm 10:35; Pss. 68:1; 89:10.) However, it is pride which characterizes the great enemies of God and 1S8 H. Schlier, TDNT I 640. 159 See Ex 6:6; lsa 40:10, 51 :9, 53:1; Dt 6:21, 26:8. See also, Ps 89:11, "with your strong arm you have scattered your enemies." 160tf. Schlier, TDNT I 639-40. In the New Testament the word appears only in quotations from the LXX or in similar modes of speech (Lk 1:51; Jn 12:38; Acts 13:17). 161 R. Brown 363. 162 H. Braun, TDNT VI 464. The tepaTOr;, 1r01~iv of Lk 1:51 speaks of God's immanent judgement. 163 Brown 363. Cf. Acts 2:33; 5:31 . 164 P. Winter 341 -45. 41 therefore of God's people, e.g., Moab (Is 16:6) and Babylon (Is 13:11).165 In the psalms the enemies of the righteous ones are called iiTTq>lJf/>{rvOI}(; meaning proud, arrogant or insolent. 166 Pere Lagrange interprets iiTTq>lJf/>{LvOV( to refer not to the foes of Israel but of God. The pride that puts one in conflict with God is intellectual (Job 38:15).167 In the New Testament the arrogant are those who brag of what they have to the have nots. HiS It is this arrogant attitude that blocks the perception of God's visitation. Luke uses Kap81at;, heart, to mean the realm of human thought and intention (cf. Lk 10:27). The "proud" or "arrogant" are in opposition to the "lowly." 169 The term Suxvolq is synonymous to KapSiat; in meaning the center of one's inner life. 170 The great eschatological reversal of fortunes whicb is a characteristic of the reign of God begins witb the humbling of the proud whose attitude brings them in conflict with the values of the "kingdom." Within the "kingdom" tbe whole community is blessed by the humble attitude that a person holds tow~rd God in as much as this humility finds expression in one's attitude toward others. There is an echo here of the "blessings" and "woes" that Luke will set fortb in the important "discourse on tbe plain" (6:20-24). An allusion may also be found of "the rise and fall of many in Israel" (Lk 2:34) wbicb will be the result of the birth of Mary's child.171 1:52 Ka8£i).f11 Svv&o-rat; &TTl> 8pl;vwv 1Calf'Jtpwof11 'rfrTTEIVOOt; 165 J. Forestell 215-16, n. 40. The destruction of enemies is antecedent to the salvific action of God. 166 G. Bertram, TDNT VIII 526. Cf. Pss 16:10, 30:19,24; 35:12; 58:13; 72: 6, etc. God is against pride (Prv 3:34; Is 2: 12; 13:11 ). 167 Lagrange 49. "Hebrews are proud of their strength of arm. Greeks are proud of their philosophy." 1611 G. Bertram, TDNT VIII 526. The quotation from Prv 3:34 in the context found in 1 Pt 5:5 and Jm 4:6, "God resists the proud but bestows his favor on the lowly," presents VTT£Pf1t/;6rvmu; as wickedness in its final form . Its opposite is "humility" and "lowliness." 169 T. Johnson 42. See other passages in Luke 5:21 -22,30; 6:8; 7:39; 13:14; 14:1; 16:15; 18:9. 1 ~ . Wurthwein, TDNT W966. Cf. 1 Ch 29:18; Bar 1:22; Test. of Joseph 10:5. The expression Stavolq KapSiat; is of Hebrew origin and here refers to a proud disposition or mode of thought. 171 L. T. Johnson 42. The pattern of reversal is fundamental to Luke's narrative. This is also attested to by R. J. Karris who asserts that Mary also, as the model believer, will have to decide for or against God's revelation in Jesus; family ties do not create faith . NJBC 684. See also Brown, on the "sword of discrmination," Birth of the Messiah 464. 42 ------ 1:53 1TfiVWv'Ta <; Evl1TA 1JOE'V aya66JV Ktrl 1TAOIITo0vTtr<; KE'VoiJ<; . (He has pulled down the powerful from thrones and lifted up the Jowly he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.) The tight chiastic structure of verses 52 and 53 reveal that these verses form the core of the thought of the second strophe. The cadence and the rhyming words suggest a chant that rises in a mighty crescendo. The description of the great eschatological reversal continues. The antithesis between the "fearing ones" (1:50) and the "proud" (1 :51) is expanded by two antithetical verses. The Jowly and the hungry are equated with those who fear the Lord, while the proud are among the powerful and the rich.172 Antithetical verbs dramatically depict God's acf.ion for and against the two opposing groups. There is a close parallel in these verses (52-53) with the Song of Hannah (1 Sam 2:7-8) and with Ps 113:7-8173 but the action in the Magnificat is more dramatic. Peretto regards the wisdom of Ben Sirach 10:14 as the most reliable antecedent to verse 52.174 To "lower the proud" and to" exalt the humble" is a theme that is cherished by the later writers of Judaism (Job 5:11; 12:19; Ez 21 :31 ; 1 QM 14:10-11). Marshall points out that 8vv&o"J<; is a "ruler" or "court official" (Acts 8:27), and Ka6Ei).E'V "to remove" is common in Luke (12: 18; 23:53; Acts 13: 19,29; 19:27).175 The word can also have the stronger sense of "pull down," "tear down" or "dethrone."176 m J. Forestell 216. Taken together these verses express the piety of the 'anawim. 173 The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage (1 Sm 2:7-8). He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor To seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people (Ps 113:7-8). 174E. Peretto, "Magnificat," Nuovo Dizionario 860. The thrones of the arrogant God overturns and establishes the lowly in their stead. (Sir 10:14) 175 I. H. Marshall 84. 176 C. Schneider, TDNT 111411. 43 In the Old Testament the overthrow of rulers who do not do God's will is a clear sign of his power at work in history. In the theology of history of late Judaism a sense of eschatology heightens. The Messiah takes the place of God in this dynamic and the overthrow of rulers becomes eschatological (Eil 46:5). 177 In contrast to God's action against the "powerful" stands the action of God for the "lowly." Gelin has traced the term rt:nr£1V6t; through all the scriptural meanings of the word. It carries the concept of one who is small, lowly, bowed down, insignificant; in Greek usage, a negative, even contemptuous term. But ra7T£1Voflt; is a translation of the Hebrew 0 ~ l JY, which includes a wide range of people who are poor and oppressed whether in material ways or in spirit. In the Old Testament the oppression might be caused by a foreign political or military ~er (Judith 16:11, I Mace 14:14) or by those who are rich and mighty (Am 2:7, Is 58:4). 178 Within the Old Testament literature the vocabulary of poverty evolved and was eventually transposed to a spiritual plane. What began as denoting a sociological reality capte to have a religious meaning, expressing a right attitude of soul in relationship to God. 179 In the 7th century BCE, the prophet Zephaniah described the coming "Day of Yahweh," as a day of judgement, desolation and destruction for the rich, proud and powerful. The humble were instructed to seek justice and take shelter in the Lord (Zeph 2:3). Those opposed to God were to be removed from the midst of the people (Zeph 3:1J). But a remnant people, humble and lowly would be left in Jerusalem (Zeph 3: 12-13). 1 These "poor of Yahweh" would be saved from disaster and gathered into a holy people, restored and made renown (Zeph 3:18-20). It is this remnant people, called to seek justice and humility (Zeph 2:3) that is, to be faithful to the covenant Zephaniah personifies them as the "daughter of Sion." 181 These then are the m7T£1Voilt; with whom Mary identifies, as well as personifies in her role as "Daughter of 171 C. Schneider, TDNT 1//411-12. Since the Magnificat is an eschatological hymn, this passage (Lk 1:52) is to be taken eschatologically. 178 W. Grundmann, TDNT VIII 9. 179 A. Gelin 26. "The poor one became God's client. Poverty meant the ability to welcome God, an openness to God, a willingness to be used by God." 180 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD; the remnant of Israel (Zeph 3: 12-13). 181 Shout for joy, 0 daughter Zion! sing joyfully, 0 Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, 0 daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has removed the judgment against you he has turned away your enemies (Zcph 3:14-15). 44 Sion."1112 The psalms also are filled with references to spiritual poverty (Cf. Pss. 147; 34 ). Gelin holds that the term, "Anawim" is used as a key word to the whole religion of the Old Testament and relates the first beatitude (Mt 5:3; Lk 6:20) to it. 1113 The community of the poor is an eschatological one. It is spoken of in Isaiah 4:3; 6: 13; 7:3; Jeremiah 31 :31 -34; and Ezechiel 34:30-31. 184 Like Job the Anawim are faithful to the covenant and trust in God's promise for deliverance from their misery. In Deutero lsaiah the refined community of the poor was the "servant of Yahweh." They were not only people of promise but people of mission, who were to bring the truth of Yahweh and his Law to the nations. The prophet foresaw that Israel would accomplish her mission through an individual Servant who would be the antitype of all the 'Anawim. 185 In the Old Testament tradition then, it can be seen that the Ta7TE1Voil~ are a specific community characterized by poverty of. spirit as well as in a situation of material poverty or opression. They are the faithful of Israel, who are totally depend upon God. They cry to God in their need and are the recipients of salvation. In the person of the Servant Messiah, Jesus, God has already accomplished their final definitive deliverance. God has raised high and greatly exalted, fltjlwaEV, his Servant (Is 42: 13). All social exaltation is repudiated. Exaltation is the act of God alone and always has an eschatological reference for the Christian (1 Pt 5:6; Phil 2:5).186 In verse 53 the great eschatological reversal of fortune is further emphasized with particular reference to the materially poor. The hungry ones, 7TEIVWva~. are filled up with good things while those who are already filled, 7TAOV-ro0vm~. are sent away empty. The contrast between the fate of the hungry and that of the well-fed has a precedent in the Song of Hannah (1 Sam 2:5) but, for the most part, in the Old Testament physical 1112 A. Serra remarks that Mary was nurtured in the faith of her people and embraced the redemption longed for by every genuine Israelite. As "Daughter of Sion" she is bound up with the lot of her people and involved within the tension between the poor and the proud ones (E C'era Ia Madre di Gesu 174). 183 A. Gelin 36. "When Christ comes, the first - and in fact the only - beatitude is to be understood in the light of all the others." 184 A. Gelin 28. • . . . the collective dream was focused on the 'new covenant' which would at last embrace a people worthy of God." 185Forestell 234. The four songs of the Servant of Yahweh describe the work of this servant in terms which surpass the collectivity of Israel. It is through the suffering of the innocent Servant that the salvation of many shall be achieved. 186G. Bertram, TDNT VIII 698. 45 hunger is not considered a blessing. 1117 The blessing of a fruitful land and abundant food is a reward promised to those who keep the covenant (Lv 26:5; Dt 28:4). Hunger for the word of God is a judgment which is a gnawing lack of everything that gives life (Amos 8:11) but in Sirach 24 :21 hunger becomes a figurative expression for religious Jonging.1118 Psalm 107:9 praises God because "he satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good things." In Luke's Gospel, however, Jesus calls the hungry "blessed" (6:21) and pronounces "woe" to those who are filled (6:25). The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19- 31) serves to further illustrate a sinfu I situation of injustice where the callousness of the rich man allows the hunger of Lazarus to endure. The reversal of fortune between the rich and the hungry poor which is due to the salvific action of God and is praised in the Magnificat sets the tone for a major theme of Luke's gospel, God's favor to the poor. 1119 That God should provide us with our daily- bread is a petition of the Lord's Prayer (Lk 11 :3) as is a plea for the coming of ~e "Reign of God" (Lk 11 :2). A sign of the presence of the "Reign of God" is a political and social situation of just relationships, in keeping with God's will, where there is no hunger among the many because of the greed of a few. R. Brown states that the poverty and hunger of the oppressed in the Magnificat are primarily spiritual, yet, he points out that the first followers of Jesus were Galileans who knew the oppression of absentee ownership of estates (Lk 20:9), foreign occupation and the resulting taxation (Acts 5:37). The early Christian Church at Jerusalem knew real poverty.190 But for the poor the good news of the Magnificat was that wealth and power are not real values and "the ultimately blessed were not the mighty and rich who tyrannized them."191 There is a danger in over spiritualizing the meaning of verses 52-53 and thus abnegating the serious responsibility that each Christian has to cooperate with God in bringing about a just social situation in distribution of power and resources. But there is also danger in interpreting them to mean the fomenting of revolution which would take 187L. Goppelt, TDNT V111, n. 21. For Rabbinism poverty is not at all a saving abasement leading to hope in God. It is a misfortune which chastises and at best purifies. 188L. Goppelt 16. The satisfying of hunger is extolled as a saving revelation of him who abases only to exalt. (1 Sam 2:5; Pss 107:36-41; 146:7). 189For a discussion of the problem of the rich and the poor in Luke's gospel see R. Karris, "Missionary Communities: A New Paradigm for the Study of Luke-Acts," Catholic Biblical Quanerly 41 (1979) 87-90. 190R. Brown 363-64. The need for helping this community was a concern of Paul (Gal 2:10; I Cor 16:1-4; Rom 15:25-26). "Luke's peculiar and emphatic castigation of wealth (6:24-26; 12:19- 20; 16:25; 21:1 -4) points to the existence of many poor in the communities to be served by Luke's Gospel." 191 Brown 364. 46 power and wealth from one group and give it to another, thus creating a new group of oppressed. A. Serra has remarked that the expectation for God's salvific action in the Old Testament was political and religious liberation. But Jesus took another stance, liberation from sin. In the Magnificat we have a religious liberation from which other liberations follow. Unless sin is addressed political liberation changes "the color but not the substance" of the social situation. 192 Gebara and Bingemer hold that the concrete sign of the established order wrought by the incarnation of the Word and the new practice of the "kingdom" is the raising up of the weak and the disinherited, the "poor of Yahweh." They believe that the reversal of positions that the powerful have greedily taken for themselves illustrates the new social order set up through God's saving action.193 This is a popular theme among those Christians who take seriously the injunction that working for a just society is a necessary part of the preaching of the Gospel. 194 Mary, Daughter of Sion, personification qf the faithful, lowly, remnant people of Israel is in solidarity with all who are in anyway oppressed but Mary's yes to God (Lk 1:38) has put her in solidarity also with God's salvific action. Her mission is to bear the Messiah who will begin God's reign of justice among all people. The strong aorist verbs put on the lips of Mary (1:52-53) indicate that the great social reversal is God's salvific action. Mary has participated by her decision made in faith and trust to accept the mission to which God has called her. Her understanding of this mission is the understanding of the early Jewish Christian Church from which the Magnificat arises. Then as today the mission of the Church was one with the mission of Jesus in bringing about the fulness of the "Reign of God." Mary, who stood at the point of the in-breaking of Messianic era into human history, is the inheritor of the all the national aspirations and hopes of the people of Israel, who remember how God has acted to liberate them from oppression in the past. In images and language from the Old Testament she expresses the sentiments of the community of the New Israel, the post resurrection people who have experienced the salvific action of God in the person of Jesus and having received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), recognize that the promise made to Abraham is not only being fulfilled in their midst but will be extended to all those who are called (Acts 2:39). The mission of the Church continues the mission of Jesus to bring all into the "Reign of God." This is the reign of true justice. 192Aristide Serra, private conversation. 193Gebara and Bingemer 168. "Those who have become rich, 'TTAnv'TOVvmc;, through tricky paths of exploitation and injustice and those who use their JXlWer to oppress and tyrannize, .Svv&omc;, arc treated with severity by this G~ who spreads God's generosity and gifts among the hungry, '7T£1VWV'Tac;, and the humble, 'Ta'7T£tvooc;." 194 Justice in the World, 1971 Synod of Bishops (Washington, D.C.: USCC, 1972) 34. "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel , or, in other words, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and it's liberation from every oppressive situation." 47 1:54a M'TM6{3£TO 'lopal)A TTm&>r. aiJTOfJ, (He has helped his servant Israel,) I :54b J.LV1J(rl}i)vm Utovr., (in remembrance of his mercy,) In the conclusion of the Magnificat the principle reasons for praise are summerized into the one great fact, the salvation event has taken place. In keeping with a post-resurrection perspective, Mary is the collective voice of the early Christian 'Anawim who see themselves as the faithful remnant of Jsraet.195 The verb used is 6vTfA.6{3£TO which has the sense of taking hold of in order to help. It is used in the LXX for "divine help" (Is 41 :9). This help has been rendered to God's servant (TTal&>c). As Mary has called herself "handmaid" (1 :48), so Israel in the collective sense is called "servant" (1 :54). What God has accomplished in Mary has been accomplished for all his people Israel. There is a clear allusion here to the Seryant of Yahweh theme of Isaiab.196 Israel is called "my servant" by God (Is 41 :8) and the mission of the Servant is described in the four following songs (Is 42:1 -4; 49:1-7; 50:4-11 ; 52:13-53). Here a prophetic and suffering figure of a Messiah appears, "a future person in whom all Israel is summed up and through whom Israel's mission to the world will be accomplished."197 God's action is in fulfilment of his covenant with Israel. There is a connection between the saving action of God and his remembering (J.Lv1J(rl}i)val) which is efficacious and creative.l98 What God remembers is his l\Jn, his merciful, enduring, covenant love. 1:55 Ka8wr. U&A1Jo£V TTpl>r. Toi>c TTaTlpar. 'IJJ.Laiv, -rq, · A{3patlJ.LKal -rq, OTTlpJ.LaTl aiJToO £lr. Tl>v alW«. (According to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendents forever. The final verse of the Magnificat brings us back to the beginning of the great drama of salvation. The promises made to Abraham were sealed by a covenant of which there are two accounts in Genesis. The promises were that Abraham should be the father of many descendants and that bis progeny should inhabit a land of their own. In the first or Yahwistic covenant account (Gen 15;17) all that was asked of Abraham was 195R. Brown 364. "It is the sense of fulfillment in vv. 54-55 that assures us that the Magnificat is of Christian origin." 196J. Jeremias, TDNT V680-100 . Cfls 41 :8. The collective use of1Tair. 11ov for Israel is first found for certain in Deutero-lsaiah and lives on after 100 BCE in both Hellenistic and Palestinian Judaism (cf Ps of Sol 12:6). According to Jeremias, Lk 1:54 has the same liturgical ring as Ps of Sol 12:6. 197 J. Forestell, "Old Testament" 221. 1980. Michel, TDNT IV 616. 48 faith in God. The second or Priestly account (Gen 17) confirms the promises but adds the requirement of circumcision for all male progeny as a sign of commitment to the covenant. Abraham appears frequently in Luke; he is the :iritual father of Israel (1:73; 3:8; 16:24) and his descendents are his "seed" (o'1Tlf'llaTl).1 The thought of Luke seems to be that the wealthy, the proud and the powerful, or those in opposition to God's will for his people, have been eliminated from this spiritual community (I :51-53).200 But for those true descendents of Abraham, the faithful remnant people, God's mercy is forever (d~ TlJv al61a).201 The language concerning God's wondrous and mighty works (1:49; 5la) is reminiscent of the Exodus and the Sinai covenant. The Davidic covenant theology is recalled in Luke's annunciation account (1:31-33) and the Servant of Yahweh (1:48a; 54a) theme establishes the Messianic role of Mary's son. It would seem that the whole of the Old Testament understanding of Yahweh's relationship to his people in constant faithful love is summed up in Mary's Song. The Messianic era has dawned and God's promises are now being fulfilled. The Messianic joy which permeates the song has no temporal limit for it stretches forth in response to the experience of God's salvific action which is eternal. 1991. H. Marshall 85. 200Marshall 85 . "There is as yet no trace of a universalism embracing the Gentiles." 201 H. Sasse, TDNT I 198-99. Here the context bears out that altiJa has the sense of eternity. 49 CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION AND REFLECfiONS CONCLUSION Was Mary's Song her own composition? It is probably not possible to know. That Luke should put this profound canticle on the lips of Mary is eminently appropriate considering his total portrait of Mary as mother of the Messiah. The language and images of the song carry within them the history of God's relationship with his elect people. The covenant theology of first century Judaism shines through. Mary's God is Yahweh, the God of Israel. She has experienced his "mercy," his eternally faithful justice and love. Trusting in this love she has risked a "yes" to her call, to her mission to bear the Messiah to the world. Symbolically, as "Daughter of Sion," Mary is the collective voice of Israel's faithful remnant people. As the spokeswoman for the early Jewish Christian community she is able to reflect back on the meaning of her life in cooperation with the salvific action of God. The response is wonder, joy and praise in the post-resurrection understanding of the definitive salvation event achieved through the paschal mystery of her son's life and death. The Magnificat is the song of Mary's mature faith. It will echo down through the ages in celebration of God's enduring love and the happiness of those who choose to entrust themselves to his mercy. Mary is the paradigm of saying "yes" to God, of entering into the paschal mystery and thus becoming a part of the dynamic creative activity of God in bringing about the fullness of "God's Reign." Her ecstatic joy is the joy of a life fulfilled. REFLECfiONS l. MARY, TYPE OF THE CHURCH IN MISSION Each evening as Vespers is sung or recited in religious houses throughout the world, Mary's Song, the Magnificat, joyfully proclaims the coming "Reign of God." For almost two thousand years Mary has been spokesperson for those who with contemplative vision discern God's action in history, remembering his people, bringing the poor, the lowly, the powerless, the forgotten into the realm of sufficiency, dignity and justice. In awe and wonder at God's graciousness, gratitude wells up and joy abounds. In Mary, the final personification of Israel, salvation-history is held in tension. All the eschatological longing of the the people of Israel breaks through in Mary's song, the Magnificat. The promises made to Abraham and to his posterity are coming to fulfillment in Mary's womb. From her flow the words of joy and praise celebrating the dawn of the inbreaking of the "Reign of God" into human history. Today we, post-resurrection people, people of God's new creation, stand in eschatological tension between the time of the inbreaking of the reign of God and its 50 final fulfillment. The Kingdom of God announced by Jesus is here in our midst, yet is coming. We herald its presence yet wait for its final fulfillment. Hans Conzelmann in explicating Luke's eschatology discusses this "now" but "not yet" aspect of the Kingdom of God. He holds that in Jesus' life we perceive what the Kingdom is like yet it can only be proclaimed as a future fact. 1 Joachim Jeremias discusses the dynamic concept of the "Reign of God" which dawns with the coming of Jesus and is the central theme of his proclamation (Lk 4: 43). It is God's work in bringing about the ideal situation of righteousness and is always in process. In the Lord's Prayer (Lk 11: 2), Jesus himself uses the term "basileia" in its eschatological sense.2 John L. McKenzie writes: ''The double aspect of the kingdom as present reality and future reality is apparent in the parables of the Kingdom (Lk 8:4, 13:18-21)."3 While the establishment of "God's Reign" is God's action in history and is a dynamic movement, the followers of Christ must not wait passively for its fulfillment. They are called to participate actively in the pr~ess of bringing it about. This is a disciple's mission, a mission which is a participation in the mission of the church which in turn must be the same as the mission of Jesus. Mary's Song is an eschatological hymn that celebrates the past, present and future action of God in history. A woman nurtured in the faith of Israel, Mary chooses by her "fiat" to cooperate with God in the bringing about of the "Reign." Her mission is both personal and communal. As historic person, Mary is a Jewish woman of Nazareth, mother of the Messiah, proto-disciple of her son, Jesus. Symbolically, Mary is both the personification of the faithful people of the Old Covenant and the representative of the faithful people of the New Covenant in her role as type of the Church in mission.4 2. THE MESSAGE OF MARY'S SONG The Magnificat is a post-resurrection hymn. The Visitation is the point of intersection between the Old and New Covenants. For us, who are believers, this is a celebration of the most important moment in human history, the moment of the inbreaking of the reign of God. A new dynamism has entered into the relationship 1Hans Conzelmann, The Theology of St. Luke, trans. Geoffrey Buswell (New York: Harper & Row, 1961) 95-136. 2 Joachim Jeremias, New Testament Theology, trans. John Bowden (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) 96-102. 3John L. McKenzie, "Kingdom of God," Dictionary of the Bible (New York: Macmillan, 1973) 481. 4For a development of the theme of Mary and mission sec Johann G. Roten, SM, "Memory and Mission: A Theological Reflection on Mary; Marian Studies XLII (1991) 73-132. Roten points out that the Visitation "connects intimacy with God and service to others; it binds vocation and mission into one call" 99. 51 between God and the entire human race with the event of the Incarnation. Nothing will be the same again for God has become incarnate in creation. From now ·On, "from generation to generation," all human experience is permeated by the incarnate presence of God. As spokesperson of the primitive Jewish-Christian community centered in Jerusalem, Mary sings out her awareness of the historical significance of this momentous event. With an understanding steeped in the historical reality of ancient Israel, Mary uses the language and prayer fom1 of Israel'~ tradition to interpret the meaning of the Incarnation. It is the beginning of the time of fulfillment of the promises made to Israel through its great ancestor, Abraham. But it is more than this. The wonders, the marvelous works of God on behalf of the people of the Old Testament, pale before the great works of God now being set in motion. It is profoundly appropriate that the Magnificat should have been put on the lips of Mary by the Third Evangelist. The moment 9f the inbreaking of the Reign of God into human history is the experience of Mary alone. In the Magnificat, Mary both celebrates and interprets her experience. In her song we catch a glimpse of the joy and wonder of the primitive Palestinian Jewish-Christian community who have experienced the resurrection of Jesus. They are a transformed people who now experience the presence of the risen Christ in their midst and have interpreted this reality in the light of the history of the relationship of Israel with God. With the Resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit, another element of the drama of the Christ-event takes center stage. This is the commission given to the believers to be about the preaching of the "Good News" that Jesus is Lord, Kyrios. The Reign of God, preached by Jesus and present in his person, is now present in the community of Christians who must witness to this presence and continue his mission. The community of the faithful is an ecclesial community, organized around the first witnesses to the resurrection. The individual missionaries are "sent" by the community to preach, that is, they are those who are recognized to have received the Spirit and are faithful to the teaching of the Apostles. Mary, the first witness of the Incarnation and the first to receive the Holy Spirit, is present among the first witnesses of the Resurrection as the Holy Spirit descends upon them. In the Magnificat she articulates the meaning of the Christ-event. In her lowliness, she has been exalted. But the marvelous work of God in her and for her is extended to all of Israel. The theme of the "Servant" of Isaiah 42 is lived out in her. This servant theme is also lived out in the life, suffering and death of her son, Jesus, who is then exalted by God. In the sending of the Holy Spirit, the great and marvelous works of God are extended to embrace all, first the community of the faithful of Israel and then the community of gentile believers. There is a wonderful dynamism and universalism in the message. Just as Israel has been blessed many times through one individual as witnessed by the Old Testament, all generations, forever, will be blessed through Mary who bears the One through whom all blessing comes. Mary is thus the spokesperson who makes known the self-understanding of the early Palestinian Jewish-Christian community. These Jewish Christians see themselves as the faithful remnant of Israel, recipients of God's blessing. They are the lowly ones 52 through whom God's salvation in Jesus will be made known to all peoples down through the ages. At the beginning of the gospel of Luke, we are given a glimpse of the future. The dynamic "Reign of God" has broken into human history with the coming of Jesus and the relationship between God and creation has entered a new dimension. The task remaining for the early Christian community is with us still, to enter into relationship with the Lord and to continue the mission of bringing about the fullness of the "Reign." The mission of the individual is a participation in the mission of the whole Christian community which in turn is a participation in the mission of Christ. The great works of God done in and for each individual are for the whole community. The blessings will continue as God continues to act in partnership with those who believe to bring about the final fulfulment of the promises made to Abraham. We see then the individual, ecclesial and eschatological dimensions of the Christian mission. 3. MARY'S MAGNIFICAT AND WOMEN The Magnificat is more than a communal hymn. Luke presents it as the response of one woman, Mary, to not only her own personal experience of the Incarnation but to the whole Paschal Mystery. The moment of the Incarnation was the turning point of history but it was the whole of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which brought about the reversal of the human condition. Among the members of the primitive Christian community were women, many of whom had known Jesus in his earthly ministry and had lived through the traumatic circumstances of his passion and death as well as the bewilderment of the resurrection. Like the men disciples they had to come to grips with the meaning of these events. They too had experienced the wonderous transformation effected by the presence of the Holy Spirit within their midst. Assuming Mary's presence in the earliest Christian community, we might reflect upon her experience as a woman among the women of her day. Considering the Magnificat as a post-resurrection hymn, and presuming that the hymn contains not only a hymn of the early Christian Jerusalem community in which Mary as "Daughter of Sion" sings out her joy and praise of God for the salvation of all of Israel but also as a personal response of Mary, I believe that we can hear a echo of Mary's personal understanding of the paschal event in the light of her womanhood. Mary speaks of her lowly estate. She puts herself among the "Anawim," that is, the "poor and lowly ones" as a handmaid, a woman. What would it have been like to be a Jewish woman of first century Palestine? The social and religious status of women assigned them to a dependent position, legally powerless in the larger society and inferior to men as persons. But in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:43-47; 4:32-37) we have a precious insight into the situation of the early Christian, Jerusalem community. The actions and teaching of Jesus was the core around which the attitudes of the disciples were formed. These words and actions of Jesus as recorded by the evangelists portray Christ as transforming the situation of women. Jesus, contrary to the Jewish tradition and customs of his time, accepted women as full persons in their own right. Women followed him as disciples, experienced 53 miracles of healing and forgiveness, spoke with him freely, were present at his passion and death, and were the first witnesses of the resurrection. In the incident of the healing of the woman suffering from hemorrage, Jesus rejected the blood taboo which excluded women from religious and at times social functions. In the teaching on divorce, the equality of women in marriage is upheld. Martha and Mary are accepted as friends and Mary is defended before the male disciples as worthy of being a disciple of the Rabbi and listening to his teachings. The commissioning of the women to bring the news of the resurrection to the apostles and other disciples was somewhat extraordinary in view of the fact that under Jewish law and custom, women were not accepted as witnesses. The manner in which Jesus received and interacted with women is characterized by graciousness and acceptance of them as moral, intellectual and spiritual persons. The woman who washed Jesus feet is to be remembered for her love. Mary of Bethany is allowed an intellectual life; she is privileged to _J;it at the feet of the Teacher. When the motherhood of Mary is praised, Jesus responds by praising her faith. When women are criticized or treated harsely, Jesus defends them. In view of these experiences with Jesus, the suffering that his women followers must have felt during the passion and death of the Savior was surely intense. If the disciples in general were looking to Jesus, as Messianic leader, to bring about the salvation of the nation how much more so were the hopes and expectations of the women for acceptance as persons raised by him . What must have been the experience of the women followers of Jesus after the resurrection? The emotions that they experienced are touched upon briefly in the gospels. Both the resurrection and the transforming Pentecostal experience of the women must have been profound. Today, we would probably speak of it as liberation, both the internal, indivdual liberation of being accepted and loved as fully persons and the external liberation of being accepted as such within the social and religious context of the community. In the Magnificat, Mary, a member of that early group of women, sings out her personal experience of liberation. The Song of Mary is more than a communal response to the wonderful works of a merciful God on behalf of the descendents of Abraham. It is an individual response of a single woman, Mary, on her own behalf and on the behalf of all women for all ages. In the midst of danger, oppression and persecution, the early Palestinian Christians rejoiced in God's great works. In the midst of a patriarchal society in which the status of women assigned them to subordination and dependency, Mary perceives herself as blessed among women and for all ages, ever after, women rejoice in her blessedness and can claim the liberation which is theirs. The Magnificat is a song of reversal of the established order of things brought by the Incarnation. The mission of the faith community today is to hold fast to the gospel message and to critique not only secular society but also the Church in light of gospel norms. The God of mercy and compassion who regards the lowly and insignificant, the God to whom Mary sings her praise, is now in our midst as liberator of all the afflicted and oppressed. Participation in the mission of Christ in bringing about the fullness of the "Reign of 54 God" includes working for a just society. That is, a society in which the marginated are seen as fully persons and are not only treated with dignity and respect but also share in the power and responsibility of decision-making in areas which affect their lives. Women are called to participation in this mission. Like Mary, women have a choice of saying "yes" to God who issues the call. The God of the Magnificat, in whom Mary rejoices, is a God who says "no" to human exploitation and oppression. For many women saying "no" to exploitation and oppression requires great courage. To be given responsibility without power is exploitation. Power without responsibility leads to oppression. Women within the Church, who are called to participate in the mission of the Church which is also the mission of Christ, must experience both. Mary, the woman of faith through whom God's mercy shines, is teacher as well as paradigm in this regard. 55 CHAPTER ONE: METHODS FOR INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY BACKGROUND The exegesis of the Magnificat in part one of this study was a source of inspiration and insight for me as researcher. Analysis of the language of the text, inquiry into the historical setting and reflecting upon the message contained therein, all in the context of the theology of Luke's entire work, Gospel and Acts, led me to some understanding of the meaning that Luke intended to set forth for his readers or listeners of the first century of Christianity. Interpretations of modern scholarly commentators which were studied added to this understanding. The world behind the text emerged. It was seen that the Magnificat, placed in the infaJ!cy narrative of the first chapter of Luke's gospel, recapitulated the covenant theology of the New Testament and set the tone for the major themes of the evangelist's work in the Old Testament. Part two of this work deals with the world in front of the text of the Magnificat. The primary focus of the qualitative research portion of this study is discovery of the worldview of a contemporary group of Dominican sisters relative to Mary's Song. Specifically, the research looks into the way Mary's Song is interpreted within the context of the lives of these sisters who belong to an American, Dominican, apostolic community, a community which is two thousand years removed from the time of Luke's writing. Luke writes to an audience of the first Christian century which held certain presuppositions concerning the world, social organization, authority, the nature and position of men and women. His gospel was received and interpreted within the cultural milieu of a society far different from our own. In the religous sphere Christians were a minority who knew real poverty and persecution. It was also a patriarchal society in which the subordinate position of women and slaves was not called into question. The sisters of the qualitative component of this study, who have received and pondered the gospel, interpret it from their own unique perspectives as highly educated women of the late twentieth century. They live, pray, and serve both within an ecclesiastical milieu where women's identity, role, and position are defined within the limits of a patriarchal structure and within a secular cultural milieu where the limits of a patriarchal social structure are not presupposed. I sought for an interpretive methodology that would reveal the meaning of the Magnificat in a group of these women. It was necessary that the women speak for themselves from their own life experience and prayer experience. It was a presupposition of mine that the women interviewed in this study would have the "historical self-consciousness" spoken of by Gadamer, 1 that is, I assumed that 1See Hans-George Gadamer, "llle Problem of Historical Consciousness," /nletpn!tive Sociol Science: A Reader (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1979) 110. Gadamer defines historical 56 the sisters would place the Magnificat in historical perspective, look at the meaning that it had at the time it was written and consciously translate that meaning into a form which fit into their own modern perspective. As data revealed, this was not the process of interpretation of the scripture which the sisters employed. From the beginning of my conversations with the sisters it was clear that they had not been influenced by the orientation toward the text which I had as a result of having done an exegesis of it. For them the Magnificat was a prayer to be said or sung, not a text to be analyzed. In fact, they were grounded in a tradition of liturgical prayer in which the Magnificat was used, if not daily, at least often. The sisters' approach to interpretation of the Magnificat was not as an academic enterprise. The historical gap between the world of the first Christian century and the modern world of the sisters' experience was not problematic. Ancient images in the text were quite simply reinterpreted when they were found meaningful and bypassed when they were not. How close the world of prayer of these modern women is to the world of prayer of the early Christians remains a mystery but the words of the psalm prayers they use are the same. Paul Ricoeur, in explaining the concept of "the world of a text," tells us that discourse has a reference which he calls its "world." This "world" is a situation which is common to the speaker and the hearer. When discourse is written, it becomes fixed yet the meaning of what is written is able to move beyond the author's original intention. As the text becomes distanced from the original situation of the discourse it creates a "world" which it projects ahead of itself. Subsequent interpretations make it possible to find within the text a "surplus of meaning." He states: The text's career escapes the finite horizon lived by its author. What the text says now matters more than what the author meant it to say, and every exegesis unfolds its procedures within the circumference of a meaning that has broken its moorings to its author's psychology. 2 The world in front of the text for the sisters who were part of my study is the world of meaning given to the Magnificat from a specific perspective, that is, from within a worldview molded by contemporary, American, religious woman's experience. This particular world of meaning can only be described through the sisters' words. In her insightful writing on biblical hermeneutics, Sandra Schneiders calls the world projected by the Second Testament, the world in front of the text, the world of Christian discipleship. She says: This is the world structured by the paschal mystery of Jesus, in which life consciousness as the privilege of having a full awareness of the historicity of everything present and the relativity of all opinions. 2Paul Ricocur, "llte Model of the Text: Meaningful Action Considered as Text ," lntetpretive Social Science: A Reader (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1979) 78. 57 issues from death, and by the eschatological hope of liberation for all in the boundless shalom of the reign of God. 3 Schneiders speaks of the world in front of the text as a world of possibility which invites the reader who is engaged with the text to move into its midst and appropriate the text to herself. But this apppropriation involves metanoia, not just a change of opinion but change to a new way of being. She considers genuine interpretation of scripture as a hermeneutics of transformation. In the Constitutions of the Adrian Dominican sisters, Mary is considered to be first among the followers of Jesus and the one who characterizes true discipleship. It is stated that she witnesses through her life and through her Magnificat the qualities of discipleship.4 In researching the world in front of the text of the Magnificat I was faced with the necessity of grounding the above statement in the actual experience of the sisters. Looking for a methodology to uncover the world in front of the text of the Magnificat I went first to the field of reader-response criticism. Reader-response criticism focuses on the activity of reading a text. The literature described various theories but it seemed to me that these theories, which dealt with how the text was read or studied and then individually interpreted, were inadequate for my purposes. M. H. Abrams commenting on reader-response criticism says: Reader-response critics of all theoretical persuasions agree that, at least to some degree, the meanings of a text are the "production" or "creation" of the individual reader, hence that there is no one correct meaning, either of the linguistic parts or of the artistic whole of a text.5 A collection of individual literary interpretations of the Magnificat was not what I was seeking in this study. My search was for a deeper meaning. The Magnificat is more than a text to be interpreted. It is a psalm prayer. The very fact of prayer implies a relationship that has been established between the one who prays and the one to whom the prayer is addressed. In the case of the Magnificat, set forth in the Gospel of Luke as the words of Mary, Mother of the Lord, still another relationship is involved, the relationship between Mary and the sister who is praying in Mary's words. In keeping with the quest to discover how the Magnificat lives today in the lives of women for whom it is a familiar and communal prayer and whether this prayer impacts their sense of mission, I wanted to uncover the meaning of the canticle from the 3Sandra M. Schneiders, "Feminist Ideology Criticism and Biblical Hermeneutics," Biblical Theology Bulletin 19.1 ( 1989): 8. 4Adrian Dominican Constitution and Statutes (1989) 10. 5M. H. Abrams, "Reader-Response Criticism," A Glossary of Lilerary Temu (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981) 150. 58 perspective of the worldview of these sisters, that is, within the framework of the meaning and purpose that shapes their lives. A friend working in the field of research in education suggested that I consider an ethnographic research strategy. Although I was unable to find any examples of research which applied methods of qualitative analysis to the interpretation of scripture, consultation with qualitative researchers convinced me that it provided a methodology that suited my purposes. Qualitative research originated in the field of anthropology and is now widely used by researchers in the fields of sociology, business, journalism, medicine, and education. Mary Jo McGee Brown, a qualitative methodologist, graciously accepted me as a student. She explained the qualitative analysis theory to me, supplied me with the appropriate literature explaining the metholodology, and guided me step by step through the process of interpretive inquiry. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The primary focus of the qualitative research portion of this study is discovery of the worldview of contemporary Dominican sisters relative to Mary's song. The process used, that of interpretive inquiry, began with the formulation of an interview question which was designed to guide this discovery and generative inquiry. The first question then was, "What does this passage of scripture, Luke 1:46-55, mean to you?" The question was purposely open-ended. In qualitative research care is taken not to direct responses to a research question toward the expectations of the researcher. Michael Patton states: Open-ended responses permit one to understand the world as seen by the respondents. The purpose of gathering responses to open-ended questions is to enable the researcher to understand and capture the points of view of other people without predetermining those points of view through prior selection of questionnaire categories.6 Instead of beginning my research with a preconceived notion of what the worldview of the sisters is regarding the Magnificat and then trying to prove it, I was setting out to discover this worldview. My research question was formulated to allow room for other questions to develop from the initial responses. According to Strauss and Corbin the main purpose of using the grounded theory method is to develop theory. Thus research questions are needed that give the researcher "flexibility and freedom to explore a phenomenon in depth."7 6Michael Patton, Qualitative Evaluation Methods (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications) 28. 1Anselm Strauss and Julie Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory (Newbury Park: Sage Publication, 1990) 23-37. The authors define grounded theory as theory that is inductively derived from the study of the phenomenon it represents. That is it is discovered, developed, and verified through systematic data collection and analysis of data pcraining to that phenomenon. 59 In some cases the topic of Dominican charism or mission arose as part of the response to meaning; in other cases it did not. A question concerning a connection between the Magnificat and the Dominican sense of discipleship and mission was posed to each interviewee after the response to the question of meaning seemed to have been exhausted. The sisters were asked if they found any themes in the Magnificat which were supportive of a Dominican theology of mission. My primary interest lay in uncovering the personal meaning of the Magnificat to individuals. My interest in the connection to Dominican mission was secondary. After coding and analyzing the first interviews a few more questions were added in follow up interviews to clarify and ascertain the commonality of themes that had emerged. These questions pertained to the way the Magnificat was used and the frequency with which it was used in private prayer as well as in the creation of communal prayer services. An image of Mary had begun to emerge from the responses and the question, "Who is Mary to you?," was <~Jked in order to more clearly identify this image as well as to capture an understanding of the nature of the sisters relationship to her. A theme of change in relationship or image emerged and a question was added to probe the cause of that change. Some of the follow up interviews were conducted by a personal visit others were by written questionnaire combined with a phone call. The second contact was designed to give the sisters an opportunity to add any new information that they wished to that which had already been given and to voice their own questions concerning the research and use of their information. CONTEXT OF THE INQUIRY Those chosen to be interviewed were all women religious, members of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. The Dominican Order of women to which the sisters belong was founded in Prouille, France by St. Dominic in the year 1206. The American congregation which has headquarters in Adrian, Michigan is an off shoot of the Dominican congregation established in New York by nuns who had come to America from Holy Cross Monastery in Ratisbon, Germany. This monastery traces its origin to the year 1233.8 From its origins the Dominican tradition of prayer has included the chanting or singing of the Magnificat as part of the daily prayer of Vespers. Thus all of the sisters know this prayer well. The prayer language of the congregation was Latin until the early 1960s when it became English. The Second Vatican Council had mandated a renewal of religious life. After the Council an indepth study of the traditions of the congregation took place. Changes were made in government structure. The new structures permitted new experiences in life style, prayer style, apostolic works and a change in religious garb. 8Mary Philip Ryan, OP, Amid the Alien Com (St. Charles, IL: Jones Wood Press, 1967). This book gives a brief history of the Dominican Congregation from the year 1233 until the year 1853 when the nuns arrived in New York. Then a more detailed history up to the year 1923 when the congregation became canonically autonomous as a foundation in Adrian, Michigan. 60 The Magnificat was now being prayed in English but not necessarily daily. Sisters who entered the community after the Vatican II, during this time of renewal, experienced a style of community prayer and an orientation toward mission during the time of their religious formation which was significantly different from that which the older members had experienced. The new consititutions of the congregation were canonically approved in 1989.9 The General Chapter of 1992 drew up a set of vision statements to guide the mission of the congregation.10 At the present time the number of sisters in the congregation are approximately 1300. Their median age is 64 years. The sisters from whom an interview was requested ranged in age from 43 to 92 years with the median age being 57 years. All had been teachers at one time or another but at the time of the interviews most were engaged in a variety of works which included pastoral ministry, liturgical ministry, administration, work in the medical field, congregational service and social work as well as teaching. Geographically, the sisters lived and miqistered in twelve different states of the United States ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and from Michigan and New York in the north to the southernmost tip of Florida. Eighteen of the thirty sisters contacted for interviews were located in the midwest. All of the sisters had lived and worked in a variety of places during the course of their religious lives. Four had experienced living and ministering in a third world country. The educational level of the sisters interviewed was high. All were college graduates and all except two who had specialized training in the medical field had at least one masters degree. Some had several advanced degrees including doctorates. This reflects the general level of education of the congregation whose primary work is teaching. In the past, with very few exceptions, all sisters who were accepted into the congregation were expected to get a college degree and to be prepared to teach. Therefore, there is no specified group of sisters within the congregation who are without college degrees and relegated solely to domestic service. SELECI'ION AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES An announcement of my interest in gathering reflections from the sisters on the Magnificat was made in a community bulletin. The idea was received enthusiastically by a member of the sisters' leadership team who suggested that the research be broaden to include other congregations of the Domininican Order. However a decision was made to keep the research, in this particular study, to within manageable limits by restricting it 9Adrian Dominican Constitution and Statutes (1989). A history of the renewal process in the Adrian Dominican Congregation can be found in the proceeding of the general chapters held between 1964 and 1992. 10Adrian Dominican Sisters, General Chapter 1992: VISion Statements, Action Directions, Administrative Decisions, Adrian, Ml (1992). Emphasis in the vision statements is on strengthening community life as Dominicans, acting on behalf of justice and peace, being in solidarity with the poor, eradicating racism, and advancing participation of women in Church and society. 61 to the Adrian Dominican congregation. An initial selection was made of a group of twenty-eight sisters who had entered the congregation in the same year. They were bonded by a common novitiate experience which gave them all the same education in Dominican life and mission. All had teaching experience. They differed widely in personality, talents and interests, as well as in educational and mission experiences beyond the time of initial religious formation . The term mission, as used here, refers to the context of living situation and apostolic work experiences of the sisters. A sampling was made of ten from a group of thirteen of these sisters who agreed to be interviewed during a reunion week in 1991. Those who were involved had, among themselves, a broad variety of professional experiences and resided in seven different states across the country. The ages of nine of the sisters were within three years of each other and one was about ten years older than the rest. The number of choice was arbitrary. It .represented the number who could be comfortablely interviewed in a relaxed atmosphere without interference in the vacation schedule. A few others indicated that they would like to be interviewed at a later time but this did not happen. The duration of each of the first nine interviews was unrestricted. Each lasted from a half-hour to two hours depending upon how much the sister had to share. The last session had to be terminated abruptly due to the departure of some of the group. Some coding and analysis of data from the first interviews were done shortly after the sessions were held. However, work on the interpretive inquiry part of my research was suspended during the following year in order to give time for completion of the biblical exegesis of the Magnificat text. When the exegesis was finished I returned to the interpretive inquiry project and reviewed the data. Analysis had indicated that perspectives on the Magnificat were uniquely related to the life experiences of the sisters. These were the experiences of a limited number who were mainly in the same middle age group of the congregation. The life experiences of a wider range of sisters was needed to add depth to the study. A second sampling expanded the number of participants to include a cross section of sisters who better represent the general makeup of the congregation. The second group of women consisted of ones who accepted a personal invitation to be part of the study. One sister was included who specifically asked to be interviewed. The ethnic background of the interviewees represent a mixture of many nationalities, the majority being of western European origin. This renects the majority of the community. A limitation of the study is that there were no sisters of Mrican American, Asian or Hispanic origin included. This group forms a very small minority of the congregation. Conversations were held with two of this minority group and they were invited to become part of the project. One shared brieny but pressures of time and the expense of travel limited opportunities for substantive interviews. RESEARCHER AS INSTRUMENT As a member of the Adrian Dominican congregation for forty years, I approached 62 this research with both a closeness to the members with whom I have shared many experiences and a need to distance myself from these experiences in order to understand my biases and expectations about the responses. Not only was I a member of the group whose interpretation of the Magnificat I was studying but I had the history of singing or chanting the Magnificat as a daily part of the community's prayer of Vespers. I knew that the younger members of the community that I interviewed had not experienced the praying of the canticle in Latin or even daily in English as had the older members, but at the beginning of my research I did not think that this was significant. Actually, this preconceived notion that I understood the prespective from which the sisters were responding to my question was a bias that I had to overcome. Barney Glaser in his discussion of grounded theory holds that a skill required of the researcher is to be able to distance oneself from data being collected. He states: It requires the ability to maintain analytic distance, while at the same time drawing upon theoretical knowledge and astute powers of assimilation of data which allow concepts to emerge that patterns of data indicate. 11 My director, Mary Jo McGee Brown, instructed me to list my expectations of the interviewees in order to identify my own biases prior to conducting any interviews. The goal was not to eliminate biases, but rather to be aware of my biases so that I could attempt to counter them methodologically during data collection and analysis. It was important not to give more weight to responses that gave me what I expected to hear than to responses which gave me data I had not anticipated. I was also instructed to keep a daily log of my work progress as well as a diary of my day to day reflections on the research and to continue to list my biases and expectations as I became aware of them. All field diary entries were dated. A set of questions on my own attitudes toward the Magnificat and my reasons for choosing this topic to research was given to me by Dr. Brown. Answering the questions helped me to clarify my own attitudes and to thus to be able to avoid presupposing that these were the attitudes of the sisters in the study. The researcher in an interpretive inquiry study must bracket her own perspectives, and seek the meaning of the phenomenon from the perspective of the interviewee within her context. In this sense the theoretical perspective of the researcher is phenomenological (ernie). Brown identifies the central point of phenomenological research as the acquisition of the participants' worldview. 12 My approach to the Magnificat at the time that I began the interviews was somewhat academic and definitely influenced by the exegesis that I done. This 11 Barney G. Glaser, Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis (Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press, 1992) 12. 12M. J. McGee Brown, "Validity and the Problem of Reality: an Issue of Trust." paper presented at the 1991 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, 1991) 4. 63 experience shaped my expectations. Glaser states that the goal of grounded theory is to generate theory not to ~rove a theory already held. In his words, "We are discovering the world, not creating it." I. The initial four interviews taught me that the sisters' approach to tbe Magnificat was different from mine. They reflected upon the Magnificat from the perspective of a personal, meaningful prayer. Exegetical concerns such as whether Mary was really the author of the canticle was not a consideration of interviewees nor was there any explicit attempt to situate the canticle in the context of the theology of Luke. What was emerging in data was a lived spirituality of the Magnificat. As a researcher I needed to bracket my own perspective to let the essential meaning of the Magnificat emerge from the responses of the sisters, to capture their perspectives in their own words. To do this I tape recorded the interviews but took notes as well. Later in analyzing the transcribed responses and comparing them to my handwritten notes, I realized the value of haviog complete, verbatim responses. In my field notes I had missed material which gave important nuances to the responses. DATA COLLECTION METHODS Permission to tape the interview was requested of each sister. In addition to the taping, hand written notes of the sharing were taken in each case. The setting of the interview was carefully noted as were the nonverbal responses of the individual. Each was invited to share her views about the meaning of a canticle which traditionally had been a daily prayer of the community but was now optional as a personal or communal prayer. My awareness of the personal nature of the sharing was increased as I observed the mode of response. The interview began with a reading of and a short time for reflection on the Magnificat. Because various English translations of this prayer are in use I thought that some uniformity in text would be desirable. Therefore, I gave the same translation of the canticle to each sister. As it was, I very soon found that among the available translations of the text, many sisters had made their own choice of a favorite. The context of the first few interviews taught me a great deal about the need for professional sensitivity in these encounters. After each interview I spent some time reflecting on what had taken place, jotting down notes for myself concerning my own reactions to the information I had received and assessing the suitability of the setting in which the interview was conducted. Also, after the interviews I asked some of the sisters to share with me how they felt about the experience of being interviewed. With each encounter I continued to become more enlightened about the procedures of interpretive inquiry, more sensitive to the need for openness and respect in the manner in which I listened to the information being shared and more conscious of the importance of the milieu of trust and confidentiality in which the data collection takes place. 13Giaser, Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis 16. 64 After the initial ten interviews I conducted a preliminary coding of data to see what categories would emerge as important to the interviewees. I used relations among categories to generate tentative hypotheses. These hypotheses became part of my list of expectations and they were examined in subsequent interviews with different interviewees. At this time I had not yet transcribed the interviews but was coding from my field notes. Later transcriptions of the taped interviews revealed a depth and richness of material which I had missed in my notes yet the basic themes remained the same. Initially, the invitation was extended to a selected group of sisters to become part of this study. No reason was asked why anyone chose to accept or refuse the invitation. Some reasons were offered, however. These are not recorded in the data because they are personal. For ethical reasons it was not considered appropriate to require anyone to justify such a decision or to include any volunteered reactions. Later, in an attempt to interview a spectrum of sisters whose background reflected that of the entire community, individual sisters were approached with a speci(jc request for an interview. Most accepted, but again, no reasons were requested to explain a refusal. The interviews conducted were conversational and individual except for one incident when two participants shared an interview session. This was at the request of one of the sisters involved who appeared somewhat timid in sharing alone. Because of her hesitance I asked if she preferred not to be taped. She expressed that she did not wish to be taped and the recorder was not used. As an observant researcher using interpretive inquiry I attempted to be sensitive to all dimensions of an interview situation. Aspects of nonverbal communication and affect of the respondents were carefully noted. Tone of voice and demeanors portrayed in discourse such as enthusiasm, joy, seriousness or pensiveness can color the meaning of a response and lead the researcher to ask questions for clarification rather than assume anything. The importance of body language to meaning led me to conduct all initial interviews face to face. Later, to make sure that I had captured the meaning of certain responses correctly, I checked with the respondents by phone or letter. The data were being recorded in the respondents' words and I wanted to be sure that I was capturing their perspectives and understanding the true meaning behind their words. The first ten interviews were conducted in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere and no time constraint limited the sharing in nine of the encounters. Sufficient time bad not been alloted for the tenth session. The interviewee involved responded at length in writing at a later time but the personal interview was incomplete. I learned that allowing sufficient time to Jet the sister speaking exhaust the information pertainent to her interpretation of the Magnificat was important. As I attempted to transcribe tapes of the interviews, I discovered the importance of good technical equipment. Poor tapes and intruding background noises made transcription difficult. Hence, I invested in a better tape recorder for subsequent sessions and was able to borrow some transcription equipment which made the very time consuming task of transcription easier. The setting of the interview proved to be significant in the quality of information that was received. Two sessions that were conducted in an airport while the sisters were 65 between planes resulted in a minimum of usable information. Feedback from the sisters on the experience of being interviewed affirmed that the best atmosphere in which to conduct inquiry into the meaning of the Magnificat was one in which hospitality, interior and exterior, reigned. By interior hospitality is meant a personal attitude of openness, welcome and respect on the part of the researcher. Exterior hospitality involves providing a quiet, reflective space in which the respondent feels comfortable, at ease, and able to share in a relaxed and prayful mode. A relationship of trust between the researcher and the respondent is essential. For this reason a rule of strict confidentially had to be maintained on the part of the researcher regarding the identity of the respondent. In emphasizing the importance of trust between researcher and participant in a study Brown states: Trust is built with participants in many ways, all equally important. A trust relationship is begun when participants hpve an intuitive feeling tbat tbe researcher truly respects them as individuals, values their opinions, approaches them in a non-judgmental manner and honors their privacy. 14 Wben the tape of each interview bad been transcribed, a member check was conducted. As an ethical concern I deemed it important that the information recorded be factually accurate from the perspective of the interviewee. Although it is not tbe traditional procedure in qualitative studies, in this study a copy of the transcription of her interview was sent to each sister for her consideration and she was asked to sign a statement allowing her information to be used. I explained that no one would be identified by name in the final written report of the study, but that direct quotations would be used. In the same communication a set of follow up questions were included. A few participants signed the release of information but did not respond to the follow up questions. A variety of responses to the texts of the interviews was received. Spoken discourse is not always as carefully structured as that which is written. Some of the sisters, teachers to the core, corrected the text for proper language and sentence structure. Many thanked me for the opportunity to express and hence clarify their own thoughts on the Magnificat and told me to use the information in anyway that I wished. Others asked that some things be reworded or deleted to better represent their ideas. One sister requested that her remarks not be used at all. All of their requests were honored. Wben categories of meaning had been identified and the findings were written up, this information was given to a five members of the community, two participants and three non-participants. They were asked to confirm whether the meaning of the Magnificat which had emerged from analysis of the data represented their perspectives. Later, when the categories described had been related and theories had emerged, another member check was made by sending the study again to select sisters of the 14M. J. McGee Brown 12. 66 community for their affirmation. Guba and Lincoln discuss credibility as a criteria against which the trustworthiness of a inquiry can be evaluated. Credibility is given to an inquiry when the organization involved accepts that the findings accurately represent it. 15 Throughout the process of collecting data I continued to reflect upon the interviews and to study pertinent literature on heremeneutics or interpretive inquiry. Some notes on individual interpretations of the Magnificat were recorded as analytic memos and kept with the transcripts. Other reflections especially ideas which were leading me to formulate hypotheses were recorded in a diary which was kept almost daily. A daily research log was kept to document the progress of the data collection and analysis. Thus during the course of the study I was always able to review what had been accomplished as well as to review initial analytical reflections for new insights. TRIANGULATION Gathering data from a variety of persons is part of a strategy used in interpretive inquiry known as triangulation. The purpose of triangulation is to increase the validity of the research findings. Norman Denzin accepts the definition of triangulation coined by E. J. Webb as "the use of multiple methods in the study of the same object" 16 and referring to the field of sociology explains the strategy of triangulation as involving varieties of data (data source triangulation), including time, s.race and person, as well as multiple investigators, theories and data collection methods.1 Concerning qualitative research in general, Sandra Mathison states, "Good research practice obliges the researcher to triangulate, that is, to use multiple methods, data sources, and researchers to enhance the validity of research findings." She refers to using more than one individual as a source of data as the obvious example of data triangulation. 18 She cautions, however, that triangulation often results in different and even conflicting meanings of phenomena. Patton, also, speaks of checking out the consistency of findings generated by different data-collection methods and of data collected from different sources by the same method in order to contribute to the verification and validation of the study. He observes, however, that different methods may produce findings difficult to integrate 15E. G. Guba andY. S. Lincoln, "Credibility to Organizations Involved," Effective Evaluation: Improving the Usefulness of Evaluation Results through Response and Naturalistic Approaches (Washington: Jossey-Bass, 1981) 316. 16E. J. Webb, D. T Campbell, R. D. Schwartz, and L. Sechrest, Unobtrusive Measures (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966). 17Norman Dcnzin, The Research Act: a Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978) 301. 18Sandra Mathison, "Why Triangulate?" Educational Re.fearcher 17.2 (1988): 13-14. 67 because they answer different questions. 19 In this study two methods were used by the same researcher to investigate the meaning of the Magnificat. The method of exegesis used in the first part required the use of academic disciplines. The meaning ascribed to the text by a number of modern scripture scholars was investigated. This research resulted in uncovering the world behind the text and the probable meaning intended by the author Luke but it also included in the commentary some translation of meaning into the context of today's situation. Mathison considers that evidence produced by different methods might be different because of bias in the measure but "it is also possible that that different methods tap different domains of knowing."20 The method of interpretive inquiry was used to look at the world in front of the text, to uncover the meaning given to the text by a specific interpretive community who viewed the canticle within the context of their own lives. From this study a living spirituality of the Magnificat emerged. Some copvergences and divergences of viewpoints between the scholars read in the first part and the sisters interviewed in the second part have been noted in the conclusion bu1 because of the different goals of the methods used no effort has been made to integrate them. Triangulation may also refer to using multiple data sources. In this study an effort was made to include sisters from various, age groups, backgrounds, places and ministrial experiences. Out of thirty contacts data from twenty-four sisters who gave extended interviews and three who gave brief interviews on the meaning of the Magnificat were used in this study. Data from three others could not be used. The data collected presented a rich and varied picture of the ways in which these sisters have found meaning for themselves in praying the Magnificat. The use of multiple sources in investigating phenomena may produce results that are convergent, inconsistent or contradictory. Regardless of the differences in these outcomes the value of the triangulation strategy, according to Mathison, lies in providing evidence that enables the researcher to construct good explanations of the phenomena from which they arise.21 Theory which emerges from data collected by the method of interpretive inquiry is termed grounded theory, that is, the theory is grounded in the data and context from which it is derived. As the data from the interviews were analyzed some common themes began to emerge. One of these themes concerned the image of Mary that the sisters held, the relationship with her that they expressed and the importance of that relationship. There was a wide range of attitudes in this regard and some indicated a personal change in relationship to Mary over the years. These themes were further investigated by follow up interviews. 19Patton 329. Patton has in mind combining quantitative methods with qualitative methods in a study. Although he is not referring to exegesis this would hold true as an alternative method. 20Mathison 14. 21 Mathison 15. 68 The duration of time between the first ten interviews and the follow up inquiry was between one and two years. Later in the study the follow up was conducted more quickly. In a few cases these follow ups were done face-to-face in a second extended interview but the majority were by written questionnaire. All were asked the same questions (see Appendix) concerning relationship to Mary and the causes of change in this relationship if there had been one. DATA ANALYSIS STRATEGY The data analysis strategy used in this study is \.nown as constant com\)atat\ve analysis. This is a continuous inductive process, the purpose of which is to generate theory in a systematic way. Patton explains that "inductive analysis means that the patterns, themes, and categories of analysis come from the data; they emerge out of the data rather than being imposed on them prior t,o data collection and analysis."22 The data to be analyzed were the direct statements of the sisters given in response to the research questions. Possessing transcriptions of the taped interviews gave me access to their exact words so that my interpretation of their interpretation of the Magnificat could be expressed in their concepts, not mine. My task was to understand the world of a sister's experience from her perspective. Glaser and Strauss describe four developmental stages in the constant comparative analysis method. They are (1) comparing incidents applicable to each category, (2) integrating categories and their properties, (3) delimiting the theory and (4) writing the theory.23 These stages were followed as data on the meaning of the Magnificat in the lives of the sisters were analyzed and hypotheses began to emerge. It was a cyclic process. For as new data were added to the study, comparisons were made and hypotheses continued to be generated. The process of anaylsis began with open coding of the data. Strauss and Corbin define coding as "the process of analyzing data" and open coding as "the process of breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualizing and categorizing data."24 The purpose of open coding is to divide an incident described into conceptual units that will identify categories. The categories are named and all concepts that fit into the category are gathered and compared. In this way properties of the category emerge and the category is defined. 22Patton 306. 23Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, (New York: Aldine Publishing Company, 1967) 105. The authors explain that this method of generating theory is a continuously growing process. The stages remain in operation simultaneously throughout the analysis and each provides continuous development to its successive stage until the analysis is terminated. 24A. Strauss and J. Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques 61. 69 Glaser stresses that the analyst must start the coding with no concepts and be open to whatever emerges from the data. He states: During open coding the data are broken down into incidents, to be closely examined and compared for similarities and differences, while constantly asking of the data the neutral question "What category or property of a category does this incident indicate?"25 An example of open coding that generates categories is the following. One sister, an art therapist, had arrived for an interview on the Magnificat after a day of working with seriously ill patients. She was very tired. We spent a few minutes in prayer together and then a more extended time of silent reflection on the Magnificat. She began to speak of the meaning that the canticle had for her by describing the way she had prayed it. Referring to herself as a visual ~rceiver, she described imaging the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth at the Visitation which forms the setting for the canticle and putting herself into the scene. She expressed sensing the presence of Mary with her. She said: Mary was carrying Jesus. The life of Jesus was within her. It's an exchange of life between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. I was contrasting that with my emptiness and I was asking Mary to fill up my emptiness. I thought that it would have been good to tell another woman that. So that was a good image. It was a kind of healing image for me in fact, because this is something so familiar and yet this is a way to put myself into this particular aspect of Mary's life and have her touch me. It's beautiful. As I analyzed this small portion of discourse several units of meaning were identified. She had spoken of imaging the Magnificat scene, of feeling empty and contrasting that with Mary being filled with life, of sensing the presence of Mary touch her, of healing, of the familiarity of the prayer, of sharing life with another woman. As I continued to code the concepts in the interview I noticed that she came back again and again to the concept of praying with images, of expressing her prayer in art using color and form. I made a category which I named a way of prayer. She had mentioned her own emptiness and she spoke later about her need to be filled with life's energy and to be healed inwardly. I made a category for healing and one for life. Many times she returned to the ideas of a healing presence and a/fuming life, expressing her own mission as that of bringing a healing presence to others and affirming life in them. I then made a category for mission. When a relationship to Mary was described in several parts of the interview that became a another category. I continued in this way, reading the transcript, constantly comparing the units of meaning, gathering them into categories and defining the categories. Then I listed all 258 . Glaser, Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence vs Forcing 39. 70 categories and grouped the ones which were related. As the categories became integrated some were reduced to properties of other categories. Finally, the relationships between the remaining categories were examined to find the core category. After reviewing the entire transcript a second time, an attempt was made to capture the core meaning by giving the interview a title. An account of the analysis was recorded as a memo and kept with the copy of the interview. Charmaz speaks of the two-phase process of initial coding and focused coding She writes: Focused coding is the second, selective and conceptual, phase of the coding process. In focused coding, the researcher takes a limited set of codes that were developed in the initial phase and applies them to large amounts of data. The process is selective because the researcher has already weeded through the materials to develop a useful set of categories. It is conceptual because the codes employed raise the sorting of data to an analytic level rather than one that is used to summarize large amounts of information.26 As I worked with other interview transcripts, coding concepts, generating and comparing categories, it was evident that some of the same categories were emerging in several interviews. Comparing interviews I was able to pull out the common categories. For example, one of the first categories which I identified as a cross category because it arose in almost every extended interview was that of jay, then there was the cross category of identification with Mary in the saying or singing of the canticle. In every case except one it was the consideration of Mary's expression of rejoicing in the first two verses of the canticle that led to individual sharings of personal joy and gratitude. A relationship between the categories of jay and identification with Mary in the praying of the Magnificat was then identified. Glaser and Strauss maintain that "theory develops as different categories and their properties tend to become integrated through constant comparison that force the analyst to make some related theoretical sense of each comparison.•27 In my own daily reflections upon the material that I was analyzing, hypotheses began to form in my mind. I recorded these in the research diary that I was keeping. For example I noted that the way the Magnificat was interpreted and the way it was used as prayer was quite specific to a sister's personality and experience. The philosopher defined prayer, the artists spoke of images, the musicians considered the transformative power of music and the importance of singing it, a psychiatric nurse saw it as a prayer of a woman with self-esteem, a third world missionary heard in it a call to social justice. Constant comparing of interviews led me to a hypothesis linking life 26Kathy Charmaz, "The Grounded Theory Method: an Explication and Interpretation," Contemporary Field Research, ed. Robert M. Emerson (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland P, 1983) 11 6. 278. Glaser and A. Strauss, The Disco11ery of Grounded Theory 109. 71 experience with interpretation of meaning in the Magnificat. As I proceeded with the work of analysis, categories continued to merge. For example it was evident to me that a profile of Mary as understood from the Magnificat had emerged from the data. It was also evident that a category of the sisters' relationship to Mary included a subcategory which indicated a change had occurred in this relationship over time and with life experience. In order to understand this phenomena I went back to the data. I reread each transcript line by line to find the ways that each sister had described Mary within the context of the her reflection on the Magnificat. Some statements gave characteristics of Mary, describing her as a person, identifying her role in God's plan which was understood as her mission, describing her spirituality. Some statements described a sister's relationship to Mary. Some referred to Mary's relationship to God. All of the statements across data sources referring to Mary were pulled out, copied and filed according to genre. Note was ptade of how many different sisters contributed statements for each grouping. For example the number of sisters who mentioned Mary as a spokesperson for women was recorded. Related groups of statements were merged into categories of personhood of Mary, relationship to Mary and Mary as paradigm. Various aspects of Mary as seen in the Magnificat such as her womanhood, her prayer, her spirituality, her awareness of social evil, her role in salvation history, became properties of the category of Mary's personhood. Statements which spoke of identification with Mary in the Magnificat, Mary as intercessor, as a special presence in life, as a role model were grouped under relationship to Mary. Identification with Mary statements were further divided into ways in which this identification was made. A special subdivision recorded expressions of early relationship to Mary, change in that relationship and the cause of the change. Again I noted the number of different sisters with similar perspectives in each area. I was looking for the major trends in meaning relative to the different aspects of Mary and needed to see which categories held the largest number of responses and then the number of persons responding in order to ascertain the importance of that category in the sisters' viewpoint. As I worked and reworked the arrangement of the categories to show their relationship to each other a structure emerged. A diagram assisted me to see the picture of relationships. In this manner I proceeded to analyze data from other important categories which had emerged. The sisters' understanding of God as reflected through Mary's words in the Magnificat was such a category. Finally the relationship among all the major categories was examined. The sisters had drawn meaning from the Magnificat in a way that reflected their perception of God, of Mary, of prayer, of mission. The world view of the sisters emerged as they spoke of the meaning that they found in Mary's Song. The world in front of the text itself was not yet clear. It remained for me to go back to the text of the Magnificat and look at it line by line. Quotes, in which sisters had interpreted lines of the text out of the context of their own life experience, were drawn out of the data statements. Some lines elicited an 72 abundance of quotes such as the line "His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him." Twenty-three statements were found referring to God's mercy. Other lines such as, "He has shown might with his arm" drew only five comments. The sisters had not been asked to give a line by line interpretation but only to express what was meaningful to them in the canticle. That which was meaningful to them is that on which they chose to comment. A summary of my theological interpretation of their responses to the text is included in the final chapter of this study. In discussing the purpose of doing qualitative research Patton says: Analysis is the process of bringing order to the data, organizing what is there into patterns, categories, and basic descriptive units. Interpretation involves attaching meaning and significance to the analysis, explaining descriptive patterns and looking for relationships and linkages among descriptive dimensions.28 The purpose of this interpretive inquiry study was to seek out the world in front of the text of the Magnificat. It was a privilege to enter into the holy space of prayer with these sisters and to perceive their worldview as mediated by the canticle. No judgment is made on what has been interpreted. Lincoln and Guba propose criteria against which the credibility of a qualitative research project can be evaluated.29 According to the criteria an inquiry is credible if: first, it was carefully designed and conducted by a responsible researcher in such a way as to ensure that the data collection, analysis and triangulation procedures are in accord with the dictates of the methodology and secondly, if the results of the research are acceptable to those involved as reflective of their perspective. As can be determined from the description of the procedures documented, the methodology of interpretive inquiry was closely adhered to in this research project. Member checks were conducted throughout the duration of the research. Each sister involved reviewed her own statements on the Magnificat and agreed that the data did, indeed, reflect ber thinking. A text was generated, the text of the sisters' life experiences. It was this text that I then interpreted. The credibility of my interpretation of my sisters' interpretations of the Magnificat rests upon their acceptance of the results of this study. A specific world in front of the text of the Magnificat has emerged. The description of this world derived from the process of interpretive inquiry has been accepted as credible by representatives of the Adrian Dominican community involved. The same process can well be used to uncover other perspectives on the Magnificat using different interpretive groups. 28M. Patton 268. 19Y . S. Lincoln and E. G. Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985) 290. 73 PART1WO THE WORLD IN FRONT OF THE TEXT MA GNIFICAT Medium a/Sisters' Worldv1ew Lift Expuitocts Being Woman ~ Changing Self-Understanding ~ ~--v----- WORLDVIEW Through which Mary's Song is interpreted and used Message of Mercy \ Mercy No Gender Faithfulness Love Personal Communal God Priority for the poor illI Action for Social reversal Mary Identificatio,with Mary I Self Discipleship I \ . r Paradigm for women Spirituality Spread Joy Extend God's Mercy .I . \Joy S1ster m fa~th Proclaim God's Greatness Gratitude Source of strength Disciple Intercessor Contemplative Scripture Contemplation 74 CHAPTER TWO: FINDINGS INTRODUCTION All colors are contained in sunlight. Without a refracting medium, however, the beauty of the spectrum remains bidden for the multitude of hues in white light is invisible to the eye. Beyond the interpretation of the words of the text the Magnificat bas functioned as a crystal prism through which shines the spirituality of those who pray and reflect upon it. The Dominican Sisters who responded at length to an inquiry concerning the meaning to them of Mary's Song have provided a view of bow this piece of scripture, written two thousand years ago, lives today. As the prism refracts sunlight separating it into the gradation of wave lengths that reflect the colors of the rainbow so the worldview of each respondent bas been filtered through the Magnificat and various categories of meaning have emerged. From the earliest interviews it became evident that there was a high degree of identification with Mary in the praying of the Magnificat. This identification is primarily expressed in an attitude of joy and gratitude to God. The core of the message of the message of the Magnificat, as understood by the Sisters, is God's mercy. Faith in the promise of God's mercy sustains hope. The experience of being recipients of God's mercy was shared by many. Mary's Song is their song. Mary is a spokesperson who bas articulated aspects of a relationship with God with which the majority of the Sisters who responded can resonate. It is a familiar and often used prayer both in individual and communal circumstances. The central theme of each sister's response emerged as the data was coded and analyzed. The uniqueness of personality and experience which each individual brought to her reflection upon the scriptual text of the Magnificat was revealed in this core theme. Cross-coding revealed major categories of personal understanding: First, who God is for me and my experience of relationship to God. Secondly, who Mary is to me and my experience of relationship to her. Thirdly, what prayer is and how I pray. As the sisters reflected upon the meaning of individual passages of the scriptural text itself the message of the Magnificat for today and its relation to contemporary Dominican life and mission was articulated and documented. Moving as threads of woof throughout the warp of the above categories are three other themes: first, that of changing perceptions which come with life experience; secondly, the importance of being woman, that is, bringing a woman's perception and experience to the interpretation of the text as well as letting the text, the words of a woman, illuminate life experience; thirdly, being Dominican with a sense of Dominican cbarism and mission. Finally when all other categories bad been brought together it was seen that an underlying theme was that of the joyful experience of lives that have purpose, direction and meaning. · The first part of this study was an exegesis of the Magnificat done in order to ascertain as far as possible its origin and the probable meaning intended by the author, 75 Luke. This revealed the world behind the text. This second part of the study utilizes the method of interpretive inquiry to examine the meaning of the text in the understanding, prayer life and mission of a contemporary group of women religious. This is the world in front of the text. 1 I. MARY: IMAGE AND RELATIONSHIP The Magnificat functions as the medium of a message about Mary. It would seem that the scriptural text itself is a catalyst that triggers reflections upon the personhood of Mary and the place that she has in the spirituality of the sisters. To most of the sisters Mary is important for what her life and words reveal about the meaning and purpose of life with God and as a helpful friend and companion on life's journey. Mary's importance, however, is relative to her relationship with God. One Sister remarked, "Mary is not the message. She give~ the message. The message could speak through her. She becomes the medium of the message." Yet. the importance of her role in God's plan is seen in the statement. reminiscent of the Adrian Dominican sense of mission, "Mary is a participant with God in the on-going creation of the world."2 That Mary is indeed a woman of history who truly walked the earth and experienced the vicissitudes of the human condition as a real woman is intriging for much of her life remains a mystery. A young sister who had expressed that she wished she knew who the historical Mary really was said, "One of the central women of scripture is Mary and we know very little about her." With one exception, in considering the words of the Magnificat it was simply assumed that these were indeed the words of Mary and thus revealed something of her own spirituality and personhood. A. Personhood of Mary Mary emerges from the reflections of the sisters as the paradigm of a real, woman of inner freedom who responds to God's call with faith, trust. love and humility. She is a woman who rejoices in the life that she bears and shares, a graced woman of deep spirituality who ponders and integrates the scriptures into her life, a contemplative woman whose actions proceed from her prayer. 1The "world in front or the text refers to the present meaning mediated by language and experience through interpretation rather than in historical meanings uncovered by exegesis. See Raymond Brown, "Hermeneutics," NJBC, 71 :70, 1160. 2rrhe mission statement of the Adrian Dominican Sisters reads: "In the mission of Jesus, we, Adrian Dominican Sisters, discover and identify ourselves as women called together to share faith and life with one another and sent into our world to be, with others, bearers and recipients of his love, co-creators of his justice and peace." (Adrian Dominican Constitutions and Statutes, 1989) 14. 76 I. Mary as Woman Mary's self-identity as a woman is wholesome. She knows herself, owns her own goodness and is able to speak of it to another. In the words of one sister, "I like the part where Mary owns her goodness. She proclaimed her goodness in a way that did not put her over others." Another says, "That prayer says to me that Mary certainly knew who she was. She knows herself really well in that prayer and lets God work through her." And still another, 'This to me is almost like a proclamation of Mary as a woman, in that it was right and good and just that she say who she was, as a woman, in her time." That Mary was a strong woman who spoke for herself was important to many of the respondents. "In the Magnificat I hear Mary, as a woman, speaking a truth about God and sharing it with Elizabeth, another woman." A sister with much experience in counseling women was impressed by Mary's exgression of lowliness in the Magnificat When she talks about herself as being lowly, I see Mary as having a pretty good sense of who she is and pretty healthy self-esteem to be even able to say about herself that she was lowly and in need of God. Mary is free to let God work through her. She is a spokesperson for women addressing the social evils of her day. Two sisters share their views: I find that I appreciated the Magnificat from a new viewpoint when I heard it interpreted by people from third world countries in terms of a song of liberation and Mary as a glaringly radical person in proclaiming this and really making a strong statement on the side of the poor and on the side of the oppressed. It was also in that time after Vatican II that I can remember making a statement, that I was a woman first and then a Christian and then a religious. I think that it shocked some people in that community. But it was that notion of Mary as woman and liberated woman that influenced me in making that statement When we would come together as a Congregation and sing tbe Magnificat those ideas of Mary as liberated woman would come back to me. I think that my appreciation of Mary as a spokesperson for woman bas increased in that way. Mary's strength and freedom as a woman arise from her faith which is the faith of Israel. A sister observes, "Mary is a woman of deep faith , a woman who understood and lived out of her ancestry. She was strong in her identity and yet very receptive to God's action moving in and through her life." That faith generates trust is perceived by another sister who says, "To me Mary, because of her experience of God and what God has done for her personally and for her people, trusts that experience." A sister of more than four-score and ten years of life and the corresponding wealth of experience speaks 77 for many others in saying, "Mary, in my mind is a woman for this time. She has to be made known as a human being, a woman of faith ." Understanding Mary as a real woman who experienced the human condition as women do is part of the widespread change in attitude toward Mary that is documented in this study. This change is summed up in the following comment. My idea has changed from that of a person who was always presented as a queen and far above everybody to somebody who walked the earth and trusted the Lord and maybe ministered to people who lived around her. I think of her, though, as being much more graced that anybody else. A highly esteemed aspect of womanhood is that of being a life-giver. This giving of life is not limited to the realm of the physical but is understood also in a spiritual sense. Mary, filled with life both physical and spiritual, is life-giving. In the Magnificat the presence of life in her overflows in expressions of joy and gratitude. She experiences God alive within her and her cousin's response to this presence. Aware of God's goodness and mercy to her she expresses this joy with enthusiasm and shares it with others. There were many comments on the joy that echoes in Mary's Song. Joy as a response to God's goodness and mercy is an emotion that most of the sisters relate to strongly. "I notice Mary being very grateful, grateful for what God has done for her individually and what God has done for her people, her ancestors." I hear Mary saying that she is aware of the goodness of God towards her, the mercy of God towards her, the joy and the impact of who God is for her. The joy that she expresses, the enthusiasm that this young woman has for life, is powerful. Overall to me it's a prayer of her gratitude to God, her joy and her thankfulness to God because of this awesome experience in which she is about to participate, giving birth. Because of my work I have an opportunity of experiencing vicariously, through other people, the kind of joy of beginning that filled Mary's heart when she said this prayer in the presence of Elizabeth. It was, to me, a prayer of sharing joy. Filled with God's life, Mary goes to Elizabeth. Visualizing the scene of the Visitation was especially meaningful to one sister who expressed that she felt a life giving, healing presence of Mary with her as she meditated upon it. "Mary was carrying Jesus, the life of Jesus was within her. It's an exchange of life between Mary and Elizabeth." Mary's reaction to her greeting by Elizabeth was pondered, "lllen there is another profound experience because of her cousin's experience of God alive within her." 78 2. Mary's Spirituality Mary's spirituality shines through her Magnificat. She is understood to be a humble woman and "irresistable in humility" but the term humble seems to be problematic. Several sisters expanded their statements to explain it. "Humility is truth. With what insight and courage, Mary, a humble handmaid, could say, all generations will call me blessed." "She isn't humbling herself in the sense of degradation but she's allowing herself to be who she is." "Mary had the best of human qualities. She was not just some shrinking violet." She certainly was a woman of faith, certainly a person of humility, not Jowly as trodden upon but I think of humility as truth. She knew the truth of who she was. She was generous in accepting her role for which she probably could have been condemned. Slle was also courageous. Mary is seen as a strong woman of faith, ttust and love. Her role as Mother of Jesus carried with it great responsibilities. "She had to have more will, fortitude and inner strength plus confidence that God would protect her, the faith, a faith person or a person with a lot of strength." Some of the sisters, considering Mary's inner strength and virtue, began to reflect upon their own spirituality. "Mary was a woman of faith. Her faith is seen in the Magnificat. Mary calls us to faith." One sister who regarded herself as lowly contrasted her situation with Mary's. "Another theme that I see in the Magnificat is mercy. We need God's mercy. Mary didn't need God's mercy." The idea of God's mercy came across strongly in the responses and most placed Mary among those who have received mercy throughout life. The Lord favored her from the beginning of her life. Although Mary suffered much, she knew God was with her intimately. She saw God's mercy and felt God's mercy throughout her life. Something of Mary's prayer life can be gleaned from the words of the Magnificat. Mary is seen as a contemplative who experienced a deep relationship to God, reflected all things back to God and bad integrated the scriptures into her life. "In the second part of the Magnificat we are able to perceive Our Lady's penetration into the concept of justice and into an understanding of the Old Testament." As a role model for prayer and discipleship the sisters identify with her in praying the Magnificat. "I try to put myself in Mary's position saying the prayer. I've always been aware of how reflective she is in the sense of reflecting everything back to God." The reflection upon and integration of the scriptures into life leads to action. I think that reflection is a very, very active thing within the person. She had to think what she had heard and seen in the scriptures. Sbe took the prophets and integrated everything that they had said of old. Her words reflect that. She is reflecting to the people about her. Sbe is bringing, she 79 is sharing in the manner of that prayer that says, Lord let them no longer see me but let them only see you. It's all just a part of Mary being the humble person that she is, a reflective person, a person that has taken scriptures and has integrated them into her life. Mary's words flow from her relationship to God. "Mary had a deep relationship with God and of course a deep relationship with Jesus who was developing within her." This relationship with her son may also have been the source of her inspiration. That God, who is all love, would treat anyone vindictively as Mary seems to indicate in the allusion to sending the rich away empty was a cause of wonder to one sister who pondered this and remarked. We don't know what was happening at that time when she was about to give birth to Jesus. No doubt she was loqking at how people were oppressed. Was she speaking for him? Was he telling her what to say? He was within her at the time. You wonder. The spirituality of Mary that emerges from the Magnificat seemed to some sisters to indicate a certain maturity beyond that of a very young woman. Yet one sister who has worked with young women from a Caribbean culture shared that these young women demonstrated a remarkable maturity in their faith. The question of whether Mary sang her Magnificat in youth or in later years is left unanswered but there were some observances on it. It appears to me here as I reflect on this that there is more to this than just the beginning for Mary. This is the saying of a person who bas bad a lot of experiences and isn't out of balance because of the experiences but is able to put them in life. So this text, too, I would say would be something indicative of her whole spiritual life and something which is really a part of her, rather than just something that she said off the cuff, just some simple response. It's very deep. When I think of Mary as a very young person, a young woman, being called, obviously, to do the extraordinary, to believe this was all happening, she didn't know why, I can see that she could pray this but I also believe that as life unfolded it would take on different meaning, more depth of meaning. 80 3. Mission or Mary The mission of Mary flows from God's choice. "Mary of Nazareth is the Chosen One, the woman chosen by God, the Creator, to deliver through her child's birth, the Word of God." She is seen to be in tune with God's intention in salvation history and lets God work through her. An understanding of mission as collaborating with God is seen in the statement, "Mary is a partner with God in becoming the Mother of God with fidelity, gratitude, praise. She sees the sweep of history in God's plan." Another states, Mary had to be that kind of a person who was in tune with what God wants and what God's intention is in this world and was prepared to help with it and to walk with God in this whole salvation history. The meaning of her call takes on depth thr9ugh her experience and she proclaims God in this experience. Mary's mission is reflected upon through the sisters understanding and experience of their own call to mission. This involves a willingness to follow the divine call, "Mary may have had other plans for her life but she let God do it bis way," and a reciprocity in sharing an experience of God as is seen in the following statements: She allows her God to work through her. She is willing to be used and sometimes you have to be willing to be used for some good. I certainly think that the prayer speaks of Mary's willingness to be used for a greater good. Mary was certainly filled with the life of God. She realized that. So, her mission really was to proclaim it. I think that Mary's need, - I've come to this in later years - was to proclaim it to other women. I think that's why she went to Elizabeth. She had an experience of God and that experience of God sent her to another woman who, indeed, had had a profound experience of God and who could understand. Nobody else could. That's mission for us. It is being sent to with a message or being sent to receive a message. It's a cyclical thing in mission. I know what "mission" means in latin. I think that wheg I have an experience of God, I have no choice but to share. · As a woman of action, Mary goes forth in service to others and to share the Word. "She is servant coming to Elizabeth; she is sister in staying to help; she is model for me in my ministery." Many of the sisters, busy with their own work, relate to Mary as a practical woman going about her d~mestic duties and helping others. Her visit to Elizabeth would not have been an extraordinary thing but indicative of her ordinary way of acting. Mary, having received "The Word" did not hold it to herself but went forth 81 to continue what I would imagine was a part of her very life, to enter into a relationship - or renew it - and share her love and kindness in service to others. She was a woman of great action not a lady of reflecting only, a lady of action and reflection. I image her in her lowliness going about her own home. She wasn't always on her knees. She was going to the well. She was greeting the women. She was doing the washing. All of that time the Lord was an integral part of her life. Mary just quietly remained with Elizabeth three months and then she returned home. She came when there was a need. When the need was over she saw that it was time for moving on. That would be Mary's ministry, that she could be at a place, accomplish her ministry and move on not knowing exactly what she was moving on to. It's not documented but this particular visit to Elizabeth perhaps lends credence to that idea of mission as ministering to other people . I would tend to believe that this was not something extraordinary in her life but this was something that she did. Almost all the sisters indicated in some way that Mary is a paradigm of the Dominican ideal of action proceeding from contemplation. "I'm convinced that Mary is behind the Dominican mission." Some individuals related to specific images of Mary in action that had captured their imagination. One states: I received a wooden statue of Our Blessed Mother. It was Our Lady of the Broom and she is depicted as a lady of action. The image that means the most to me is not where she has a crown on her head and is immobilized. She is never immobilized. I can't see her like that. 4. Mary, Aware of Social Evil The second part of the Magnificat, Luke 1:51-53, shows Mary to be conscious of social evil. Her words reflect her awareness of the poverty, oppression and horrors of her day. She identifies with the oppressed and downtrodden making a strong statement on their behalf. Having experienced God's mercy herself she identifies with God's upholding of the poor and oppressed. She sees the horrors of the happenings in her day. She sees the oppression of the people. She saw the poor people. She saw how they suffered but she said his mercy is going to come from age to age on those who fear him. They had the poor. They had the downtrodden. They had the oppressors. Just as they had social evils then, we have them today. I think Mary is identifying with the oppressed, the down-trodden. God will 82 stand by those that are poor or oppressed and, you know, he reverses things here in the scripture. It's not the proud that will be blessed. From Mary's point of view because of what was done for her personally she identifies with God's upholding the poor and those in need of him. One sister referred to the apparitions at Medjugorje and to the suffering of the people of Yugoslavia because of the current war there. She felt that there was a sense of timelessness in Mary awareness of those who suffer violence. Back to the Magnificat and I'm certain it rang very loudly and clearly through her whole life. I think of her so often on the way of the cross. I'm certain, she said "Son, I cannot do this for you but I am with you ." As she stood at the foot of the cross with John, of course she must have wept and I am certain that she gave up tears of su!>mission, of strength and of courage because her soul still magnified the Lord who looked on her humility, on her lowliness. And as she stood there I wonder if she had a perception of timelessness, the always NOW moment. Now looking at Medjugorje and Yugoslavia she does indeed see the sorrow and suffering so common there. B. Relationship to Mary The majority of the sister responding to the Magnificat spoke of a change in their relationship to Mary over the years and particularly following the Second Vatican Council. They spoke of their experience of Mary first in childhood and then in the early years of religious life. Later, there was a transition period, followed by a new understanding of Mary and relationship to her. 1. Early Relationship Summarizing many responses revealed the earlier image of Mary was that of Queen, Mother and intercessor. "My early relationship to Mary was as mother and also a woman of power or privilege." Mary was elevated, an impossible ideal, yet one who was warm, loving and caring. "As a teenager, Mary was my ideal but she was on a pedestal, somehow never part of real life." Mary responded to petitions. For some she was comfort and strength in difficulty, the model of a silent, passive woman who was courageous in suffering. The rosary was an important prayer. Other comments on a former relationship to Mary follow: Early relationships were basically as an intermediary in prayer. I guess I assumed she would be more successful in getting favors than I could be independently. 83 I said the rosary all while I was growing up. When we were young we prayed rote prayers. Also when we first entered religious life we had vocal prayers, office and rosary. This early experience had its place in the development of the spiritual life as is seen in the following remarks: · I always had a devotion to Mary. I use that word devotion as I had it growing up. Saying the rosary, going to Perpetual Help Devotions was all a part of my upbring and as I look back on it, it was the nurturing of that simple piety that led me to continue that journey in religious life. I wanted to develop my spirituality. When I was very young, when I was in S{:hool, yes, Mary was significant. always liked May altars and the crowning and the prayers to Mary. And then when I first came to the congregation Mary was very meaningful. Where did this relationship to Mary originate? That it was an inheritance of the faith which was nurtured first by their own mothers and then encountered in religious life was indicated. Not everyone found the practice of devotion to Mary totally positive, however. "My experience, I guess as was many others experience of Mary, was a saccharine experience, not Mary as a strong woman, a real person." My mother had a great devotion to Mary. I never felt that I bad. The Church put Mary on a pedestal. Early in religious life I read the book by Louis de Monfort. I couldn't live it. Mary bas never been that strong for me. My mother and grandmother had a strong devotion to Mary but I think their understanding of Mary was that Mary who keeps all things to herself. You know, suffers, but this is part of your plight, of woman's role, to pray silently. I think in a way my mother's character was influenced quite a bit by what she was taught to believe about Mary. For her, I think, Mary was a very strong woman. But I just think that if women bad a more realistic and healthier understanding of Mary, not the passive woman, this would help in the whole area of women's personal growth and development. When I was younger, in my early spirituality, there was so much emphasis on submission and giving up all your sufferings. It seems to me that the Magnificat can be read that way, a sort of poor little victim, Mary thing. But somebody's going to come along and save her. That was the kind of spirituality that we had at that time. 84 2. Transition Although this earlier image of Mary was a factor in the spiritual lives of many sisters for most, over the years, this image was not sustained. "In earlier life I was very dedicated to Mary in the Sodality, then in religious life. In the mid-years other foci became more dominant." The following remark captures several responses. "At one time as a child I saw Mary as Mother figure . I see her more now as a sister and role model." One sister specifically expressed, however, that she does continue some practices that she learned from her mother and novice director in her younger years. My mother said, "Now here is a prayer. Now you pray it all the way to school and back." It was that prayer that began, "Mary, my Queen, my Mother". I say that prayer all the time. It has been always there and very much a part of me. My novice mistress tgld me to pray to Our Lady for perseverance. As a novice I knelt before the beautiful white marble statue of Mary in Holy Rosary Chapel and promised to pray three Memorares every day for perseverance. I still do it. A transition from an initial relationship to Mary to a new kind of relationship was seen by some respondents as they reflected on the experience of the influence of Mary in their lives. I can relate to a time of pulling away from, maybe, a Mary that didn't speak to me and then becoming, I would say, reconciled and reclaiming things that I put aside and then could see in a different light. I think I lost touch with Mary for the most part, not totally but many of the prayers that I bad said, like the rosary, weren't meaningful to me anymore and other things become more meaningful. But when I was going through the whole process of thinking about returning to the congregation, I went back to Mary again. She just walked in faith . That gave me an example and helped me to think about taking this step that seemed very blind. For one sister the fact of being interviewed for this study was an occasion to rethink her attitude toward Mary. "When asked to meditate on and discuss the Magnificat I returned to Mary in a different way." 3. Causes of Change Causes of the development of a changing relationship to Mary were documented. The renewal of religious life after the Second Vatican Council was cited as a significant factor in changing attitudes. Life experiences, resulting in personal spiritual growth and especially a developing concept of self as woman, led many sisters to a new 85 understanding of Mary and consequently to a different relationship _to her. In the midst of change within the Church, within religious life and within society, the way Mary is perceived as a significant factor in the spiritual life has undergone profound change. One sister speaks of the role of experience: "Experiences are widening my vision, changing my perceptions. Mary is still very relevant." The influence of the Second Vatican Council is seen in the following quotes: Renewal of religious life after Vatican II opened to me the possibility of being more real, of being more tuned into relationships. As I have grown to understand friendship I think the qualities of friendship are that of confidence and support not power. There is no concern for who has more or who has less in things intellectual and spiritual as well as material. A friend is a real, interested, caring, supportive someone who can give and take. After Vatican II we were exposed_to a more wholistic kind of living. We learned to relate to others as human beings, to develop our gifts and encourage others to develop gifts to be wholistic persons. We learned to communicate better. All of this led to a new understanding of Mary, of the Magnificat. Now I see Mary more as friend. I read the bishops' letter on Mary which they published back in the late 60's. The final chapter in that letter said something about Mary as model of liberation. That was part of the renewal process for me back in the 60's. I was in Rome right when Vatican II began and that was a powerful experience for me, as was coming home and living through the renewal process in the States. I was ready to change my theology. So that was part of that process of getting in touch with another Mary, a different Mary. The change in relationship is a change from child-adult to partnership of adults. As I grew in greater appreciation of self, I saw Mary as liberated. It is a dual dynamic. Formerly, because of the spirituality of the day I saw Mary as a submissive person, now I see her as one who has the best of human qualities. The changes in my attitude are due to new personal awareness of my own living and loving. My concept of God bas changed and so has Mary. Commitment to prayer, prayer experiences and meditation on scripture contributed to the change in relationship to Mary as is seen in these statements. "Now I use the Jerusalem Bible and my appreciation of Mary has increased." As you grow in prayer you relate to Mary in a much different way. Now as we have grown it is not so much the words but the relationship that develops that is significant. I can relate to the image of Mary portrayed by 86 Carlo Carretto in his book. 3 He makes her a real person. I have been to many of her shrines throughout the world and have felt tremendous emotional love for her at these times. Now, in my daily contemplative prayer, I do not focus on Mary but that does not mean I have any less devotion toward her. My relationship is still there but it has changed to a deeper, more powerful prayer life in contemplation with God. The emotional feeling is not there for Mary but my relationship with Mary is on a deeper, more spiritual level. My image of Mary has changed. Now she is more real. I know what made a change in my spiritual life. It was a thirty-day retreat that I made while on sabbatical. Several sisters mentioned that it is meaningful to them that Mary be understood as a real person who walks beside them as a friend and sister. "Mary is a woman responding to her God with trust and commitment. She walked the journey of life struggling and growing as I do." An elderly sister spoke of her appreciation of Mary as woman. "Now is a very major part of my life because I am getting to the end of my journey. My devotion to Mary has increased and is growing more and more intimate because she is a woman." A young sister expressed a desire to know the real Mary. I would like to know more about Mary as she really was as a woman of her time, to know her real person. Then let me decide how I'd like to relate to her rather than have the Church or tradition as written by men tell me about her. I'd like to discover her for myself but I'd like to know more about the reality of who she was. I didn't always understand the reason behind ritual and devotion to Mary. St. Dominic the founder of the Dominican Order had a great love for Mary. This influence in Dominican tradition was mentioned by two of the sisters. "I attribute my growth in understanding of Mary to St. Dominic who helps me to love Mary through the Rosary." Recently I reread the life of St. Dominic and truly paused to reflect on his experience and love of Mary. This reflection renewed my own devotion to Mary. I find myself wanting to recite the Magnificat as my personal prayer. 3C. Corctto, Blessed are You Who Believe (Orbis: NY, 1980). 87 4. Relationship to Mary Now Relationship to Mary is still developing. At the present time it is characterized in various ways: by regarding Mary as a paradigm of right relationship to God and in this aspect to be imitated; by addressing Mary as intercessor and thus one to be prayed to; by considering her a special presence in life, a sister, friend, companion, and, thus, a source of strength and joy; finally and most significantly by identifying with Mary in prayer and in ministry. The concept of Mary as role model emerged as the sisters responded to the question of meaning in the Magnificat. The word "model" was used several times. "Mary is model for me in my ministry." "Mary is a model of those whose spiritual hunger is filled." A distinction was made between Mary as model and Mary as ideal. "I sec her as an ideal. I don't see myself as being able to live up to her modeling although I always have admired the qualities in Mary ansi striven to put them into my way of acting." In the Magnificat, Mary's words reflect an attractive concept of God. One sister says, "I look at this as a real model and I'm able to flow with a God that Mary was able to proclaim." Another sees Mary in the Magnificat as a model of one who receives and then proclaims God's mercy. "Mary's role as model, Dominic's cry of mercy for the people, Mary's prayer, my prayer, those all seem to be intertwined." As intercessor, Mary is seen now as one who understands the sister's struggles, knows their needs and is ready to intercede. She can be trusted as an intercessor. "Mary of Nazareth is the Mother of God and our mother. I feel Mary knows and understands my struggles. I can talk to her about them and know that they are understood within her early life." "I have a great trust in intercessory prayer to Mary. Frequently I have been blessed with a positive answer." "I have always prayed to Mary, a woman of great faith ." Mary's role as intercessor extends beyond praying for specific requests. "I ask Our Lady to praise her Son for me as she says her soul magnifies the Lord. I rely on her to do this for me because I myself am speechless." One sister believes that Mary knows our needs better than we do. "Our Lady is always willing to intercede for us that we might receive e\len the graces we don't know how to ask for.oo4 One sister now uses a contemporary litany of intercession to Mary and explains why: Pax Christi came out with that litany to Mary.5 I tend to pray that more than I do the Magnificat now because of expanding my concept of who Mary is as universal woman and my own journey of trying to connect with God as woman. 4Compare with the role of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8: 26-27. "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us with signs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (NRSV) 5Litany of Mary of Nazareth (Pax Christi USA: Erie, PA, 1990). 88 Mary as an important presence in life is perceived as a presence that brings healing, strength and joy; a presence which is a source of encouragement in mission as well as of courage and hope in the loneliness of old age. "The Magnificat speaks so well of Mary's entire being and her presense in our world and in our lives today." A sister who expresses that she is reflecting on the Magnificat from the vantage point of one in the final age of her life says, "She is truly the source of my strength, my courage and all my hope, the hope that I will do God's will in God's way because these days are very lonely." Mary's relationship to many sisters now is described in terms of a sister, friend, companion or partner. This sense of the presence of Mary as one who walks beside rather than rules over is a development of the earlier concept of Mary as Queen exalted far above her subjects. The sister, however, who expressed that she can relate to the image of Mary with a broom but never with a crown still prays to Mary as "My Queen and my Mother." The presence of Mary was felt as a healing presence by one of the sisters who expressed that she came to the Magnificat prayer feeling tired and empty but experienced a shift within herself as she prayed. Meditating on the Visitation scene was kind of a healing image for me because this is something that is so familiar and yet it is a way of putting myself into this particular aspect of Mary's life and have her touch me. It's beautiful. I think that what is so important to me is the context of Mary being a presence. That is what brought life to me as I was sitting here and felt depleted. Mary with her presence was permeated with joy and life and able to rejoice. We all carry an atmosphere around with us. Just being in one's presence may be healing. Mary's words are important but her presence is too. The strongest aspect of relationship to Mary that emerged from the sisters responses to the Magnificat is that of identification. Although words for relationship such as association and partnership were used it was the word, "identify" that was used most often. So many sisters in the earlier interviews indicated areas in which they identified with Mary that in the second inquiry the question was asked specifically. Do you identify with Mary in any way? One sister explains her relationship thus, "My relationship to Mary is that of partnership, not collaboration but partnership, not partnership with control but a partnership of equals in being together in mission." Another says: Mary refers to the fact that because of the event that she celebrates, because of the presence of God within her, generations to come will remember her. If our mission is to sow the seed of the Word, by how effectively we do that, the generations to come after will not only be able to benefit from our min istry but they will know the Lord that we bear. 89 Tite Magnificat is prayed as a personal prayer of the sisters and because it is assumed to be the words of Mary they identify with Mary in praying it. "I· pray the Magnificat in my name. It is my spirit that m;tgnifies the Lord, that rejoices in God. Joy is a theme that I identify with in the Magnificat." "I can pray the Magnificat as my prayer but feel it in partnership with Mary. I can understand some of the same emotions that she felt." One facet of identifying with Mary in the Magnificat is that she is a woman . The times that I use the Magnificat for prayer really are when I am reflecting on the sense of being woman and the sense of call. And realizing profoundly that there is nothing that I can do that is able to proclaim more the greatness of God than being, my being. That's why I can say this with Mary. This relationship to Mary as woman is very strong. One sister says, "Tbe symbol of Mary goes far beyond that of the life of Mary lived in the confines of earlier Jewish culture. I identify with the symbol of Mary as woman. Others agree, "I relate to Mary's womanhood, her great Amen!" "I identify with Mary because she is a woman. I bring a woman's experience to the scriptures." "I look forward to praying with Mary's Canticle because for me I look forward to the prayers that women use in scripture." Other areas of identification with Mary are in her experience of being called, of being blest, of having a mission to proclaim God, in living a life of faith, trust, joy and strength, as being handmaid, as pondering. In the aspect of being called one sister shared, "I often say the 'Hail Mary' praying. 'Hail Mary, the Lord is with me.' Mary was young when she was called. So was I when I entered the convent right out of higb school." Others speak of their calling: I do identify witb Mary in having been given a particular vocation. Religious life is not tbe usual calling. I have accepted the invitation to live a life, challenging, lonely at times. Mary experienced tbese things. Just as Mary's calling was not understood, our calling is not understood. Mary was blest. I too am blest. She had to move on for the sake of her relationships and life calling. Mary's experience in my experience. I had to let go of one perception of who I was and who I was called to be, to let it come to a different reality. I see that in Mary. She had to let go of a certain perception of what it meant to be a married woman, a faithful follower of Yahweh and just accept in faith what was there. Identification in mission takes various forms and is closely linked to the work of the individual sister. One says, "Now I identify more with Mary in the Upper Room waiting for the Spirit. Probably because my work is with priests more than in a classroom as in the past." A sister, who is a hospital chaplain, reflects, "In mission one goes empty-handed. There is a sense of going empty and feeling, who am I to come to 90 them? I want to join Mary in saying my soul proclaims his greatness because it isn't 1." A spiritual director shares. The whole sense of mission in the Magnificat for me as a woman, is that I, first of all have to listen to the word, reflect on it and once it becomes a part of me, I have to share. So the mission of Mary, I think, was that she was filled with the life of God, realized that and proclaimed it. Other areas of identifying with Mary are expressed. "I most certainly do identify with Mary in my life. Mary is a very real person to me. She is a handmaid of the Lord just as I am ." "I image Mary at the Visitation and feel connected to her in making that journey, in going out of herself. I identify with her strength." "I identify with Mary in the life of faith and trust that I must have." One sister shared that she didn't say the Magnificat too often as a personal prayer but itt one aspect she did relate to Mary. "I don't do repetitive prayers well. I like to ponder. Mary pondered." Finally, one sister, who had related strongly to the expression of joy in the Magnificat, still, did not feel that she could speak of identifying with Mary. "I don't identify with her. It makes me feel guilty to say it. Why? Because she is a very important person." II. GOD: IMAGE AND RElATIONSHIP The question of who God is was not asked. But as responses to the question of meaning in the Magnificat were studied and analyzed an image of God began to emerge. Mary's words in the Magnificat are understood to reflect her image of God. This image of God is accepted but elaborated upon and expanded by the respondents who expressed their own experience of God. The God of the Magnificat is the God of salvation history, the God of the covenant. But who and what God is still remains a question. The God of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures is perceived in the Magnificat but a universalism is expressed that holds God to be alive and well in other faiths also. God is held to be a person who is neither male nor female. In fact strong objection was voiced to referring to God exclusively as masculine. As source of all life God is proclaimed by all creatures in the vastness of creation simply by reason of their being. Because persons are created extensions of the Godhead, God is present within each one individually and in all collectively. This presence is a healing, encouraging, presence that brings joy and motivates one to move out toward others. Also, it is possible to envision and experience God. Mary experienced God and anyone who has had this experience can relate to the Magnificat. In relationship with Mary and with her people God is perceived in the Magnificat as Mighty, Merciful, Faithful and Loving. These relational aspects of God have been experienced by the sisters in various ways. Especially significat is the need for and experience of God's mercy. Some sisters express that like Mary, God regards them with favor and has done great things for them, generously bestowing gifts on them. The understanding of God which comes from the sisters' experience is that God responds to 91 prayers, to needs, gives strength, protection and encouragement. God's communication may be surprising and takes the form of revelations in prayer which give insight and grace. Yet God is understood to respect an iodiviual's freedom and choice. In the second part of the Magnificat the action of God in bringing about a situation of justice by reversing the order of rich and poor is perceived. The sisters speak of God's priority for the poor and oppressed. The lowly are lifted up and the mighty are put down. The hungry are filled while the rich who are already full have no room for the life-giving things of God. The proud are scattered in their thoughts. This action of God should not be considered revenge or punishment because God does not ill-treat anyone but evil must be exposed. Some statements regarding the person and mission of Jesus were given. His mission is to bring about the 'upside-down-kingdom' with the help of his followers. Jesus is called Christ, the Word of God, our holiness and our redemption. Jesus, the son of Mary is Lord and his presence within her brings joy. Christ is God's way of making God present in the world. God will grant what we ask in Jesus name. The love of Jesus Christ has brought us together and he, the Lord is faithful. Insight and awareness are given as gifts by the Holy Spirit as is knowledge and understanding. Generativity is within us through the power of God's Spirit to effect our lives for the future. The concept of God and relationship to God has changed over time with age as well as with life and prayer experience. Earlier spirituality was characterized by an emphasis on submission, a fear that blocked relationship with God, a need for answers. Now awe and reverence have replaced fear. Instead of submission there is a concept of helping God create and in realizing God's love there is no need for answers. Earlier emphasis on knowing God's Jove becomes a search for ways to collaborate with God. As one gets older the mystery of God deepens. Perhaps God could once be defined but over time the image of God changes and there is uncertainty. Also God's mercy means more as one gets older. Especially significant is understanding God as feminine as well as masculine. As relationship to God and the image of God changes for an individual the meaningfulness of the Magnificat also changes. The above synopsis of responses is expanded below using the words of the sisters. The statements of several sisters under one topic are given to show nuances in the responses. A. The Concept of God The God who is reflected in the Magnificat is understood to be the God that Mary knows. This is the God of Israel, the God of the covenant. One sister says, "In my mind the Magnificat is tied up in salvation history, the whole reference to the covenant, the promise, the bonding between God and his people." Another sister expresses that at this time in her life she is searching for a better understanding of God because her earlier image of God is no longer satisfying. The God that Mary is able to proclaim is one that she can "flow with." That the Magnificat does reveal God is clearly put forth in the following statement: 92 In interpreting the Magnificat for myself, I truly believe that the Magnificat was written for each of us in our way so we can envision God or experience God as the source of our life. So, I've always been very happy in using the Magnificat as part of my own Dominican prayer and realizing that the Magnificat is a special way that God speaks to me. Still the Person of God remains a question for who God really is lies shrouded in mystery. One sister remembers a saying from Meister Eckhart6 and ponders it. It is the Godhead beyond what we call God. This is the divine. All of the other-we would think that there is something that we really know-1 think we are deluding ourselves. It is this that disposes us, the little bit that we can know. The danger is that we think we know it all. Viewing God as universal, some reflected upon the vastness of creation and questioned the limitedness of our perceptions of God. One sister who works with people of various religious convictions offered, "For other faiths God is alive and well. He is called something different perhaps. Does the gospel exist in another galaxy? Does it make a difference?" Another mused: I think about the vastness of the universe, the unlimitedness of the depths of God and creation. There is so much more that we can even think about which God is and is willing to share with us. It makes you think about eternity and what fun it's going to be find out all the things of the vastness of God's creation and the meaning of who and what God is. The metaphor of God as masculine was problematic for the majority of the sisters. Many shared that they used translations of the Magnificat that were gender inclusive or did their own interpretions of terms for God. One exlains why, "I'm really praying it to God and it also liberates it from the masculine God thing into a more inclusive God-figure and that I find very helpful." The feelings of several are summmed up by the sister whoe says quite simply, "God is neither masculine or feminine but pure spirit as Creator." Yet the attributes of God are seen to reflect both masculine and feminine qualities by another, "I see mercy as the feminine quality in God in the Magnificat whereas the holiness and strength I find are the more masculine." The question of God is approached from a feminine perspective by most sisters. "I would use inclusive language in the Magnificat. Right now, it is very important for me to explore who God is for me as woman." New interest in the Magnificat has come from 6A 14th-century Dominican theologian and preacher who was inOucncial as a teacher of spirituality for the Dominican Sisters in the Rhine Valley monasteries of that time. For further reading see, "Meister Eckhart on Speaking About God," from Bernard McGinn, Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher. The Classics of Western Spirituality Series (New Jcrsy: Paulist Press, 1986) 15-30. 93 using gender inclusive language for God as is seen in the following: For me, during these last three years, the Magnificat has taken on a whole new meaning as prayer, as addressing God the Person, who is neither male nor female, but God as God and finding in it a strenghening of myself, as well as, a way of praising, a way of praising God for who God is. There were several other comments on the masculine pronouns for God that are found in the English translation of the Magnificat that the sisters were given to reflect upon 7 "I have to say that after I read this translation there was a little jarring because of all the he's in it. I usually use a more inclusive translation." The consciousness of addressing God in a nongender-specific way has developed in recent times. "Probably since the early 1980's I have been very aware of inclusive language. In this portion of the scripture as it is written here, the language f9r God is still all male and that is painful." God is Creator and because God is present in creation God can be experienced. Reflections on God as Creator arose out of the consideration of Mary proclaiming the greatness of God in the Magnificat. A sister remarks, "I truly believe that the Magnificat was written for each of us in our way so we can envision God or experience God as the source of our life." Another shares: This takes me back to the whole sense of creation so much and the mere fact, the profound fact probably that God breathes life into me. And that's, therefore, why I can say this Magnificat with Mary. "We are an extension, a created extension of the Godhead, of the divine God. At least periodically in our lives we should think about that, especially remember and acknowledge it," one sister observes. This is modified by the statement of another who claims, "I understand that I am a creature vis-a-vis God, that I am not God." But the first sister continues, "So the greatest God in a sense continues to be proclaimed in each of us, all of us, creatures put here upon this earth." That God is within is seen as a challenge by the sister who states: The mere fact that my being proclaims God's greatness is a comfort for me but it's a challenge. What that causes me to do is to really be in a posture of receiving and accepting the God that is there within me. That our Creator shares creative power with us is appreciated by a sister who says, "I do believe that we help God create. God created this world and God expects us to carry on the continuation of creation and take care of things." Commenting on being co-creators with God one sister cautions that we should be careful of the language that 7Thc version used was the New American Bible translation. 94 we use. "It seems to me that so many times we use a phrase such as being co-creators but then leave God out of it because God doesn't seem to be as present in the times in which we live." Many sisters, however, spoke of having experienced God's presence in their lives and it is this experience which enables them to relate to Mary's words in the Magnificat. "There is so much in it that almost everyone could identify with it, anyone who has had an experience of God in their lives." Another speaks of her own awareness of God's presence, "I am deeply aware-in very special ways I've been given this awareness and I'm not always as faithful to it as I might be-of the presence of God within and to God's loyalty." The response to God's presence is joy as is seen in the Magnificat. "The thing that always jumps out at me when I think of the Magnificat is the joy with which Mary recognizes Jesus within her and the presence of God in her life." A sense of God's presence within engenders confidence. One says, "I think that the thing that encourages me is the presence o( the Lord and the promise that I've received from God that there would always be that strength." The Magnificat is a communion recessional prayer, celebrating God's presence, for a sister who prays, " My soul rejoices in the God who is present within me now." Awareness of the presence of God is a motivating force for mission as is witnessed by the following: When God becomes present and alive within me it's not enough that God is alive within me that somehow if God is alive within me then that will motivate or bring about a movement out towards others. I see that definitely as Dominican. B. God In Relationship l. The Mercy of God In viewing God through the prism of the Magnificat the most dominant relational characteristic of God that emerged from the respondents was that of mercy. That Mary should proclaim the mercy of God to herself and to her people triggered a widespread response from the sisters that indicated their own desire and need for mercy as well as statements recounting their personal experiences of being recipients of God's mercy. No specific question concerning God's mercy was asked but almost all of the sisters referred to mercy several times in their sharing. Mercy is seen as connected to God's love, faithfulness and justice as well as to hope. The extending of mercy to others is understood as definitive of the Dominican sense of mission. The dominance of mercy in the Magnificat is expressed, "That line, ever mindful of the mercy of God, that is the whole thing in the Magnificat for me, God's wonderful compassion and mercy." But what is mercy? One ponders it, "I wonder, even the word mercy, do we understand what mercy is and how that relates to justice. Do we even understand the word, justice." One sister connects mercy to forgiveness, "When I think of mercy I also think of forgiveness and it helps me admit to my own imperfections which I try to hide." Aspects of mercy gleaned from Mary experience as recipient of 95 mercy are reflected upon: I see the mercy of God as feminine and it is at that level that I can most approach God and enter into that prayer and enter into Mary's role or position as she experienced God's mercy and was able to move into doing God's will . So I feel in experiencing God's mercy not only for myself but for others I can more easily then enter into God's will whatever that might be. From this day all generation shall call me blest. I hear Mary saying that she is aware of the goodness of God towards her, the mercy of God towards her, and the joy and the impact of who God is for her. I do not hear it as a prediction or prophesy for the future that we would be remembering her. I hear it in what I think is a very humbl~ acknowledgement of her dependence upon God. God's promise to remember mercy is a source of hope. "I like the last verse, the promise: He remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers . There's such hope in that word, promise." Hopefulness is also heard in the words of one who considers the expansivenss of God's promise. Throughout the whole Magnificat we also have the call to mercy. God remembers his promise of mercy to all the children of Abraham. And whatever we're into or not into, as are those that we stand with, somehow it's okay, that the mercy of God extends way beyond anything we could possibly imagine. Thank goodness for that. It was clear that some sisters resonated with the idea of mercy as chords in their personal life experience were touched. Weary after a difficult work day a sister reflected quietly for a few moments and then said, "Today, I'm really in need of mercy. In the Magnificat is the promise that God will give it to me. I feel that Mary is backing up those words. It feels like a response." Another sister reflecting back on her work as she responded to the Magnificat said, "I can relate to God's mercy on the lowly. I am lowly too. I do Jove and care for the Jowly, smelly, overweight people that I help. Sometimes they request that I be the one to do their therapy." The idea of the mercy of God is comforting. After relating some of her fears a sister shared, "One of the things I hear in both the Benedictus8 and the Magnificat is that we need to let go of fear, trust in God's mercy and have courage." An older sister commented, "As I get older God's mercy means so much more to me. God has given us Jesus to be our holiness and our redemption. My mother would say, '0 my God have mercy on me.' She worried about her sins." A moving prayer experience caused one 8Zechariah's Canticle, Luke 1: 68-79. 96 sister to see herself as having been blessed and paraphrased a few words of the Magnificat saying: You've done great things for me. I'm not deserving. That translates Mary's words. Great things have happened to me because of God's mercy. I used to think it was a proud prayer but not now. Many things happen because of God's mercy. God's mercy being extended to others is an example of what Dominicans understand as mission. "Our mission is to respond to folks in need whatever the need is so the whole prayer is one of mission. The call to mission is there in the idea of mercy." The Magnificat elicited a more extensive consideration of mission and mercy by another sister who explained: I find Mary's words very encouraging in terms of our mission, our vision statements,9 because I think that of all the ideas, the hungry, the powerful, the proud, it is the idea of mercy that has taken on whole new grounds of meaning for me. As Dominican and knowing that Dominic's greatest prayer was for mercy for the people I, also, then, connect that with our congregational aspirations and then with Mary in terms of the Magnificat. Speaking from her experience of having visited Medjugorje in the past and now contemplating the violence happening in Croatia one sister was led to emphasize the need for God's mercy in the world in our day. The Magnificat reminds her that Mary is a bearer of God's mercy. Having been to Medjugorje and having witnessed there her coming through the spirit I now look at Medjugorje and Yugoslavia and think that she does indeed see the sorrow and suffering so, so common there. So may they have mercy all of them on their generation and those to come for Our Lady says mercy is from generation to generation for those who fear God and the Word has come indeed for the help of his servant Israel. And may we indeed remember, remember God's mercy as Our Lady remembers. 2. God's Love and Faithfulness That God should love an individual personally is seen as an important quality of relationship to God. Praying the Magnificat with Mary is a way to gain a sense of God's 9Recent statements that the Adrian Dominican Sisters have formulated to direct their mission during the decade of the 1990s. The statements set forth ministerial priorities in working for the poor and for justice in society. 97 love and to respond to an experience of that love: At final profession I used the Magnificat because for me it was a prayer of praise to God that gave me the sense of feeling very loved and very special knowing that God would be pleased with me. It was my way of connecting. I could be Mary. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. At times I have kind of an overwhelming sense of, yes, in fact, my soul proclaims, especially in moments of either a deep understanding of what's happening or a realization of God's great love for me, just that one line. For me the Magnificat, which I pray daily brings me to desire to be another Mary, to praise God, to see him. as loving me personally and immensely, to detach myself from my agenda so that he can do great things. For one sister a sense of identification with Mary in saying the Magnificat leads to a consideraton of God's love for all people. "It seems beautiful to me that we have in this story, 10 the older and the younger. God's love and mercy is not just for the young or the old but God's care and love is there for all people." Mary is seen as one privileged to know God's love. "God shares with Mary the great love he has for his people." One sister related the powerful effect that an experience of God's love bad for her. "I finally realize that God loves me no matter what. My whole life has changed. I asked why does God love me? I couldn't give an answer." A sister who seemed delighted to share her experiences with me referred to an idea from the Rule of St. Augustine. 'The love of Jesus Christ has brought us together you know.•ll The experience of God's love, like mercy, is extended to others in mission as is seen in the following statements: My mission is to mentally ill. A lot of times they have very narrow images of God. I try to affirm their attempts at trying to do their best and I really try to give the picture of a forgiving, loving God. I think that a lot of times people have a very fearful concept of God. Earlier in religious life, I did not feel the call to mission in that prayer. felt more the call that I was specially loved and that God would be faithful. 10Mary's visit to Eiizabeth which is the setting for the Magnificat. 11 Each religious tradition of the Church has some form of rule which makes explicit a mode of life that is implicit in the Scripture. For the Dominican Sisters this is an adaptation of the Rule of St. Augustine written in the early fifth century CE. 98 Therefore, because of that faithfulness and because God was on the side of the poor, I could do that with integrity, with a wholeness, regardless of what anyone else would say to me because the God who loved me and made me feel special was on the same side. God's promise of faithfulness and the example of God's faithfulness to Mary are seen as personally very important to the respondents who speak of the hope and enouragement that that brings. "I think that the second verse means more to me than a lot of the rest of the parts of it. I think it's a way of reminding myself always of God's promise, God's faithfulness." "I often meditate on God's faithfulness." I think that people have a great need for being encouraged and reminded that God does continue to be with us in faithfulness and is going to give us a hope that every generation needs but pfrticularly in our own time. We are bonded to God by covenant and he will not leave us stranded because of his faithfulness. One sister sums up the idea of God's faithfulness as a covenant characteristic. Mary refers to the fact that all generations will call me blessed because the Lord is faithful to his covenant. The covenant is being brought to reality through Mary. The Lord is faithful to what he has asked us to do. He will not leave us stranded in our efforts. He will level the road before us, he will strengthen us, and simply and solely, not because of our greatness or because of our talent or ingenuity and all that, but solely because he is faithful to his covenant. God's faithfulness to us extends to leading, guiding and helping us to do what we are called to do, assisting us to wholeness and satisfying our desire for him. This faithfulness endures from past to present to future. This consideration is paramount to a sister who exclaims, "11tat's my salvation, the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus. The only word I know that sums it up is faithfulness, that faithfulness of God to me on my life's journey." Confidence that God would, indeed, satisfy her desire for him is voiced by the next sister. "It just strikes me that in our searching for God, our desire for God, our hunger for God, God will be faithful and will give us what we need." This confidence continues in the next statements: God put the rainbow in the sky, that's another one of his covenants. We are covenanted people, You are my people and I am your God and I will always be there to lead you. In that way he is with me. I don~t have to worry about that. The thing that I have to worry about is remaining faithful to him. I think Mary is saying to us that God is faithful. This is the promise he 99 has given our ancestors. It's mentioned in this text to Abraham, but I always consider Abraham and Sarah. She is saying, God has promised us and he has been faithful. There's a certainty in her words that God will be faithful in the future and that whatever is going to happen to her God will be there because he has been faithful in the past. 3. God's Might God who is mighty has done great things for Mary and does great things for us. As Mighty One, God has power over all things. Some sisters feel strongly about this, "God does have power over everything." "I can identify with the line, God who is mighty has done great things for me." "I like that phrase, the Mighty One, just like the phrase, the Holy One." "The power of God surpasses the power of all these things that debilitate against wholeness, gentleness or holiqess." God's ability to act does not depend upon us. A sister issues an admonition about this: Because of fidelity to the Covenant, to the promise, it will happen if we just have enough faith to really believe and don't get so desperate and don't equate God's ability to act in a situation with our own ingenuity or our own talent. Not everyone related strongly to the image of God's power and might which was seen to be militaristic. "I see mercy as the feminine quality in God in the Magnificat whereas the holiness and strength I find are the more masculine. The strength of his arm being the more militaristic kind of thing." One sister quoted poetry to try to capture the essence of the Magnificat which she sees as Mary portraying true humility in her praise of God's might. Simplicity sang Magnificat. Pomposity scandal took there at. What, Maid! In thy boldness you make so free? Yeah, quoth Our Lad1~ mighty is he Who can magnify me. "And that is the essence of the whole prayer uttered by Our Blessed Mother made for the world and time in which we are living." 4. God's Favor Closely related to the sense of being loved by God is the feeling of being favored. 12Authorship unknown 100 In the Magnifcat God looks upon Mary with favor and several sisters commented on that. "I relate to the line, He has looked with favor on hi.f lowly servant. God's favor is shown to me in his presence in my time of need." "But God looks with favor on me. That's my salvation." "God has been so good to me. He has allowed his goodness to shine through." "I have always related to the Magnificat personally because of God's favor to me in so many ways." That because of God's favor we have become what we now are is an idea that is explicit in the following responses: "It's in the ordinary trusting things, that make life be what it is, that he has done these great things for me." I go back to the first part of that prayer because, whoever says it, Mary or the person, if you think about what you are saying there, you are relating everything that comes from you to the fact that God has raised you to the point of doing this, the favor of the Lord.resting upon us, the gifts and that. You are what you are because of the favor of the Lord. I have felt that it is God who has done great things for me, has provided insights or graces that would help me to say yes or to choose certain paths which have gotten me to this point. 5. God's Response God responds to prayer. A sister reflects upon her experience of having prayers answered in times of need by saying, "In some wonderous way God always gives me the strength and the courage to go deeper and to find a companion or someone or maybe a book or something, that will help me or will feed me." The response of God may not be immediately recognized but one sister speaks confidently about it. I truly believe that as each one of us shows a desire for God and the things of God that we do receive a response and a fulfillment. God is always very generous with gifts. When we long for the things of God we many times receive them, though sometimes not under the forms that we envision. There is so much more than we can even think about which God is and is willing to share with us. In responding God is respectful of our choices and our free will. Another sister speaks of specifically stating a need and getting a clear response. I do not like to ask for signs but if I feel that the Lord may be calling me to some place I will say to him, "If you want me to stay here let me know. If you want me to go some place else just let me know." And again, this happens every single time, when I am in a big decision, within twenty-four hours I get a sign and I say, "I will do it." I turn and I do it. I may not have wanted to do it but I do it and everything falls right in place. The 101 Lord will speak to you if your mind is clear. In the Magnificat Mary praises God for the great things that have been done for her. In reflecting upon this some sisters express that God does indeed know their needs and care for them. One says, "God knows the need and he bas told us if we ask, if you ask the Father anything in Jesus' name it will be granted." God's care may be somewhat spectacular as is seen in the following incident: I was in a terrible accident on the freeway, when I saw that I couldn't avoid being hit I placed myself in God's care. I felt an invisible shield protecting me. The impact crushed my car but I wasn't injured even though the car was completely totalled. When the police arrived they were baffled that I emerged alive and unharmed. Others speak of God's care being extended in more ordinary ways over a life-time of relationship. The Almighty hils done great things. It's overwhelming when you look over your life and see bow it could have been just a humdrum everyday kind of life and' yet so much has been done that always bas come directly from God in things around for you, in ways that you just don't expect. I know that certain things in my life would not have happened if I bad not had a real reverence for God and an influence of God in my life. Knowing that the things that did happen to me were by God's help and perhaps only by cooperation with God's help did certain things come to be. I can proclaim the greatness of God in my life and know that I am blessed. It has to do with looking back and seeing that the garbage of life bas turned to compost. That is the blessing that God can take that garbage and make it life-giving and nourishing for the future. C. God's Action on Behalf of Justice The exegesis of the Magnificat bas shown that the first stanzas, Luke 1: 46-50, is a personal message of God's action on behalf of an individual but the next stanza, verses 51 -53, describes God's action on behalf of the people. The sisters interpreted this section as giving insight into God's priorities in the social realm. That God favors some people at the expense of others caused much pondering and led to a need to try to understand why God was said to act as the words of the Magnificat describe. 1. Priority for the Oppressed The action of God as proclaimed by Mary includes scattering the proud in their 102 conceit, pulling down the powerful, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry and sending the rich away empty. In reflecting upon these actions one sister speaks for many in stating that the canticle demonstrates God's priorities. God will stand by those that are poor or the oppressed. He reverses things here in the scripture. It's not the proud that will be blessed. It helps us to see what is important in God's eyes. It gives us a sense of what people God has a priority for and that is the lowly, the people who are not proud, the people that are not rich, those that are searching, those that are hungry, those who have a healthy fear of God or a healthy respect for God's works. These are the people God will stand by. These are the people that we should, as Christians, be especially sensitive to, especially sensitive to their human condition. So, I think Mary is giving us some insight into God through her prayer. God's action is seen as a matter of faithfulness to the covenant which is borne out in salvation history. A lot of it in my mind is tied up with salvation history, the reference to the covenant, the promise, the bonding between God and his people. He will, if you bang in there, put down the oppressor and be will raise up and safeguard his chosen people. The image of God that emerged from the sisters responses is primarily a loving God, not a harsh God. Thus God's action against oppressors needed to be pondered in order to find an explanation that would exclude any idea that God would mistreat anyone. One sister states bluntly, "The lines about putting down the proud, the rich and powerful could be seen as God ill-treating someone. This is not what I think about God." Another wonders at the words of the Magnificat and does not try to explain them. She says: I think it is for us this day to think about it, wonder about it. I always had kind of a bard time when I would be saying it because I'd think, oh, it's asking for revenge here and there. It's pretty harsh here and there. I think that I have to let it be as it is and not think of the revenge because I believe God is all love and Mary is all love. Many sisters commented on God filling the hungry while sending the rich away. The emphasis was on the part of God filling the hungry. "I think it's giving the poor the bread they need and not the rich he has sent away empty." The sending away of the rich empty-handed was problematic within the view of a caring God and needed an explanation. Some resolved this by extending the notion of hunger to the spiritual realm. One sister who had shared that she felt depleted and empty said, "I especially like the phrase, He has [tiled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away 103 empty." Another shared confidently, "I know that God will fill the hungry part of me especially if the hunger is for that which is life-giving." Hunger for God's presence creates a void in the soul and one sister ponders this, saying: He has satisfied the hunger not only materially through crops and grain but he will satisfy the hunger through his presence. This again goes back to Mary being the bearer of the Lord. The presence of the Lord fills the hunger of our lives, the hunger from the void. A sister whose image of God has changed with her experience interprets the words in keeping with her concept of a generous God. And then sending the rich away empty, I used to think that that was like a punishment. That God would say, "Well you're rich so you don't get anything. Off you go!" But I don't think it is that way at all, I think that there is no way that someone who is rich can be filled by what God wants to give us. A person who has filled himself up with all kinds of stuff that doesn't satisfy is going to be empty forever because that is all they have, empty stuff. 2. Reversal or the Social Situation The bringing about of justice involves the reversal of the social situation of the powerful oppressing the weak, the rich oppressing the poor. One sister refers to this as characteristic of God's kingdom. She adds, "Then all of the lines where God has shown might with his arm and confused the proud in their inmost thoughts, all those up-side-down things. I like all of them." God brings about this reversal in a nonviolent way but with our help according to a sister who says: Mary could see God working in a nonviolent way because she said that he has shown the might of his ann and confuses the proud in their inmost thoughts. He can do it. God, through allowing certain things to happen, is going to bring about that decrease in oppression or that social thing. But we have to be up and helping to bring that about too. A different voice was heard in one who interpreted the putting down of the powerful and the raising up of the lowly as a process of leveling off to bring about a situation of equality. "It kind of puts everybody on an equal basis." Having worked many years with the disadvantaged a sister, social worker, expresses impatience with the present situation of social inequality in the following words: I certainly think it's nice that Mary believed that all those things were going to happen, that God was going to confuse the proud and show his 104 might. But sometimes it just seems like those things happen in such subtle ways that they're not as clear and corporal and immediate as this sounds but they certainly do happen. But then I look at the hungry that we have and I think, some of those people have been hungry for an awfully long time. And I get kind of impatient with him . I don't see the rich being sent away empty sometimes. Things don't happen fast enough for me. I wish that they'd get going, that justice would come down and reign as Mary says it there. It's a beautiful prayer. The reality of the lived experience is a little less clear sometimes. The question of a just God allowing so many people to suffer the injustice of destitute poverty created other questions for the same sister. She spoke with some passion of her feelings about it. It seems like it goes on from generation to generation. The poor just don't have it, the advantages of just even normal, ordinary human survival. So, maybe I've been watching it too long, seeing too much. Certainly, there is heaven, there has to be a heaven. If there isn't a heaven I don't know what all this is about. Some of these things don't seem to happen during people's lifetimes, having gifts and rewards for folks who have been patient and tried to do their best under very restrictive kinds of things in their lives. It's kind of a depressing thing. D. Jesus and the Spirit References to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit were not numerous as the sisters reflected upon the meaning of the Magnificat. In the reflections on the first part of the song, Lk 1:46-50, Jesus is mentioned as being a presence within Mary that elicited her joy. "Tbe one thing that always jumps out at me when I think about the Magnificat is tbe joy with which Mary recognizes her son, Jesus, within her and the presence of God in her life." Terms by which Jesus is identified are, "Word of God," "Mary's Son," and "Christ." He is equated with God and with redemption in the following remarks. "Tbat's my salvation, the faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus." "God has given us Jesus to be our holiness and our redemption." In him God is present in the world. "The coming together of Mary and Elizabeth was the coming together of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christ is God's way of being present in our world." Prayers are answered in Jesus' name. A sister reminds us, "Jesus has told us if we ask, if we ask the Father in Jesus Name it will be granted." 13 Meditation on the action of God in bringing about a kingdom of justice in the second part, Lk 1: 51-55, drew comments on the mission of Jesus. "The Magnificat, in 13John 14: 13. 105 the lines that describe the up-side-down kingdom, proclaims the mission of Jesus and the mission of all of us at the same time." Also, "Bringing good news to the poor is what Jesus was all about. If this is God's mission, it is also my calling too, to proclaim these things." The Spirit is spoken of in the context of growth in personal spirituality by one sister. "I see holiness as wholeness. So, I feel that Jesus and the Spirit are able to cast down the mighty from their throne and lift up the lowly within." The same sister, in speaking of her ability to see meaning in proclaiming the greatness of God as Mary did, shares: That is a blessing that I have been given, the insight, the awareness perhaps, the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we refer to as knowledge and understanding, that intuitively give me insights that I could not come to by my own intellectual ability. E. Changing Perceptions of God For many of the sisters a change in perceptions of who God is has taken place over time. Some of these changes have already been noted. A sister shares her search: I need to define God for me. My images of God are changing now. At one point I really could define who God was but now-maybe it's midlife-I'm not really sure. There is real image changing going on now for me. It is difficult to define an image for God right now. For me there are many images. An earlier concept of God as one to be feared blocked relationships. Later, fear was replaced by awe and reverence as this sister expresses: For me, whatever the word fear is meant to con notate is better said with awe. There is a sense of awe and reverence in my relationship with God but not fear in the sense that there is a block between us. There were times in my life when I think that I feared God. I don't know if those were the beginnings of wisdom for me. Earlier emphasis on submission has changed to an understanding that we cooperate with God in creating the future. The Magnificat certainly had a different meaning to me in my earlier spirituality than it does today. When I was younf.er, there was so much emphasis on submission, like the "Little Flower," 4giving up all your 14St. Therese of Lisicux. 106 sufferings. I thought it was, well, sit there and wait for God to take care of everything. Now when I read the words they have a new strength. I do believe that we help God create. In trying to know who God is for women and trying to connect with God as woman new images and concepts of relationship emerge. A male, militaristic image of God is rejected as a nonviolent concept of relationship develops. In my own journey I am trying to connect with God as feminine. The Magnificat images God to be out there controlling. As I read it I sometimes get this picture of God with these big arms and muscles and he is going to throw people out, depose them, the mighty. It can be seen as a bit militaristic. So I identify with it Jess now than I have in my history as I try to pursue being nonviolent and to cr~ate ways of power that are collaborative as opposed to dominative. I try to work with people creating harmonius relationships with earth and all her peoples. Reasons for these changes are expressed as the result of personal growth in prayer, experiences in mission especially in working for justice and a development in self-understanding, especially in the understanding of what it means to be a woman. One sister speaks of reasons for her change of perception about God that occured after the renewal of religious life following Vatican II. "New insights come from scripture because of experiences. My relationship to God is interpreted differently because of my growth experiences." Another states: The Magnificat has kind of been a touchstone for me as I progressed in terms of my own exploring God and who God is as woman. At this point I don't pray it as much because there is a lot of male language in it. Right now, it is very important for me to continue to explore who God is for me as feminine so that the prayer itself isn't as important. Prayer experiences have been significant in developing new concepts of God. One sister who, in the past, sought to know why God loved her, stated happily, "Now I don't need an answer." A different sister refected back on the history of her relationship with God and concluded: We have an interior desire for wholeness. We seek this in God even as we seek it in ourselves. These merge. I do not wonder anymore what God's will is for me. As I came to merge my seeking for God and seeking for wholeness I seem to know God's will. 107 Ill. PRAYER: MAGNIFICAT AS MEDIUM The Magnificat is a vehicle for prayer. It is Mary's Prayer and the prayer of the Sisters who identify with Mary in saying it. It is used in the office and very often for personal prayer. The Magnificat is used by some sisters daily as a way into deeper prayer. Many would use only the first few lines as a prayer of praise, joy and thanksgiving when responding to an experience of the presence of God. This experience may be at any time of the day, for example, when experiencing joy in the beauty of creation or in response after communion. It is commonly used for special communal prayer services, especially on feasts of Mary and in Advent. There is a strong need shown to make the prayer fit the experience of women. Transliterations and expanded versions are used specifically to avoid non-inclusive language for God. The first part of the Magnificat is seen to express Mary's spirituality and the spirituality of those who say it as their own prayer. The second part is seen as a proclamation of God's action in history bringing about a situation of justice for the poor and oppressed. There is much awareness of the terrible suffering of the oppressed and the global situation of social injustice. This leads into a consideration of a personal mission and how prayer moves one to act in cooperation with God as Mary did to bring about the concrete realization of God's reign. The second part is also, at times, interpreted very personally as God's call to deeper prayer, filling the hunger of the soul, to humility which is seen as truth and to the wholeness which is holiness. As a medium of prayer, reflection on the Magnificat elicited a thoughtful consideration of prayer. Statements of what prayer is, how and when one prays, what is given by way of response in prayer, the place and use of scripture in prayer, were given. Prayer understood as standing in one's own being and taking joy in it, letting God be God in reference to who we are. Indeed the expressions of joy were many. The place of study of scripture for deeper understanding was mentioned. Study is one aspect of the Dominican way of life. It is very important to many that the Magnificat is a woman's prayer. The approach to God is as women with women's awareness and experience. Various prayer experiences, some truly remarkable, were related. The predisposition to prayer is mentioned many times. An attitude of being aware of the need for God's mercy, a hunger for God's presence, an emptying of self and a desire for deeper prayer were expressed. As desire for God increases a response is given. The movement from vocal to contemplative prayer was expressed. Consciousness of God's presence within is the result of reflection. Bringing a woman's life experiences to prayer resulted in growth and transformation. Indeed to see one's self as a woman, bringing a woman's understanding and experience to prayer, was important to the sisters. The strong expression of change which is seen across the categories of images of Mary and images of God is also found in the areas of understanding of self and way of prayer. Life is seen as a journey during which growth and development occur as life experiences are reflected upon and brought to prayer. That new insights were gained is seen in almost all responses. Although the reasons for change that are expressed are varied, Vatican II and the renewal of religious life afterwards seems to be the core factor 108 in moving into a new understanding of self as liberated woman and as called to a new way of relating to others. A wider vision of self as one who is in the world with a call to cooperate with God in the ongoing creation and transformation of the world is one result of experiences after Vatican II. Seeking to understand who God is and how we relate to God is a continuing search. Mary is seen as a timeless paradigm of one who is faithful to an ongoing, transforming relationship with God. Some saw the Magnificat as echoing throughout Mary's life and, in it's form in the gospel of Luke, as the reflection of a mature woman having already experienced the salvation event. Identification in prayer with a mature Mary in the Upper Room with the other disciples awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit illustrates this. A. Use or the Magnificat for Prayer I. Personal and Communal Prayer All of the Sisters who responded to the question of meaning of the Magnificat indicated that they use it for prayer but it is used in different ways. The reponses show an attunement to the rhythm of the liturgical cycle. The Magnificat can also be used as any other psalm a few lines at a time to lead into reflection or praise. The first few lines especially lend themselves to personal expressions of praise. They may be said in the Sister's own name. Some of their responses to the question of use of the Magnificat for personal prayer are: "Empathic yes! I use it." "I reflect on the Magnificat often and pray it at the end of Office." "I pray the Magnificat. It is appropriate in this world of terrible injustice and awful poverty." "I pray the Magnificat every day in unity with those who pray three psalms and the Magnificat the world over." "I think the Magnificat is always a rich kind of prayer which lends itself to different realization about God; about my own life in response to God." "I use the Magnificat as a prayer of thanksgiving after communion regularly." There is a strong indication that the Magnificat is the sister's own prayer with Mary as spokesperson. Some stated explicitly that they say the prayer in their own name. "Once in spiritual direction, the director told me to put my name in place of Mary's in this prayer. So I pray this prayer in my name." "I feel that when I pray it, it's Mary's prayer, it's Dominic's prayer, it's our prayer, it's the Church's prayer and all that comes together." "I've always been very happy in using the Magnificat as part of my own Dominican prayer and realizing that the Magnificat is a special way that God speaks to me." Many of the sisters ex~ressed that they use only a line or two of the Magnificat or that they use transliterations. 5 One sister shares, "I tend to use a book of paraphrases 1 ~c Magnificat has been paraphrased to emphasize special themes and books using these various Magnificats arc available. Some sisters have written their own paraphrases of the Magnificat 109 of the Magnificat for different meanings of community prayer because some of the interpretations in it are expressive of the moment we are trying to ritualize." A sister involved in religious formation states: Now that I have been in the novitiate where we do a more formal kind of prayer and use the Magnificat a lot as part of Vespers, using different Magnificats, some Latin, some English, some transliterations, the Magnificat has really taken on a much different shape and form for me. I frequently use the Magnificat for personal prayer. When driving I often play a tape of it. The first two lines, verses 46b and 47, are the most frequently used. A sister who is pastoral administrator two tiny parishes shares, "The people in my little parishes like to pray the Magnificat. Usually when I pray it or a·ny psalm, I try to pray part of it and reflect on a line or two." Others state: I find myself using this prayer in segments. It's rare except in the office that I would say it all the way through. It's a communion recessional prayer for me to say "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord". My soul rejoices in the God who is present within me now, similar to Mary's experience as she is talking to Elizabeth about who is present within me, the God of the Covenant but also the God that I bear. I don't know of any other prayer that can open me up to continued prayer at the Eucharist better than that prayer. The Magnificat is something that I use often, sometimes only a couple of lines, sometimes only one line. It is something that is a part of me in so far as when I am looking for a reflective text this is what often comes to mind. I would say particularly the first couple of lines. Often, privately on some occasion, eg, walking the dog on a beautiful sunny morning with flowers blooming or after a fresh snowfall in the winter My spiril rejoices in God my Savior comes to mind. I use the Magnificat for prayer regularly. Sometimes only one line or word strikes me. The first two verses of the Canticle are probably right now the most significant for me and that is the fact that my being proclaims. It doesn't proclaim myself, it proclaims the greatness of God and my spirit finds joy. I do use it for community prayer also. Some sisters do not pray it daily unless they are including it as part of the office but they do use it when they are preparing communal prayer services or on special in order to make it more personal. Cf. Ann Johnson, Miryam of Nazareth (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1984 ). 110 occasions as one sister says, "I use it on certain occasions, always in a sense of celebration. I would use it in a community prayer service because I love it and assume others do too. It's familiar and that's a comfort." Another sister adds, "I don't pray the Magnificat every day. I don't do repetitive prayers very well. With psalms I take one line and stay with it. I use it for special occasions." Appropriate times for using the Magnificat are mentioned: I do not use the Magnificat every day in prayer. On the feasts of Mary I do use it. I would also use the Magnificat in prayer services when appropriate for parish staff meetings, faculty meetings, and prayer services. I would make a separate meditation for each line of the Magnificat. I use the Magnificat for prayer especially on feasts of Mary around Christmas time and during Advent in pr~paration. I would use it for community prayer because it is part of our Dominican tradition. It is used as an appropriate prayer in women's gatherings. One person responded that it lends itself to ecumenical prayer services. That there is a tradition in the Dominican community of using the Canticle in Vespers service is one reason for using it but many other reasons were given. "111e Magnificat just seems to be the proper choice for a response to whatever the readings might be in a liturgy honoring Mary." When offering prayers for justice the Magnificat is an appropriate choice as is seen in the following remarks. "I use it occasionally for community prayer in more modern translations for I wish that justice would come down and reign as Mary says it there. It's a beautiful prayer." I love just reflecting on the Magnificat, especially with transliterations where there is a little different perspective in each one, of praising God, of looking at the human situation, of looking at the world situation, looking at our need for liberation in so many different ways. Among the reasons given for personal use is that it is a vocal prayer that leads into deeper contemplative prayer as a sister says, "I don't spend a lot of time meditating on tbe Magnificat. I use the psalms to bring me to prayer and I use the Magnificat this way. It brings me peace." Two sisters reflected back upon the significance that the Magnificat has had for them over the years. The first relates: It has moved with me through my long journey. At this point I pray translations of it rather than the prayer itself where people take concepts of it and expand that. But there is something in me that still connects with a person who can feel that personal, that my being can proclaim God. The second sister shares that she reflected upon the words of the Magnificat 111 when discerning if after a time of absence she should return to the congregation. Calling to mind Mary's faith affirmed her in her decision to take the step .of returning to religious life. The Magnificat is something that I've used my whole life, at least the last twenty-five or thirty years. Even in all the years that I was out of the congregation, every March 25, I would open my bible to this. Not that I would only do it on March 25 but for sure on March 25. I think it's like a thread going through my life. 2. Magnificat as Song The Magnificat is a canticle and several sisters, particularly the musicians who were interviewed, expressed an opinion that it s~ould always be sung when used in a prayer service. One sister, a liturgist, feels strongly about this. Singing it really brings it to life. It is meant to be sung. I don't think the reality is there unless it is sung or chanted. Each musical setting brings nuance to the text. The sung Magnificat is more powerful than any spoken version. Song is a fulfillment of speech anyway. A college teacher, who uses the Magnificat in her music history courses elaborates on the fact that as music it has an important history and the many musical versions done by great musicians attest to this. She says: The Magnificat is a canticle. It is a song. It is very appropriate that it be set to music whether very simple musical melodies such as the chant or something far more elaborate such as the one by Johann Sebastian Bach. But it is a song and a song has to be sung. Music as well as good oral reading touches the emotions and leads to deeper prayer. A different musician/ liturgist explains: In preparing a communal prayer service I would use it but probably with an antiphon verse setting rather than just verse upon verse. The oral reading of the verse is important. The impact of the word is so often lost in recitation. I often wonder if many of us are indifferent to ritual communal prayer because our past experiences were divested of the emotion of the poetry. Several sisters mentioned that they remembered the beauty of the musical settings of the Latin version of the Magnificat which they sang in choir years ago. "The Magnificat is meaningful to me in song. I loved the Latin version." One sister reminisced on playing the role of Mary in a Christmas play. "I sang the Magnificat and 112 so entered into it. Now we have it in English, then it was in Latin." 3. Magnificat as Woman's Prayer For at least half of the sisters interviewed the fact of the Magnificat being a woman's prayer was very significant. It has already been seen that in keeping with an image of God who has both masculine and feminine characteristics many sisters preferred to use nongender-specific terms for God when praying the Magnificat. One sister explains how she changes the text to make it gender inclusive. "I take the masculine pronouns for God and put them in the second person." 16 Another sister, who does the same, speaks of liberating the text from masculine language and then adds, "A new appreciation of Mary has gone hand in hand with my new way of praying the Magnificat. I think that my appreciation of Mary as a spokesperson for woman has increased." A sister, who works in an ecumenical setting and has expressed feeling strongly about using inclusive language, tells that she uses the Magnificat when preparing prayer services for women. She says, "I use the liturgical setting or follow a theme. Sometimes Mary is part of the theme of woman in scripture. I use the theme of Mary as friend." A spiritual director who uses the Magnificat for women's retreats tells why: The Magnificat has all the components of an image of a truly holy woman in relationhip to others. A woman who was gently led and called to wholeness, to the fulfillment of being a real woman, a human person. Another sister tells that she uses the Magnificat in her personal prayer "when I am reflecting on the sense of being a woman and the sense of call." She then adds, "I can pray as my own person and in my own community but when I am impacted in my work by other women sharing their stories so profoundly it takes a whole different meaning." A real appreciation for the Magnificat as women's prayer is shown by the sister who tells that she "looks forward to the prayers that woman use in scripture" and says, "I'm grateful for these words that are printed." Another adds, ''This prayer should be used by the Church in its consideration of women. This age should bring about fullness of equality for women." 16Examplc: "He who is mighty" is changed to read "you who arc mighty." The usc of masculine pronouns for God is problematic in official English translations. The Greek text is better rendered in English as "the mighty one" or "the powerful one." 113 4. Magnlncat as Mary's Prayer The importance of the Magnificat as a prayer of Mary, a significant person, was mentioned by twelve of the respondents. One says, "Even if the Magnificat were a prayer that I could not relate to I would still say it because of whose prayer it is. Mary has a special place with us." For another sister it is not the person of Mary who is important in the song but the fact that "in the Magnificat Mary becomes the medium of the message." Although the Magnificat was written two thousand years ago the message is timeless. Some thoughts on the relevance for today are given. "I've always looked at the Magnificat as Mary's song but also written for each one of us in our own day." "It speaks so well of Mary's entire being and her presence in our world and in our lives today." A contemporary Mary remarks: I find the Magnificat a kind of timeless P.iece of scripture. Part of it has value for me especially because Mary is expressing it. Since my name is Mary I sense some kind of affinity. The fact that she is a woman has something to do with it. Some sisters expressed that the Magnificat tells them something about Mary's life. One says, "I think that Mary's spiritual life is so reflective in the first part of the canticle and that her active life is so reflective in the second part." Some express the opinion that the Magnificat reflected Mary's prayer throughout her life. "One of the things that I was thinking about Mary in this text is that this whole kind of prayer must have been part of her everyday existence." "I'm certain the Magnificat rang very loudly and clearly through her whole life." The depth of understanding of God's ways in the song lead some to believe that it was sung by Mary late in life. "I am of the opinion that this is the reflection of a mature Mary. At the end she could look back and say, This is how it was. This is how I really see it now, after the resurrection of Jesus.'" Whether or not Mary really said the prayer was the subject of some speculation but the question was not deemed important. First of all, I don't think that Mary sat down and wrote that prayer in those words or in that fashion. I believe that she had the disposition to say that prayer. That is not a stumbling block to me in my ability to see Mary in the prayer because, obviously, somebody reflected on Mary and then put that prayer into this beautiful verse. Simply happy to have a prayer of Mary one sister joyfully exclaims: This is Mary's prayer. I'm just grateful its there. It's a prayer of her gratitude to God and her joy and her thankfulness to God because of this awesome experience in which she is about to participate, being pregnant, giving birth. 114 5. ldentlncatlon with Mary In the Magnlncat A sense of association or identification with Mary in praying the Magnificat was mentioned by sixteen sisters. For some, this sense of association is very close as is reflected in the words used to express the relationship, such as, identification, partnership, joining, putting self in the shoes of, having the same experience as, etc. A few of the statements describing the relationship follow. "To me the prayer does give a sense of association with Mary. You are what you are because of the favor of the Lord and what you do presently, now, will be sowing the seed for generations to come." "You almost join Mary in saying, My soul proclaims his goodness, because it isn't 1." "I've read the Magnificat so many times in latin and in english but when I prayed this I felt really close to Mary." "God breathes life into me and that is why I can say this with Mary." "Reflection leads to prayer, leads to identity with Mary. The more we reflect the more inte1,.1sely we pray. The more I pray it, the more I reflect on it." A sense of sharing Mary's experience was expressed. "Like Mary of the Magnificat we are immersed in the river of life and carried downstream." "llle lines of the Magnificat are intertwined in my life." "Reflection on the Magnificat may have come out of my recitation of the rosary, my reflection on the Visitation. What was Mary's experience is my experience." Some put their own name in the canticle. "I pray this prayer in my name in place of Mary's. The Magnificat reflects what God has done for Mary and for all of us who love her." It becomes their direct prayer to God and gives a sense of being loved and special. At final profession I used the Magnificat because for me it was a prayer of praise to God and it was that whole sense of feeling very loved and very special, knowing that God would be pleased with me. It was my way of connecting. I could be Mary. I could put myself in her shoes. For me the Magnificat which I pray daily brings me to desire to be another Mary, to praise God, to see him as loving me personally and immensely, to detach myself from my agenda and ego so that he can do great things. B. Prayer In General For the most part prayer was not defined by most of the Sisters. What did emerge from their reflections on the Magnificat were: how they prayed; attitudes necessary to be disposed to prayer especially contemplative prayer; responses that are given in prayer; relationship with God in prayer and how prayer moves one to action. The importance of scripture and the place of Mary in prayer life were also themes that emerged. Study was seen as a way to increase understanding of God and scripture. The meaning of prayer in the lives of the Sisters was clearly more of an interest to them than an explanation of prayer itself. 115 I. Attitude toward Prayer What am I doing when I pray? A sister, who is a philosopher, posed this question and then proceeded to address it. She spoke about the Magnificat as a familiar prayer saying: When you asked me to read this over I really began to think bow very often one pays so little attention to something that is so very familiar. My own thought on prayer is that we think we're in charge of praying, that we will say certain words and that this is a prayer. Yet, praying is like conversation. We can say certain words, the words have been said and yet, in another way, we have said nothing. We live in times when there are too many words, too many books, too little thought. ,) Getting beyond words, to simply being was an explanation of prayer given by three different sisters. One of them summed it well when she said, "Prayer is a quieting, waiting to see what will be revealed, an attentativeness to openness." The philosopher continued her thoughts on prayer in general by quoting an early 14th century Dominican theologian, "Meister Eckhart's definition of prayer is 'to stand in one's own being and to take joy in it.' Prayer is a way of opening our very being to Being." An attitude, a disposition, an attunement, is preliminary to praying. Several sisters mention what that is. "It is this that disposes us, the little bit about God that we can know." One speaks of desire and study saying, "In the Dominican charism is the desire for a deepening of our prayer life, the deepening of our study in order to discover truth and to always be surprised by God's new revelations to us in prayer." Two others speak of hunger. "There is a hunger for God's presence in prayer." " The hunger is for that which is whole, for that which is God." The sister who bas reflected upon the saying of familiar prayers speaks of the need for time and patience. If we really want to pray, I think we have to sit with some familiar words. If we are willing to expend the time and the effort, the great effort that it takes, then something is given. But it requires an awful lot of patience and an awful lot of humility. One has to be willing to stay with the familiar. In a certain way saying familiar prayers is nothing more than disposing ourselves to prayer really using us instead of us using prayer. We are the medium of prayer. Having trust that God will give us what we need is important to one sister who says: I think that sometimes as we get older we pray with skepticism. We pray out of desperation, if we say this prayer nine times or ten times or once every hour or something like that, the repetition of the words will maybe help us to deal with it or makes us feel as though were doing something 116 about it. But we don't pray with that feeling that God knows the need and he has told us if we ask in Jesus name it will be granted. Because of fidelity to the covenant, to the promise, it will happen if we just have enough faith to really believe and don't get so desperate and don't equate God's ability to act in a situation to our own ingenuity or our own talent. Entering into Mary's disposition is a way to dispose oneself to pray the Magnificat. The sister, who has spoken of using familiar prayers, states, "You must think with Mary, have an attitude of Mary and then have an experience. Attitude gives attunement to understand on a deeper level." 2. Contemplatlve/Renectlve Prayer Reflection and contemplation is part of Jbe prayer life of many sisters. They spoke of moving from rote prayers into reflection, pondering, clearing the mind and listening to God. Some spoke of seeking God's presence or having the experience of God's presence in their prayer. This awareness of presence might also be the presence of Mary. What is important now in prayer is not words but relationship. A relationship with God, with Jesus, with Mary can and does grow. In reflective prayer there is identification with Mary. One sister spoke at length about the practice of contemplative prayer that has been her way of prayer for many years. I do have a contemplative prayer life. I do contemplative prayer every day. That type of retreat and prayer has turned my life around 360 degrees. Its going into the contemplative, where it has silence and relaxation, the deep emptying the whole mind and listening, listening, listening. After describing how she came to learn techniques of this type of prayer, she explains something of bow it is practiced. In contemplative prayer when distractions come just start over, just begin again. We have been doing this for fifteen years. The distractions come and sometimes you feel that you have hardly even recollected yourself for a minute or two and maybe that's it during a whole hour or forty-five minutes. How do you know that maybe that wasn't one of the best times of prayer, emotionless. How it feels is not is considered prayer. For that little bit of time, actually, physically, mentally, hear the Lord speak to you . Your whole life that's what you are listening for, listening to Him speak to you but He will not come into a cluttered mind and really speak to you . Mary is the paradigm of a contemplative. It has already been seen that there is a strong sense of identification with Mary in prayer. Words such as ponders, reflects, are used to describe Mary's prayer. Contemplation is considered to be part of the 117 Dominican way of prayer and this is elaborated upon by one of the sisters. In Mary there was a deep and abiding familiarity with the Word that she had contemplated in Hebrew scriptures and it's out of that contemplation that she speaks. I think that is what we are supposed to be doing. We are to share with others the fruits of our contemplation.17 Earlier, in discussing the sisters understanding of God, it was demonstrated that it is possible to experience God's presence in creation. In reflective prayer the presence of God is sought. One sister says, "In order to preach about the presence of God, you first of all have to be aware of God's presence within you." A different sister explains how she tries to keep herself aware of the presence of God during the day. Entering into contact with God through words is important to me. However once that kind of contact with God has been made, words become less and less important but I find ·words important to enter into the contact with God and then just being somehow in the Presence which usually for me doesn't last more than a few minutes or a few seconds but it is the entree. Then during the day just remembering a word or two of prayer will bring me back into contact with that Presence, for instance, the word mercy or another word which maybe was featured in the prayer that day, which is usually from scripture. A sister, who works in a hospital expresses a need for healing for herself so that she can better help heal others. She prays, "I try to let God's healing presence permeate me." Two sisters tell that they visualized the scene of the Magnificat in their prayer. One, captivated by the joy that she perceives there and attributing it to the presence of God, says: To me the Magnificat is a song, a song of joy, you know. I just picture Mary's voice, the happiness in it, knowing, understanding somehow that Jesus is present with her, knows that he's present. So it's like each one of us spending a lifetime trying to know the presence of Jesus within, trying to unfold into that beauty. The other speaks of visually putting herself into the scene of the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth. She shared that she felt the presence of Mary with her as she meditated. "I think that what is so important to me is the context of Mary being a presence." As prayer life evolves the words used in prayer become secondary to relationship. Three sisters express this in the following statements. "Now as we have grown it is not 17"Contcmplarc ct contcmplata aliis tradcrc" is the Dominican motto. 118 so much the words but the relationship that develops in prayer that is important." "My prayer has changed a lot. Jesus is more personal to me now." "I like to renect on Catherine of Siena. She developed her relationship with Jesus." Characteristics of relationship to God mentioned include a dependence upon God, a reverence for and awe of God, a listening to God and faithfulness. In her renection on the Magnificat a sister speaks of the importance of listening to God throughout life: The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is God's name. As I renect on that I can think back to depending on God at each one of the crossroads of my life. I mean every day, but really trying to listen to God at the moments of importance where there was a life-changing decision for me. Another sister explains the stance that her relationship to God takes. "I understand that I am a creature vis-a-vis God, that I am not God. There is a sense of awe and reverence toward God in my relationship but not fear in a sense that there is a block between us." It has already been demonstrated that the sisters experience God as relational. In the context of speaking about the way that they relate to God in prayer some sisters shared stories of how God responded to their prayers. Some of this has been documented as part of rounding out the concept that the sisters have of God as responsive and caring. A few statements specific to the nature of response to prayer are added here. "I don't think I've ever been sent away empty except when I think I'm full, that I have all that I need. Then I have to go deeper to be filled." "I know sometimes when I'm praying this prayer I actually feel infused with strength. I actually feel a strength in myself, in my resolve, in my purpose, in who I am." I am always surprised by God's new revelation to me in prayer. I think no matter how many times I've read the Magnificat or prayed the Magnificat there is always some discovery after a while, another aspect of truth. My readiness to hear, perhaps at a different level, or because of an experience in life, to be open to something that really didn't strike me before. There is a very active part of choosing to let go in order for something to take place. So it's not just a letting go because I don't care or I can't do this or let someone else do it. But there is a letting go. What echoes in Mary's canticle, there is the echo of the {tat. When that happens, with that letting go of this whole idea that we are in control, I think something is given. Maybe it's that joy that Eckhart talks about, that we are filled with something. That joy is in the Magnificat. The sister who has spoken of practicing contemplative prayer shares that she asks God for a sign that she is following his will when she has a big decision to make. 119 "Within twenty-four hours I get a sign and I say, 'I will do it' and I turn and do it." She describes the sign. "When I receive an affirmation from the Lord that I have followed his will, from the top of my head all the way down comes this warmth. It goes right through me." 3. SCRIPTURE IN PRAYER That the Magnificat is a prayer found in the scriptures was mentioned as significant to several sisters. One sister speaks of sharing her own way to make scripture personal with her students: When I was teaching I would make a special effort to help students realize that not only the Magnificat but all scripture could be used in their prayer life and it might become more meaningfpl to them by putting in their own name. How is scripture used in prayer? Several sisters explain how they use the Magnificat to lead them into deeper prayer. One tells of how praying a psalm helps her to center herself and move beyond distractions. She explains the way she meditates on it: Usually, when I pray any psalm, I try to pray part of it like, My soul gives glory to the Lord and my spirit rejoices. I reflect on: How do I give myself? How do I give glory to the Lord? When recently has my spirit rejoiced in the Lord? How is it that I am rejoicing or not rejoicing and why? I go through the prayer that way. Most of the time I write. I seem to write better afterwards than when I am doing the reflection. Another sister, who also uses scripture for personal prayer, distinguishes between praying a psalm and studying it explaining: In reading scripture and saying psalms, I pause when something touches my heart and I stop there. In prayers of scripture we tie into the goodness and holiness of the person saying it. When we use a prayer of scripture it should not go to our heads but to our hearts. It should be spontaneous from the spirit. Where or how it was written is not important for prayer. Scripture is a dynamic way to move into prayer for one who also shares that bringing a woman's experience to the text is important to her. Reflection on the Magnificat leads to prayer, leads to identity with Mary. This is a cyclic dynamic. The more we reflect, the more intensely we pray. The more I pray it the more I reflect on it. Almost any piece of scripture has this dynamic. But if I identify with Mary it is because she is a woman. 120 I can identify with Mary Magdalen at the tomb also. I don't identify in the same way with Peter. I bring a woman's experiences to the scripture. I am not approaching the scripture as a man but as a woman. Identification with the women of scripture is mentioned by others. "I look forward to the prayers that women use in scripture whether it be the Song of Esther or the words here of Mary or any words that are spoken by women in scripture." That the singing of a Magnificat may have been a custom of other women of scripture is reflected in the comment a sister who remarks: I'm thinking of that other Old Testament woman, Hannah, Hannah's Magnificat. It's not called a Magnificat but it is a prayer very much like this. Which means that that kind of prayer was in the lives of those people, passed down from one to anoth~r . So we don't know. We don't take down all the Magnificats that holy people do say. I think it is for us this day to wonder about it. A musician, who has shared her favorite musical versions of the Magnificat, tells why she chooses certain texts: I think that a lot of times putting it in contemporary language is part of the process of having the scripture come alive. I think there should be texts as close to the original that you can get but after that I think that its important to internalize them to the point that they become our language too. Musicians do that, people who write music. I remember taking a course from Carroll Stuhlmueller at CJ1J 18 ten years ago and it was on the psalms. It was a powerful course and I loved it. He encouraged people in the class who were liturgists or musicians to do that. He said, "Make it your own and make it real." One who uses the scripture frequently in her personal prayer finds her own vocation reflected in the words of the Magnificat. I really see it summarizing an awful lot of who we claim to be, who we are called to be. I'd have to read it over again in different ways to be specific but intuitively that's my sense. But you see, I find that in every passage of scripture. I see the summary of the Christian vocation practically there in most passages, at least complete passages, chapters or whatever. 18Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the time of this writing, Fr. Stuhlmucllcr, an eminent scripture scholar and much beloved teacher, had just passed away. 121 A sister philosophizes about using scripture in prayer asking, "What it is that we do when we pray and what it is we do when we sit with scripture? Do we use it or do we let it use us?" She muses about the result of staying patiently with familiar passages. "At certain times, saying familiar prayers or reading familiar passages of scripture, I've had a whole different experience of a very familiar passage." 4. Study for Deepening Prayer Four sisters referred to study as an aid for deeper understanding of scripture. "Exegesis of the Magnificat leads to the all-over picture and to a deeper understanding." "I think that it's important for us to study the original, the context and do all the exegesis because that enriches the understanding that we have of the Magnificat." One sister refers to study as part of the Dominican charism explaining: I think the Magnificat is always a rich kind of prayer which lends itself to different realization about God; about my own life in response to God. In the charism for study there us a constant searching for new areas of discovery, of truth. I guess I can realize that in praying the Magnificat. in studying it. in sharing with others my thoughts on it. then that Dominican charism bas been actualized in, or through the way I have prayed the Magnificat or used it in my life. 5. Other Aspects of Prayer The primary way that personal prayer is engaged in is far from uniform. How, when or why one chooses to pray were not questions asked. However, in the response to questions of meaning and use of the Magnificat. information emerged that showed prayer styles to be reflective of the personality, interests, experience and life situation of individuals. Other than the responses already cited in the categories of Mary, God and Prayer there are some statements which further point out the great diversity of modes of prayer among the sisters. Influences on prayer mentioned were: using the imagination and images to bring one into the presence of the holy; using poetry and music; using the psalms for vocal prayer, then reflection or contemplation; writing in order to avoid distractions and center oneself; receiving spiritual direction or making a retreat and sharing faith stories with other women. One sister indicated several times that she used a special posture. "I go into my prayer position." A busy pastoral minister says, "I find that when I don't like to pray, when I am distracted and distraught and I take time to write my reflections it helps me center and direct myself in what I'm doing." An artist shares, "I began to use art as a way to express myself. I like to express myself in prayer many times using colors or different shapes that come from deep within me." A sister who has health problems that require her to spend time in exercise shares her experience of making exercise a prayer: 122 I need to exercise and for years I would spend the early hours of the morning in an hour or an hour and a half of prayer and, no matter how many times the doctors told me I would have to exercise, I could not find the time to do it. Now, I'm able to find time in private prayer but also to walk and make that walking, that exercise, part of my spirituality because it's important for my body but it is also important for my spirit to have that wholeness. A sister whose work involves her in advocating for just use of resources speaks of creation-centered spirituality. Anybody, each one of us, should be able to say, "I am blessed." It's not something we reserve for Mary. I just feel real strongly about that. Part of it comes from my attraction to creati<:!n-centered spirituality, although I don't think I'm myopic about that. I move in many spiritualities. One of the keynotes of creation spirituality is the blessedness of creation, the blessedness of each created person. It is not because we make ourselves blessed. It is because we are. Times and occasions of prayer mentioned were: prayer in the morning that sustains one through the day; prayer in times of trouble or danger; praying and listening to God in moments of important life decisions; praying in thanksgiving when experiencing God's presence or help or the beauty of creation and praying for others including those who are experiencing oppression or injustice around the world. A sister, who works as an administrator shares, "I have a tendency to turn to the Lord in times of trouble or problems. The problems in my life are not huge but whatever it is, I turn to him and I pray in thanksgiving and things just fall together." One sister who admits to praying daily for peace and justice as well as for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for world leaders says, "I truly have to be aware of the evils we see in the world. Maybe I can't be out there marching but I can pray." An impulse in prayer may be prophetic and must be spoken for the good of the whole church according to the sister who states: The growth of my awareness of being a woman in prayer has something to do with where the Church is now. We ourselves are Church. When we are in process it takes a prophet to step out of the process and speak prophetically. It takes courage! There must be room for the prophet to speak. Someone has the key to discernment. If the prophet refuses to speak the process can not go forward. C. Changing Modes of Prayer Responses to questions of meaning ascribed to the Magnificat surfaced expressions relating to how the use of the Magnificat for prayer has changed over the 123 years. These changes in the way the Canticle is understood and prayed have occurred along with changes in the whole way of prayer for most of the respondents. Many of the statements already cited contain references to these changes. A short summary of the evolution in modes of personal prayer is given here. Earlier prayers were rote or vocal such as the office and rosary. Later it is the relationship to God in prayer that counts rather than the words used. Emotional feelings in prayer have given way to contemplative prayer focused on listening. The use of sacred scripture as a way into a deeper contemplative way of prayer was mentioned. Life experiences brought to reflection upon scripture have caused certain passages to take on new meaning as other aspects of truth are gleaned from the text. This process continues as prayer-life develops with new experiences of God's love and presence along with a new ability to listen to God. Also new understandings of self as woman called to an ever deeper relationship to God cause new insights from the scripture to continue to emerge. Because change is now seen to be an ongoing process, specific lines of the Magnificat that are meaningful and frequently used now are expected to change as life develops. Change is all-embracing. It occurs within a Sister's perception of her personhood at the same time that it occurs in her perception of God, of Mary and of her relationship to them in prayer. The renewal of religious life after Vatican II and access to the study of scripture along with more comprehensible translations of scriptural texts were important in the process of change. Privately directed retreats have also been significant in leading to a deeper prayer life. But most powerful in affecting new insights were life experiences in the areas of prayer, ministry and personal growth. Expressions of change in personal prayer were widespread. Almost every sister interviewed mentioned it in some way. Some statements documenting aspects of change in prayer life that have not been mentioned so far in the study follow. Concerning what has led to new insights into the Magnificat as well as other scripture four sisters relate: No matter how many times I've read or prayed the Magnificat there is always some discovery after a while, another aspect of truth. Perhaps this is in my readiness to hear at a different level, or because of an experience in life, to be open to be something that really didn't strike me before. For many years, when we said the office in Latin, the Magnificat was just the ending prayer in Vespers. There was no real content there. It was just a part of the office. Not that the office was not a prayerful experience for me. It was. But the Magnificat did not have anymore of a meaning for me other than that which a psalm had as prayer. When we changed to English in language it took on more meaning as a psalm prayer. It really took on meaning for me when I read the bishops' letter on Mary in the '60s. The Magnificat is very deep. Which, then, is why we can keep returning to it either in just isolated lines or as a whole song because there are portions 124 there that may be more meaningful as life develops. Right now there are specific lines that I use more than others but that may change. I was counseled to read a gospel to come to know the person, Jesus, to look at what he was doing and how he related. This began a wonderful journey. It changed my whole life. I can read a passage now and I see in it things I never saw before. The sister who has studied the philosophy of Heidegger tells how this has changed her perception of contemplation. His whole discussion of thinking echoes for me what, at least as a young nun, I felt contemplation was. I don't suppose that I ever questioned it that much before I started trying to un Change in the place of Mary within her prayer is explained by the sister who has developed a practice of contemplative prayer. Mary's motherly qualities have brought great comfort to me over the years. I have been to many of her shrines throughout the world and have felt a tremendous emotional love for her at these times. Now, in my daily contemplative prayer, I do not focus on Mary. The emotional feeling is not there for Mary but my relationship with her is on a deeper, more spiritual level. One sister sums up the attitudes of many who have spoken of the changes that have taken place for them over the years in regard to their relationship to God and Mary and in their practice of personal prayer. "In practicing prayer I had to let go of one perception of who I was and who I was called to be to let it come to a different reality." D. Prayer Moves to Action Throughout this study it has been seen that relationship to God and to Mary in the context of prayer has moved the participants to act in certain ways, for example, to enter religious life or to work with the poor. One sister has put it simply when she told that "an experience of God needs to be shared." It is also true that the reciprocal happens. Actions that were taken have led many to new ways of prayer. One sister has described this as "a cyclic dynamic." A few other thoughts on the dynamism of prayer to move into action are given here. 125 Prayer itself can be thought of as a behavior according to the sister who says, "My director has advised me to think of prayer or praying as a comportment. ·The word comportment just means behavior, simply behavior." Another speaks of how her experience in prayer moves her. "When God becomes present and alive within me it's not enough. If God is alive within me then that will motivate or bring about a movement out towards others. I see that definitely as Dominican." A sister who has spoken of the Magnificat as giving her courage to reenter religious life also found motivation in the prayer to take some radical actions as she explains. I've used it as an inspiration for myself when I did things like run off to Central America, which I did a number of times when all my friends thought that was crazy. And when I left a good paying public school job and chose to take a salary which was mus:h less. That is like upside-down. That's not how people are supposed to go. I thought these can't be just words, you know, it has to be real. People have to see that this kind of thing can really happen in life. So, it helped me take the courage to try to do some upside-down kind of things. IV. THEMES OF THE MAGNIFICAT: INTERPRETATION OF TEXT It has been seen that as a prayer the Magnificat is the Canticle of Mary but it has been appropriated by the sisters as their own personal expression of praise and gratitude to God. As such, Mary's Canticle functions as a prism through which shines the light of individual sisters attitudes toward God, Mary and prayer. The Magnificat is more than a joyful prayer of response to God's favor, however. The exegesis done in the first part of this study has shown that it carries a message concerning the dramatic and salvific action of God bringing about the final victory over all evil. The responses of the sisters to the question of meaning included their own interpretations of the message contained in the words of the text itself. In praying the Magnificat God's regard for the poor and lowly as well as God's fidelity to the promise of salvation is remembered. Hope for the future is kept alive. The results of the scholarly exegesis of the Magnificat was not made available to those interviewed. Their interpretions of the prayer were highly personal. Some referred to the Dominican ideal that what is given to others in mission is the fruit of contemplation. From the variety of responses given to the question, "What does the Magnificat mean to you," it is clear that the meaning of the Magnificat as expressed by an individual sister flows out of a worldview which has been formed by her life experiences in mission as well as by her prayer experiences. The perception of God's favor and God's action in her life leads to identification with Mary in praising and proclaiming God. The perception of God's action in the lives of others and in the events surrounding her activity in mission deepens the interpretation. The central theme of the Magnificat which emerged is that of the mercy of God. It is the essence of the whole message of the canticle. Other themes related to it are 126 those of joy, gratitude, lowliness, humility, truth, faithfulness, promise, hope, fear, the danger of pride, the meaning of hunger, poverty, justice, the importance of remembering and confronting injustice and oppression. Life experience illuminates meaning and meaning unfolds with life experience. The essence or core of meaning to each sister flows not only out of her prayer experience and mission experience but also out of her unique personality and giftedness. There is evidence also tbat the experience of woundedness, pain and suffering is a significant factor in interpreting the Magnificat. A. Personal Spirituality Emerging from the MagnUicat I. Joy/Gratitude The characteristic in the canticle most i~entified by the sisters is joy. Sixteen out of twenty-five sisters who gave an extended interview mentioned relating to the joy that is expressed in the Magnificat. Some continued to come back to the theme of joy several times during the course of the interview. Related to joy were expressions of gratitude and rejoicing. Joy as a response to the presence of God has already been noted elsewhere in this study as was a definition of prayer as "standing in one's own being and taking joy in it." In the course of tbe interviews it sometimes happened that a sister's eyes lit up and she radiated joy as she spoke of God's favor or expressed gratitude to God in some way. Such was the case of three sisters in these enthusiastic responses: "I love the line, My spirit rejoices in God. I love tbat sense of-it's more than just joy-it's celebrates in God, my Savior." "lbe biggest thing for me is joy. The Magnificat is a song, a song of joy. I just picture Mary's voice, the happiness in it knowing that Jesus is present with her." "lbe joy Mary expresses, it is so true! The joy, the enthusiam this young woman bas for life is powerful." Mary's expression of joy in the Magnificat is commented upon many times. Mary is joyfully acknowledging the presence of the Lord within her, celebrating that presence and sharing it. One says, "Mary with her presence was permeated with joy and life and able to rejoice." Others speak: In tbis very fact that the Lord is so close to her, so near to her she takes great delight. I think that St Therese said that she took great delight in being the Lord's little ball. If the Lord wants to throw me in a corner, fine. If he wants to let me play, he can play. I think, that's the joy that Mary was feeling in that the Lord was so with her and so much a part of her life that whatever he brought her she could be happy with that. I think the line that jumped out at me most often as I read it is My spirit finds joy in God my Savior. That idea of finding joy is so rich. Even with all the things that could happen and she certainly talks about people being hungry and confused, well, just being oppressed. But she finds joy in God. 127 That's so great. Joy is basic in the Magnificat according to the sister who says, "It is, to me, a prayer of sharing joy." In this sharing Mary is seen by some as a model of Dominican mission. "Our mission is to share joy." "Remember, in the stories we are told, the joy that Dominic had." Joy is spoken of as characteristic of the Adrian Dominican congregation. "Our community is noted for joy and joy has been so much a part of our gatherings." An elderly sister shares: When you ask for major things, I would say that right now is a very major part of my life because I'm getting to the end of my journey and I want to do it in a truly Dominican fashion with joy, with acceptance, and with courage. The Magnificat is an example of joy, acceptance and courage for me. Many sisters identify with Mary in experiencing the joy that Mary found within her and expresses in the Magnificat. A typical response is, "Joy is a theme I identify with in the Magnificat." Several expressions show that an attitude of joy is, indeed, part of the personal spirituality of many sisters who were interviewed. One sister spoke of an early stage of her spiritual development in religious life saying, "I could be Mary. I could put myself in her shoes. So I could pray, My whole being proclaims the greatness of God and my spirit finds jay in God." Another sister tells that the same verse is the most significant part of the Canticle for her at the present time. Two sisters speak personally of reflecting upon the joy that they find in the Magnificat in order to search the having been depressed it's hard to find something to rejoice about in my life but I feel I am in a good space now within myself and my spirit feels more alive." Gratitude for what God has done emerges, also, as Mary's gratitude is reflected upon. Happiness rings out in some of the statements of gratitude: Its overwhelming when you look over your life and see how it could have been just a humdrum everyday kind of life and yet so much has been done that always has come directly from God, in things around for you, in ways that you don't expect. And every place I've ever been, I've been very happy. It's very interesting. I really feel that I have had a beautiful life and my problems compared to many people have been small. In reflecting upon the Magnificat one sister perceives obedience to be connected to joy considering that joy is given when one lets go and lets God be in control. She says: What echoes to me from Mary's Canticle is the traditional vow of 128 obedience. I think the vow of obedience is to let go and to become an instrument, to become a servant. When there is a letting go as in Mary's [wt something is given. Maybe it's that joy that Eckhart talks about, that we are filled with something. That joy is in the Magnificat. 2. Proclaiming the Greatness of God Proclaiming the greatness of God is a theme that more than half of the sisters interviewed commented upon. Many of these comments have been cited in other categories. A brief summary of the importance of this theme begins with consideration of Mary proclaiming the greatness of God. In this Mary is seen as reflecting the Dominican charism which includes contemplating God and proclaiming God to others. The God that Mary proclaims is imaged in the Magnificat as God who frees people from oppression and extends mercy to all. ~ Individuals express the way that they enter into the disposition of Mary and contribute to proclaiming God's greatness. "llle lines of the Magnificat are intertwined in my life. Mary is a very real person to me. Her whole life proclaimed the greatness of the Lord." "I can identify with the line, My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." "lbe first two lines, are a song of praise in my heart. I enter into the creation that was within Mary. Those lines are an important part of my spiritual life." An older sister who is experiencing a time of suffering in her life reflects, "I often think of what this would have been like had Mary proclaimed it at the foot of the cross." An artist has expressed that simply being who we are proclaims God as creator. She speaks: Looking at the Magnificat in relation not only to my personal life but to how that speaks to the church today or to people today, I believe very strongly that all human beings speak of the earth, speak of time, speak of church and that, therefore, this canticle acknowledges that our soul, our being should proclaim by being who we are, the greatness of God. I believe that the Canticle of Mary basically helps us to remember the greatness of God, not as a separate entity but that we contribute in a sense to the greatness of God because our soul and our whole being is part of the greatness of God and that God is alive in us today. That there are specific times when they are moved to proclaim God's greatness is expressed by the following sisters: That first line, My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord: At times it's just kind of an overwhelming sense of, yes, in fact, my soul proclaims, especially in moments of a deep understanding of what's happening or a realization of God's great love for me. Just that one line-1 might never get beyon.d it sometimes. 129 I think that there are times when I can more readily proclaim the greatness of God in my life and I know that I am blest. It has to do with looking back and seeing that the garbage of my life has turned to compost. That is the blessing that God can take that garbage and make it life-giving and nourishing for our future. A few comments were made on proclaiming God as part of Dominican mission. "Jesus was all about bringing good news to the poor. If this is God's mission, it is also my calling too, to proclaim these things." "I just see Mary as truly a Dominican woman. I guess I came to this by myself. First of all just in proclaiming this greatness of the Lord." 3. Lowllness/Humlllty{fruth In the Magnificat Mary calls herself lowly. This lowliness is understood by the respondents as a state of ordinariness or lacking in importance. It is shown in attentiveness to the ordinary tasks of the day. A sister comments on her image of Mary. "I thought to see her, in her lowliness, when she was going about her work in her own home." Another on her image of God, "It gives us a sense of what people God has a priority for and that is the lowly." Some identify with Mary's lowliness while others do not. One sister related to Mary's lowliness by looking back at her childhood and sharing, "I was young when I received my call. In the first or second grade I was told that I would never amount to anything. But I thought, I will. I'm going to be a nun." Another tells that she thinks of herself as lowly saying, "People think that I'm great at work but I feel bumble taking care of people. I just do my job." A sister comments on Mary referring to herself as servant but admits not dwelling on the concept of lowliness. "I guess I've always interpreted that as God's helper. I just kind of skipped over the word, lowly." The words of Mary expressing lowliness were translated in a personal way by the sister who shared: He has looked upon my lowliness and called me blessed. That was very important to me, especially as I was trying to discern should I stay in religious life or shouldn't I, during that whole period before final profession. In most cases lowliness translates into humility. One sister considers humility to be the essence of the Magnificat. The concept of humility, however, is problematic and most respondents qualify or explain it as not meaning to be trodden upon or degraded but to know the truth of who one really is. Commenting on Mary's claim that all generations will call her blessed, a sister says, "I do not hear it as a prediction or prophecy for the future that we would be remembering her. I hear it in what I think is a very humble acknowledgement of her dependence upon God." Several respondents carefully pointed out that "humility is truth." One sister elaborates: 130 I guess I have a thing about humility being the truth of who we are. So many of us grew up with that misconception that if you were going to be humble you made yourself less than other people somehow. You know, "Oh, I'm not worthy. I'm not this. I'm no good." Which is the opposite of what truth is. That Mary was able in truth to acknowledge and claim her own goodness is understood to indicate her strong self-identity and a healthy self-esteem. Search for truth is identified by one sister as "the number one Dominican charism." Mary is thus seen as a forerunner of Dominican women in recognizing truth and new aspects of truth emerge out of the Magnificat as life experience is brought to reflection upon the prayer. Two sisters speak from a Dominican perspective: When asked by the Pope what he was a.ll about with his group, Dominic responded, "To live the truth with our lives." The Magnificat was the beginning of the public life of Mary regarding the truth. We are called to preach the truth. In this Magnificat, Mary is stating a truth from her inner being. She's speaking the truth as she experiences God but, I think, going beyond what she knows that she's saying. Patience and humility were mentioned as qualities required for true prayer to take place. Humility follows from an experience of being a recipient of the mercy of God. 4. Mercy and Fear of the Lord After joy, the second most numerous of the responses of the Sisters to the question of meaning in Mary's Canticle concerned God's mercy. In fact the promise of God's mercy emerged as a core meaning of the Magnificat and other themes are related to it. Most of the statements concerning mercy have already been cited in the previously discussed categories, especially in the section describing God. A few more reflections on the mercy of God being from generation to generation on those who fear him are given here. The mercy of God is universal. "It extends way beyond anything we could possibly imagine. Thank goodness for that," one sister exclaims. It is seen as a feminine aspect in God. Mary's experience of God's mercy to herself and her proclamation of God's remembrance of mercy to her people generates hope for the future. A need for God's mercy is expressed yet there is a struggle to let go of fear and trust in God's faithfulness. In commenting on the mercy of God being for those who fear God, several respondents gave an interpretion of the concept of fear translating it as awe, reJ[JeCt, reverence or even love. One sister speaks for others when she explains: 131 God's mercy is for those who fear him . It seems like in some of the places where I have studied or read, the root of that is not so much fear .as awe or reverence. Those two words really say more to us, have a fuller meaning than the word, fear. Mostly we think of fear as being something negative. That's why I think of awe. For me, whatever the word fear is meant to connotate is better said with awe. Another says, "I guess I always interpret the word, fear, as reverence, reverence for God in every generation." Fear of God is interpreted as love by one sister. "The word fear in the sense in which Mary used it would not be an odious fear. It has a whole different meaning, meaning more revere and love. For that's what the fear of God is. It's really love." Fear also is associated with wisdom, as the beginning of wisdom, as one sister philosophizes. If one were to take the word, fear, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . Exactly what does that mean? To have the attitude of fear is simply, I think, to stand in our own being and to take joy in that. To stand there, to let God be God in reference to who I am. Some admit to truly fearing God. "The words, fear of the Lord, are meaningful to me. I'm not very smart." A sister has told of having awe and reverence in her relationship to God but not fear in the sense of a block between them. She adds, "There were times in my life when I think that I feared God. I don't know if those were the beginnings of wisdom for me. It seems to me that there are other words to express what that would be." A sister who works with mentally ill adults shares: A lot of times they have very narrow images of God and I try to affirm their attempts at trying to do their best and I really try to give the picture of a forgiving, loving God. Sometimes people have a very fearful concept of God. Coming to terms with some of my own emotional pain frees me to help other people express theirs. I think it goes back to God's mercy. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. That fits my idea of fear is the beginning of wisdom. Dominican mission is defined as extending the mercy of God to others. Dominic's most frequent prayer was that God would have mercy on the people. I think that one of the things we are called to is to carry forth that notion of mercy that Dominic had in terms of mission. It is said that his greatest prayer in the evenings at Santa Sabina, when he would be there, would be "My God, my Mercy, what will happen to the people?" So it's addressing God as Mercy and calling forth that mercy on the people, the poor, the ignorant, the people Dominic was dealing with. 132 In the second part of the Magnificat the mercy df God is connected to God's remembering. Some thoughts of the sisters on God's remembering are the following. That we should remember our experiences of God's mercy both individually and collectively is important for this motivates us to extend the mercy of God to others both personally and corporately. Remembering and extending mercy is thus characteristic of our mission. In the face of the great injustices that are seen in the world today, the need for God's mercy is evident and we are called to be involved in confronting social evils. The personal experience of God's mercy is transformative and the remembrance of it strengthens us in our resolve to extend God's mercy in our mission of bringing about justice. B. Communal Message of the Magnificat I. Renectlons on God's Action or SCK.Ial Reversal The first part of the Magnificat, Lk 1: 46-50, has been seen to be a personal prayer of the sisters. The interpretation of the second part, Lk 1:51-55, has a social as well as spiritual message. Some reflections of the sisters on these verses have been documented in the section on God's action for justice. The following remarks summarize and extend these reflections. The second part is considered to reflect salvation history, referring to the covenant, the promise, the bonding between God and his people. Here is perceived Mary's understanding of God's action in the First Testament. One sister is struck by the paradox that she finds in verses 51-53 and believes that we should not be too quick to think that we can identify the people to which the words refer. The rest of it is all filled with paradox that calls for reflection. We like to think, we know who the proud are or we know who the mighty are who have been cast from their thrones or that we know who the lowly are who are lifted. We have to be careful that we are not speaking those words and thinking that we can simply apply them. I think we do a lot of that applying in prayer. We find passages of scripture and we're too facile in the way in which we make an application. We don't have enough respect for language. We are given a view of a social situation where God's action shows his predeliction for the humble, poor and lowly. This makes the Magnificat a song of liberation. In the social realm, although the image of the strength of God's arm brings to mind a military type of power, God works over the span of time in nonviolent ways to bring about the reversal of oppressive situations. The results of God's action may not be immediately evident. A militaristic image of God is rejected in keeping with the paramount image of God as merciful and faithful to his promise of mercy. It depicts an upside-down kingdom according to the sister who says: 133 When I think of the Magnificat, I think of the phrase-1 don't know who said it first but I remember it was-"the upside-down kingdom." To me that's what the Magnificat says, that things may seem this way but they're going to be this way and things that look this way are suddenly turned to another way. That's what I first think of whenever I pray it. In interpreting the statements of the Magnificat which describe God's action against the proud, powerful and rich it is pointed out that this is not revenge. God does not ill-treat anyone for God is all love. The ones confused, pulled down from power and sent away have made their own condition. They have chosen empty things and this is what they have in the end. The paradoxes of this section are also interpreted in a spiritual manner where hunger is the hunger of the soul for God and the spiritually oppressed can depend upon God to satisfy their needs. The inner poverty pf the human condition is better recognized by the lowly who know their needs and ask for help. The thread of mission runs through the statements concerning the action of God toward the humble, lowly and poor. It proclaims the mission of Jesus which must be the mission of his followers also. That for which God has shown a priory must be the priority of God's people. A call to mission is a call to work with God in bringing about the reversal of a situation of oppression and terrible injustice that is experienced in the world today. The Magnificat is thus an appropriate prayer for our times. Reflection on the reversal of fortunes proclaimed in the second part of the Magnficat led several sisters to a consideration of the social injustices still present in our times. Some groups of people have been poor for a very long time and faith is needed to perceive God's action in their regard. A call to trust is heard by one sister who says: The Magnificat is a call to trust. How can people cope with all the evil in the world and not trust in God? This is such a hugh world. There is so much out there. A lot of depression is the result of a sense of overwhelming evil in the world. a) Scattering/Conruslng the Proud The scattering or confusing of the proud or arrogant in the conceit or thoughts of their heart is interpreted as the result of choices. A sister explains: "God has scattered the proud in their conceit." My own interpretation is: in people's conceit they have turned away from God and been blinded by things that are not of God. Perhaps this has been a way of their own choosing by which we may consider them scattered or finding hardship or finding emptiness because of the kinds of choices they've made, that is, chosing something that turns out to be a choice of emptiness where something in life doesn't have much meaning. 134 Scattering the proud in their thoughts may not be immediately clear but confusion is a concept with which one can identify according to the sister who says: I guess I don't even know what that is. In some ways I've never even thought about what that is until right this second. I understand what scattered thoughts are. Maybe those who are proud can be pretty confused. Confusion is a powerful image. I would say that it really carries a lot of meaning for me. This verse has been personally interpreted to refer to the pride that an individual struggles against in the spiritual life. A sister reflects on pride: Then the part where he has confused the proud in their inmost thoughts. think we can apply that to every one of !JS, our pride within us and in our own reasoning. I'm thinking of myself before I began to realize I can't do any of it without God's strength and God's light. The strength of God surpasses the power of the hold which pride has on one's spirit according to the sister who shares: I think that there is within me some strongholds or some-1 don't like to use the word demons but I'll use it here-that are very proud because they have such a stronghold. They've been there a long time and they've been taking root and they're not about to give up their hold on my spirit, on my person. The thing that encourages me is the presence of the Lord and the promise that I've received from God that there would be that strength, that eventually it would come to be. The power of God surpasses the power of all these things, whatever they may be in my personality or in my inner being that debilitate against that wholeness or that gentleness or that holiness. As one looks back over a long life God's action can be better seen. Thus the Magnificat must have echoed throughout Mary's life even to the time of the suffering and death of her son. b) Putting down the Mighty/Lining up the Lowly A sister, who is a liturgist, uses an Advent image to interpret the verse, God has brought down the powerful from thrones and has lifted up the lowly. That image resonates for me with the readings from Advent. It is the image of every valley shall be exalted and every mountain made low and the rough ways, plain and the crooked, straight. I love that scripture and that image. This image reminds me of that in some ways, the bringing down of 135 the powerful and the lifting up of the lowly. It puts everybody on an equal basis. We are all basically equal but sometimes those who are oppressed think that they are not as good as ·everyone else. They need to have their self-esteem lifted. And those who are proud think they're better than everybody else and they need to be set straight. So we are brought down to earth where we are all where we should be it seems to me. That's the truth. A special instance in which through the power of God those who were very poor overcome the powerful of the world may be the reference in this verse according to a sister whose work for justice has a global perspective. I think it's a figure of speech because in some instances those who seem powerful in the world have been overcopte by those who are very poor, without means or not considered rich. It is one of the ways that God shows being faithful. God does have power over everything. I never interpret this line to mean that because people are powerful or rich or whatever that God brings them down. Some people have the resources of the world or they have some kind of power or whatever in which they do use those things very justly and are helpful to others. So, I think this is pointing out an instance to us where those who are powerful are sometimes defeated by those who are Jess powerful or seem not to have enough of the means of this world. "I like this especially because politics is so really cruel with people who grab power and have no conscience in the matter at all," exclaimed a sister who bad worked in a country ruled by a dictator. She continued, "I don't think of that as revenge exactly but I do think that these people who do so much wrong to so many people have to be shown up." God's raising of the Jowly was considered figurative by the same sister. "To give the Jowly even recognition, I imagine, is a high place." The verse may be taken personally. It was related to by one sister who shares: Many times I feel so lifted up in many ways, and not the ways that the world looks on being lifted up into high positions. Many things have opened up to me and I have been recognized many, many, times. But I don't take jobs for that. If I've done something good, I know it's good and I thank the Lord for it. If something didn't turn out right I know it. If then, I'm patted on the head that's great. I appreciate that. If I'm not, I don't need it because I'm not doing it for everybody to see but for the Lord. 136 c) f1111ng the Hungry/Sending the Rich away Empty There were many comments on God's filling the hungry. Again some of these have already been documented. For several hunger is interpreted as spiritual longing. God is understood to satisfy hunger not only materially but through his presence. "The hunger is for that which is whole for that which is God." He has filled the hungry with good things and has .fent the rich away empty handed. I often see that as looking upon the life of some rich, not necessarly just materially rich, but people seem to have nothing in their hands. Their life has an emptiness and yet you feel if they could only look to God how they could be satisfied in their hunger, taken care of. I just strikes me that in our searching for God, our desire for God, our hunger for God, that God will be faithful and will give us what we need. guess that's something that I've personally been aware of in spiritual direction, asking for what I need. At times I've found myself very hungry but I don't ask. And so this is a confirmation that God will give to the hungry what they need. One sister emphasizes that we must be in touch with our hungers, our longings and ask God to fill up the emptiness we experience within ourselves. I think the image of hunger and of being filled is particularly powerful. When we celebrate the eucharist, we come with our hungers and if we don't come with our hungers we are never going to be fed . I look at this from the sense of, if we are not in touch with our hungers or we never allow ourselves to feel hunger, if we keep filling ourselves up with everything then how can God ever give us good things. This is a personal thing for me because I know what I do in order to escape my hunger. A sister considers evangelical poverty saying, "I don't think we can make ourselves poor. Our poverty is a human condition. I find it very hard. What we must do is rec~nize the poverty, the emptiness, the void within and acknowledge our need." One sister hears a call to simplicity in the these words of the Magnificat but experiences tension in the call. I kind of wonder sometimes about ways of making simplicity more a part of my life. I am conscious of a lot of things of late, the hurricane, the tornados. I try to be at peace with what I'm able to do now and to be at one with those who hunger for many things and there is a tension within me sometimes. Sending the rich away empty is problematic. "The rich have been sent away 137 empty, not go away but have been sent away. I haven't given that enough prayer to know what that means for me today. Emptiness, I know what that means." There is a question of who the rich are. One sister does not see the rich as being cast out but thinks they are ones who already have what they need. "The rich may be economically rich or talented rich but basically they have what they need for the journey. Dominicans reflect on the way things are used. When they have what they need they go use it." Others think differently. Being sent away empty is not a punishment but the result of the rich filling themselves with empty things and in the end that is all they have, "empty stuff." I think its a matter of interpretation. A person feeling rich in the way of not needing God turns away. So one loses out on perhaps the things that God most wants to give. A person might say, "I have enough. I don't need any more help in this direction or that direction." So God, being very respectful of our choices and our free will, lets us go about our own devices and we send ourselves away from ·God. The words of this verse of the Magnificat are a challenge to some who view them in light of today's society situation and find it disturbing. "I pray this often because people are starving all over the world," one sister says, "And what can we do but pray for them or do something in our own lives to help them need to help them, some sacrifice." An impatience with the situation of economic injustice and hunger was expressed: It seems like it just goes on from generation to generation. And for people who didn't really do things to make it happen. It is just that life is that way for them. They just don't have the advantages of even normal, ordinary human survival. So, maybe I've been watching it too long, seeing too much. Certainly, there is heaven, there has to be a heaven. If there isn't a heaven I don't know what all this is about. Because during people's life time it doesn't seem to happen that there is a gift and a reward for folks who have been patient and tried to do their best under very restrictive kinds of things. It's kind of a depressing thing. 2. God's Remembrance God's mercy has been seen to be a core theme of the Magnificat. The idea of mercy is personally very meaningful to sisters as individuals and this has already been discussed. A summary of the responses includes the ideas of faithfulness and hope. "There is such hope in the word, promise." We have great need for encouragement. yet. even in the midst of the horrors of evil that we see today, remembering God's mercy gives us hope. God will be faithful to his promise of mercy in the future because he has been faithful in the past. The mercy of God extends way beyond anything that we could possibly imagine and this is not because of any talent of ours but simply because he is faithful. 138 Verses 54-55, He luls come to the help of his servant Israel for he has rrmembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made 10 our fathers, to Abralulm and to his children forever, elicited remarks concerning God's mercy toward a community of people. The remembrance of God's mercy is passed on as one generation inspires the next. In Dominican custom the lives of the individual Sisters are remembered with a special ritual at the time of their death.19 To be part of the Order then is to have a common memory of God's faithfulness and mercy. One sister connects this memory with the communal memory of the congregation and then of the Church when she says: Remembrance is important too. When a sister dies, the night of the vigil we have the remembrance. It doesn't make any difference if the person is well-known or not. Its the fact that we do remember her life in some kind of a ritual way. It is very powerful for me each time someone dies to attend that remembrance because it is always a piece of our history. Very often the remembrance will be filled with examples of the sister's fa ith or commitment to the congregation. I think those are real important for us. So tbe remembrance, here in verse 54, to me is not only of an individual remembering God's mercy but of Israel, of a people. I think that for me that is what it means to be part of the Church. We have a common memory that we keep going back to. Each of us have our own remembrance of God's mercy but then that multiplied together is really a powerful thing. V. DOMINICAN CHARISM AND MISSION Throughout all the categories of this study runs the thread of Dominican charism and mission. All of the Dominican charisms are contained in the Magnificat according to a sister who specifically states them. Number one is always the search for truth. Secondly, the desire for the development of our prayer life. A deepening of our study in order to discover trutb and to always be surprised by God's new revelations to us in prayer and then of course the dimension of preaching. The Magnificat to me contains all of those charisms of Dominicanism. In the charism for study there is a constant searching for new areas of discovery of truth. As regards preaching, there are so many ways in which we preach. We preach by who we are, by bow we respond to people, by our reverence for people and for life in general, by sharing our thoughts with others, our prayer with others. In praying the Magnificat, in studying it, in sharing with others my 19 At the death of a sister of the Adrian Dominican Congregation the sisters gather at the Motherhouse for a service of prayer and remembrance. Friends, who kn ew th e sister well , share stories of her life which arc meaningful to them and to the community. 139 thoughts on it, then that Dominican charism has been actualized in, or through, the way I have prayed the Magnificat or used it in my life. The thread of mission which runs through the responses to meaning of the Magnificat is seen primarly in spreading joy, proclaiming the greatness of God, extending God's mercy, helping other people and entering into the mission of Jesus in helping to turn upside-down a social situation of injustice and oppression. Joy is considered characteristic of Dominican life. The many responses relating to joy attest to the strength of this theme in the Magnificat as relevant to the sisters. One sister mentioned the stories of St. Dominic as a joyful man. Another claims, "Our community is known for joy." Joy is considered an aspect of Dominican mission, also. "I try to recognize in myself that part of the mission is to spread the joy of God's presence as I seek to find it in myself too." _ To be a preacher of truth is important for Dominicans who are identified as an Order of Preachers. The idea of preaching surfaced in the numerous responses to reflection on proclaiming the greatness of God. One sister says, "My understanding of Dominican mission is, primarily, to preach the Word, to understand the Word first and then to preach. However we do this is as varied as the individuals who are called to do it." Another states simply, "In our Dominican mission we are called to preach the truth." Preaching truth can be done by example as well as words as a sister explains, "When asked by the Pope what he was all about with his group, Dominic responded, 'To live the truth with our lives.'" Mercy, which emerged as a dominant theme in the Magnificat, is also connected to the concept of Dominican mission. Mission is defined by two sisters as extending God's mercy to others. Several sisters spoke of the vision statements of the Adrian Dominican community when speaking of mission. One says, "1lle devotion to Mary is part and parcel of Dominican mission. For example, our vision statements are all in the Magnificat." Another is quite specific in making the connection: One of the things that we're looking for in our vision statements is how we can bring the mercy of God to women, to the poor, to racist situations, to our own community situations. How can we bring the mercy of God into all those situations? I see that connection with the Magnificat in terms of using the word mercy over and over again: His mercy is from age to age, ever mindful of your mercy and in my translation there is a third time it is used. I know that it struck me the number of times that mercy is used there. That brings a lot of this together: Mary's role as model, Dominic's cry for the people, Mary's prayer, my prayer. Those all seem to be intertwined. Identification with or extending the mission of Jesus was indicated by several sisters. "Jesus was all about bringing good news to the poor. If this is God's mission, it is also my calling, to proclaim these things. The whole prayer is one of mission." "Mission is the recognition that God has blessed me and calls me to share this blessing. I cannot hoard it, it is what the mission of Jesus is." "Our mission is to bring Jesus to 140 the world as Mary did." I certainly feel that in our mission as Dominicans we should reach out to extend the mission that is God's mission through us. As disciples that's what we do, carry on the mission of God, carry on the mission of joy. Even if I spread a little joy through music. I think that's what it is. Mission is connected to obedience according to the sister who also believes that Dominican joy is connected to obedience. She shares: Mission is a word that I've wrestled with. But I would say what echoes to me from Mary's Canticle is the traditional vow of obedience. I think the vow of obedience is to let go and to become an instrument; to become a servant. Although the word servant is ngt a popular word, I suppose instrument is not either. Dominic's original idea of mission came out of great love of God and Church and-we studied this when we were novices-wanting to save souls. What does that mean? Somehow to be a messenger. While all the while to remember that its not your message. But you are the messenger. And that when the message is heard, as it says here, my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Helping or serving others is also a characteristic of mission. This role of service is seen in the visit of Mary to Elizabeth and several sisters commented upon it. "This particular visit to Elizabeth lends credence to the idea of mission as ministering to other people." I see that the Magnificat comes in the context of that gospel after Mary has left her home and gone out on mission to be a companion to and to be with an elderly cousin. There must have been that deep love and desire to be of service. So, I see that as not hugging the contemplation to herself but moving out beyond and being able to give. I feel that as a call to do the same I see it as Dominican. One sister defines mission as "exercising your gifts for the community of which you are one member." She rejects the idea of going out to others as a way of dominating them in mission saying: The whole sense of mission, as I have been taught to understand it, is a going to others. Now, I walk with people who don't go to anybody. There is some triumphalism in that historically. There is oppression in that historically. There's domination. So, as I try to let go of those patterns, words like mission need to be translated for me. The old words don't work because they've got old baggage. So, even that whole sense of what it means to be on mission-( don't know what it means because I'm just 141 trying to walk with people in the struggle and see the mutuality in it. The concept of mission as service is connected to the role of a disciple by some of the sisters who share: I feel that the whole thing is a call to discipleship. My understanding of what the Magnificat means to me is a beckoning of God inviting me to continue to walk with God. That is what discipleship is. In this way my interpretation of the meaning of discipleship is to walk with God and to be helpful to others in walking with God through the journey of life. I think the disciple really is the servant. The disciple is the instrument. If you recall from the Acts of the Apostles, where the disciples who are sent out began to feel that they were not the .disciples but they were in charge of the operation, things were pretty disasterous. This is part of the uncanniness, the idea of emptying one's self, of letting go. When you empty yourself of the self that's not really who you are, then you can be filled with the work of the Lord. Mary is a paradigm for Dominican mission. A sister speaks for others when she says, "I see the Magnificat and mission very much connected, at least as I experience Dominican mission at this time in my life." Another shares, "I'm convinced that Mary is behind the Dominican mission and in Dominic's devotion to Mary the Dominicans can and do find one source of strength and joy." Identification with Mary is seen in the remark of a sister, "Mary's experience called her and the call to discipleship is to me what that call was for her, definitely." Ways in which Mary is a paradigm for Dominican mission are woven through many of the responses already documented. In summary, she listened to God, reflected and then proclaimed God's greatness. Dominicans do this by contemplating and sharing with others the fruits of contemplation, by preaching truth, spreading joy, helping others, confronting evil and walking with God in carrying on the work of creation. In mission, talents, gifts and experience are used to collaborate with the mission of Jesus. "We are sowing the seed for generations to come" and therefore like Mary are blessed. "Because the Lord is faithful to his covenant and to what he has asked us to do. He will not leave us stranded in our efforts." Mary's words indicate God's priority for the poor. A sister sums it up well when she states: I think Mary is identifying with the oppressed, the down-trodden. God will stand by those that are poor or oppressed and he reverses things here in the scripture. It's not the proud that will be blessed. So I guess from Mary's point of view, from what was done for her personally, she identifies with God's upholding the poor and those in need of him. This helps us to extend this passage to other people in our ministry. 142 Over time and with experience, a change in the very concept of mission has occurred. In the above statements some spoke of Dominican mission. as it was understood at the time of their novitiate as connected to obedience or being sent to do a work. Now, mission is seen in different ways. For some it is a function of discipleship, an entering into the mission of Jesus. One sister sought for a new word to replace the word mission because she sees it now as walking with others in mutuality. A constant in the understanding of mission is that it flows from prayer life. The fact of being a woman is important to many sisters in terms of understanding the mission to which they are called. A woman's experience is brought to prayer; scripture is interpreted and reflected upon from a woman's perspective; walking with and sharing with other women is seen to be part of the call. SUMMARY Mary's Song, the Magnificat, has functioned as a prism through which the worldview of a representative group of Dominican sisters has been refracted into categories revealing a theology of Mary, of God, of prayer and of mission. The sisters relate personally and specifically as women to the expressions of joy, praise and gratitude in the psalm. The dominant message of the Magnificat is that of God's mercy which is extended to both individuals and to groups. Over time, with new knowledge and life experiences, a change in perception has occurred across all categories. In all, the canticle is reflective of the direction and purpose that these women find in their lives. 143 CHAPTER THREE: COMPARISONS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, REFLECTIONS . METIJODOLOGIES Toward a fuller understanding of scripture one need look not only at what the author was saying to the first century Christians but also to what the scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is saying to twentieth century Christians. The only way to know what the scripture is saying to believing, knowledgeable people of today is to ask them. Therefore, in this study the Magnificat has functioned as a prayer from which meaning was drawn both from the perspective of the praying Christians of the earliest century of the Church and from praying Christians of today. Two quite different methodologies were !Jsed in the interpretation of the. Magnificat. The first was exegesis. Exegetical methods included an examination of the literary genre, the structural form, the historical background and linguistic analysis to examine this psalm within the context of the Luke's gospel. This was an attempt to uncover the meaning to Luke of the song set upon the lips of Mary. The second methodology, interpretive inquiry, was employed in an attempt to uncover the spiritual meaning of the Magnificat to a contemporary community. Both methodologies are utilized in a search for theological meaning. The meaning intended by Luke is static in the sense that the text of the writings of Luke which include the Magnificat is a given. The text does not change. The cultural and theological context of the first century of Christianity in which the text was written is set. Yet, in the two thousand year tradition of Christianity the meaning that has been found in the Magnificat reflects the cultural situation of the age in which the interpretation is made. Those believers who ponder the prayer seek to find meaning for themselves in their own historical situation. Changing viewpoints about God, Mary, the human person and society result in different understandings of the Magnificat held by the exegetes who examine the text. E. Schillebeeckx speaks of an internal interpretation present in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament which he refers to as hermeneutics in action. For us, then "hermeneutics becomes an interpretation of an interpretation."1 The Magnificat, itself, is a first century interpretation of the covenant relationship between Israel and God as set forth in the Old Testament. The themes of the psalm and the language with which the themes are expressed indicate that the covenant promises of God are being fulfilled in Mary's son. In this exegesis the work of a number of the best scholars in the field of Lucan theology was studied and appraised. Out of this material with its many viewpoints light was shed on the probable meaning that the author of the Third Gospel intended. 1E. Schillebeeckx, The Language of Faith : Essays on Jesus, Theology, and the Church (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1995) 44 . 144 The world in front of the text of the Magnificat is inhabited by real people of faith who relate to the text out of their own specific temporal, cultural and religious life situation. The meaning that they perceive in the text is conditioned by their experience, not Luke's experience. Interpretive inquiry uncovers the way that the text is appropriated and given meaning within this context which is fluid and changing. The Sisters' major approach to the song was not as a text to be studied for a specific meaning but as a prayer with which they praised God under a variety of circumstances. Prayer is expressed within the context of a relationship to God that is alive and thus continuously in a state of development. The meaning that the words of the prayer conveyed was understood within the context of the cultural and religious milieu of the respondent's life experience as twentieth century, American, ecclesial women. Each interview, however, became a text which froze the Sister's words in the particular time frame of that encounter. Followup interviews at a later time indicated that development in the meaning the Magnificat had in an individual Sister's life had taken place in the interim. The use of the two methodologies serves; then, to identify the differences as well as the convergences in the basic context in which the theological meaning of the Magnificat is examined. Luke writes within the context of the missionary endeavor of the early Christian Church. Exegesis reveals that the time frame is eschatological, highlighting that the Age of Salvation has dawned. Interpretive inquiry reveals that the Sisters are faitbfilled women who consider themselves called by God to be part of the missionary endeavor of the Church. Twenty centuries removed from the time of the writing of the text of the Third Gospel, their eschatological view is tempered by their contemporary experience. Luke's view was also tempered by his experience. The Magnificat is set within the scene of Mary's visit to her older cousin, Elizabeth. The larger framework of the setting, however, is Luke's eschatology. The aorist tense is used in the words that he puts on Mary's lips to announce that God has already fulfilled his promises made to Israel. The great social reversal in the situation of the faithful but lowly remnant of Israel is portrayed as having been accomplished in the sending of the Savior. This is realized eschatology in that the "basileia" or reign of God is understood to have been established. Mary's son, Jesus will announce the presence of this reign. The eschatological frame work of the Sisters views the reign of God to be more in process than realized. Whereas the words of the Magnificat indicate that the great social reversal, which is a sign of God's reign, bas already been brought about by the action of God, the Sisters, in the midst of their own mission experience, while acknowleging God's presence and action in their lives and in the world at large, know also the injustice and social evils that confront good people. In faith they perceive that the Age of Salvation has indeed dawned but not come to fulfilment. Their underlying sense of eschatology is that they are participative in moving forward God's reign but, centered in the present human condition, its presence is not always evident. There is a sense of impatience with the time lapse between the in-breaking of the reign of God and its final fulfilment. While it is faith that gives one the ability to comprehend history as a movement directed by God, it is hope which points one toward the future with the expectation of a 145 renewed social order and love that compels one to that involvement in history which we call mission. Schillebeeckx writes, "Faced with the real evil existing in history, eschatology expresses the belief that the true faithful can and must bend this history into the salvation of a11 ."2 The salvation of all is the endpoint of mission. When considering the whole of Luke's work, the Third Gospel and Acts, it can be seen that Luke was addressing the situation of the delay of the parousia, the return of Christ and the final victory of God over all evil. In the Magnificat. placed in the infancy narrative at the beginning of his gospel, he presents a teleological viewpoint. God's promise has been fulfilled and the victory over evil accomplished. In the subsequent writing, a journey motif is employed. It is symbolic of missionary endeavor. Jesus' announcement of the presence of the reign of God moves with him throughout his journey to the symbolic religious center of his people, Jerusalem. After the death and resurrection of Jesus the good news of salvation moves out from Jerusalem to the symbolic center of the gentile world, Rome. G9(1 is fulfilling his promises in a such a way as to include all people in the plan of salvation. The message of salvation must go out to the very ends of the earth before the reign of God is brought to fulness. The motif of missionary journey is also found in the responses of the Sisters. It is employed in two ways. Mary's journey to Elizabeth is seen not only as a model of the missionary bringing the announcement of God's saving mercy to her cousin but also as a paradigm of the disciple moving out in service to others. Many Sisters see their own mission as a going forth in service to others. Several spoke of the different meanings that the Magnificat had for them at various stages in their life journey. Luke's image of a youthful, pregnant Mary risking the danger of a missionary journey was a source of courage and inspiration. Exegesis suggests that Luke intended to give hope and courage to the Christians of his day who found themselves in the midst of poverty and persecution. The Magnificat is a song of joy and hope that affirms Gods blessings on the faithful poor and oppressed. It presents a powerful vision of the time of final fulfillment of God's promises. Was it a source of joy, hope and courage for the early Christians? Exegesis does not answer that question. Is it a source of joy, hope and courage for today's Christians? The results of the interpretive inquiry study suggests that for those who participated in the study the Magnificat is indeed a source of joy, hope and courage. Interpretive inquiry answers a different set of questions than those brought to the text by exegesis. By using both methods in the interpretation of scripture the lifegiving and transforming power of the Word of God in the lives of the hearers of the Word can be demonstrated. In some aspects of the research information emerges in one methodology which has no parallel in the other. Using the methods of exegesis it can be seen that in the area of symbolism Mary of the Magnificat is portrayed by Luke as a type of the Church in mission. He casts Mary in the biblical image of the Daughter of Sion, the personification of the faithful remnant people of Israel who after a time of suffering and 2E. Schillebeeckx 51. 146 humiliation are exalted by God. It is she who bears the Messiah thus ushering in the Age of Salvation. It is also she who in the Magnificat announces the fulfilment of God's promises characteristic of the fullness of God's reign . TI1e past, present and future of the Church come together in Mary. It is significant that Luke presents Mary as receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit at the time of the annunciation and then places her in the midst of the Apostles as they receive the fullness of the Spirit at Pentecost. Interpretive inquiry demonstrated no parallel to this symbolism in the responses of the Sisters to the Magnificat text. The Sisters understand themselves as having responded to a call as Mary did to cooperate in God's saving plan. This entails participating in the mission of Christ which is also the mission of the Church. Symbolically Mary is seen as the ideal of discipleship but there is no mention of Mary as a type of the Church. What interpretive inquiry did surface was the dominant role that the totality of life experience including spirituality, the lived e.!'perience of God's presence, love and mercy, played in the way that the Magnificat was interpreted by each individual. Meaning was found within the context of personal relationship to God and to Mary. In her discussion of scriptural interpretation, Sandra Schneiders views scriP-ture as "a privileged locus of the transforming encounter between God and the believer.''3 The responses of the Sisters to the Magnificat confirm that praying with and meditating on Mary's Song was indeed a tranformative experience for many of them. Interpretive inquiry has demonstrated that for many respondents this text functioned as the locus of a transforming encounter with Mary and with God. Exegesis provides the limits or boundaries within which the interpretations of the text are judged to be faithful to the meaning that Luke intended. Used together these two methodologies provide an approach to the text that provides not only information but understanding and insight. A broader range of questions can be brought to the text for scrutiny, including the question of how the original intent of the author is grasped within a contemporary context. Thus a wider scope of information for kerygmatic interpretation is provided. SUBSTANTIVE COMPARISONS Certain areas of information surfaced in both sections of this study. Some questions that the information addresses are as follows: Who is the God of the Magnificat? Who is God for the Sisters? How is God related to by Mary; by the Sisters. What is Luke's Mariology as understood in the Magnificat? What is the Sisters underlying Mariology in relation to the Magnificat. Does Mary have a symbolic meaning? Who is Jesus? What is the core message of the Magnificat for Luke; for the 3Sandra M. Schneiders, The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture (New York, NY: HarperSanfrancisco, 1991)2. "Traditional historical critical exegesis, because it deals with the text only as an historical document, is necessary but not sufficient for integral interpretation." 3. 147 Sisters? For Mary of the Magnificat God is Lord, Savior, Mighty One. Elsewhere in the Infancy Narrative Luke links Jesus to God by use of these same appellations. God's name is holy. God's mercy is forever. This mercy is the major quality of God's relationship to those bound to him by covenant. It is characterized by loving kindness and absolute fidelity. God regards Mary's lowliness and in giving her the child who is destined to save the people remembers and fulfills his promises to Mary's ancestors. TI1e image of God portrayed by Luke in the Magnificat is that of the God of the First Testament who was revealed to Moses and who led the people out of a situation of oppression in Egypt by working wonderous, marvelous deeds. The question of God leads us into deeper and deeper mystery. As the Sisters reflected upon the Magnificat the concept of God as mighty, merciful, faithful and loving was qualified and expanded upon. God is creator, source of life and indwelling presence. The presence of God within, the rel_!lization of being loved by God and the comprehension of God's action within themselves and others is a source of delight. Like Mary their response to God's graciousness and mercy is love, gratitude and joy. Many Sisters objected to speaking of God in solely masculine terms. The image of God which emerges from the Sisters' recounting of their unique personal experiences with God is One who is neither masculine nor feminine but in relationship shows qualities of both. Here, I believe, is seen the contrast between the patriarchal culture from which the hymn was composed and late twentieth century American culture where the situation of women is more autonomous and women value themselves as fully persons in their own right. In the text of the Magnificat it is God who acts to bring about a reversal of the social condition of oppression of the poor and powerless. In the Sisters' responses is seen a conviction that God has called them to participate in the action of bringing about a more just social order. The Sisters found meaning for themselves in the words of the Magnificat in the context of their own understanding of God, themselves, society and the world. Yet this meaning changes with their changing experience. The twentieth century universe is explosive and expanding. The unfolding of the future is a dynamic process that is open to many possible outcomes. The interpretive inquiry portion of this study has affirmed that the Magnificat, written two thousand years ago in a culture which envisioned a static universe, is still meaningful as a beloved prayer. It is, however, interpreted from the heart of a very different culture, a culture holding many different concepts of God. What remains the same is that God is perceived by the Sisters as by Mary in the Magnificat as loving, merciful and just. What is different is the surety of faith in the Magnificat in who God is and how God acts. For the Sisters God is sought in inystery and the more God is known the more the mystery deepens. The question of who God is in essence is an open question and the responses of the Sisters reveal a continuing quest. In the Magnificat Luke sets the theme for his gospel of the poor. Mary, God's lowly servant, who personifies the faithful remnant people of Israel who are poor but devout, is made the spokeswoman for the whole community of the poor. The first century Christian Church was, in fact, poor and oppressed. Luke makes Mary the 148 symbol of the Church, the community of faithful poor, committed recipients of the Holy Spirit. living in expectation of the parousia. Mary, the first to receive the Holy Spirit and latter present in the upper room as the earliest disciples receive the Spirit. functions as symbol, paradigm and spokesperson. In the pluralistic society of late 20th century America there is a wide range of attitudes toward Ma in the Christian Churches as well as in other faiths. For some of the Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and even non-believers, Mary is revered and held in highest regard. For others of our society attitudes toward Mary range from benign neglect to disdain. Within this multicultural society, the Sisters who shared their reflections upon the Magnificat spoke of a changing attitude toward and relationship with Mary. I believe this evolution of attitude is a characteristic of our time in which there is wide access to global information on all categories of human thought and action and in which there has been rapid development in Catholic theological thought and practice. Rapid change has become a norm in !!OCiety. The place of Mary in the lives of the Sisters varies widely. There is no evidence that Mary as symbol of the Church is important in the Sisters' prayerlife or in their ministry. However the image of Mary as faithful disciple who believes, loves, serves and suffers in fulfilment of her vocation is very important. Mary is related to as mother, sister, friend. She walks beside, inspires and encourages those who know and love her. In relation to the Magnificat in particular, Mary is the model of right relationship to God in prayer. The Magnificat is a personal prayer of the Sisters directed to God but said in the words of Mary and for some with a strong sense of the presence of Mary behind the words. Mary functions in this way as a spokeswoman who proclaims who God is and how God acts on behalf of those who have committed their lives to God. In prayer Mary's Song provides words to express an attitude of joy and gratitude to God. This joy and gratitude is a response to the Sisters' personal experience of God's mercy and faithfulness. The Magnificat is, therefore, often sung. Exegetical study of the Magnificat presents Jesus as Mary's son, the child of promise, given to the faithful people through the power of the Holy Spirit. The hymn is a bursting forth of gladness, rejoicing and gratitude to God. This child is Messiah. His birth ushers in the final age of God's salvific plan. He is called holy, lord and savior linking his name, person and mission to God. The interpretive inquiry part of this study was conducted among Sisters who have committed their lives to Christ by religious profession. Jesus is referred to as Mary's son, Lord, Word of God, Christ. our holiness. Love of Christ brings the Sisters together in community. They experience joy in his presence. For them the dominating reference to Jesus was as the one who calls them to share his mission of service and transformation of society. The words of the Magnificat did not elicit a reflection upon the person of Jesus or upon their relationship to him. Reflection upon one of the great Christological hymns of the New Testament would no doubt surface indepth information in this category. The core message of the Magnificat both for Luke and for the Sisters is joy in experiencing God's mercy. Recognition of God's mercy within the context of salvation history and the experience of it in one's personal life are concepts that span the ages. 149 As the Magnificat is reflected upon in meditative prayer it becomes a source of hope and encouragement in daily life as well as provides inspiration and direction for future actions, especially in mission. The on -going life experiences of the Sisters lead them to find new meaning in the words. It is clear that theological reflection based upon and issuing out of the events of one's life experience is the kind of reflection that is the most productive and meaningful. It is of the essence of human freedom to search for the truth that gives meaning to human choices. In conclusion, interpretive inquiry supports and affirms the value of doing theology which begins with human experience. In the practice of the faith, scripture is interpreted by individuals in a way that provides meaning to their lives. Exegesis of scripture gives an interpretation that illuminates life experience and anchors individual interpretation of the scripture in truth. Late twentieth century Catholics, while holding and respecting an authoritative interpretation of scripture as taught by the Church, continue to seek for meaning that is consistent.with the reality of their experience in a multicultural, rapidly changing society with its global perspective and scientific consciousness. To seek a relational, loving God from the midst of a world community with its conflicts and struggles, to seek a transcendent, creator God from the perspective of life on a slowing dying planet which is swirling in a dynamic, exploding, evolving universe, to seek an imminent, trinitarian God who dwells within creation and graces all is the modern quest of faith for life and truth. How different the world of contemporary human experience is from the world of Luke, the writer of the third gospel. How wonderful that the person of Mary and words of her 2000-year-old song still have such power to touch the heart. The bridge between the exegetical interpretation of the Magnificat and the intepretation coming from interpretive inquiry is the place where biblical revelation intersects with contemporary human experience. On this bridge faith continues to seek understanding into the mystery of the Godhead and into the triune God's incomprehensible ways of loving and saving all people. This is theology. The sacred quest continues. CONCLUSION The purpose of this research was to determine the meaning of the Magnificat both from the theological perspective of the author, Luke, and from a specific contemporary perspective. Two different methods of interpretation, exegesis and interpretive inquiry were used. The double interpretative was intended to cast light on the translation of meaning from the context of the world behind the text which was written in the CE first century to the world in front of the text today. By necessity, investigation of the world in front of the text was limited to a particular cultural context among many that might have been chosen. The above comparison of the two interpretations demonstrate that the meaning of the Magnificat has been translated from the original intention of Luke to relevancy in a contemporary setting. The core theological message of Luke, the proclamation of God's ISO mercy, is also the core message as understood by the sisters. But the message is interpreted from each sister's unique perspective and made meaningful within the cultural context of her life experience. This worldview of the sisters, filtered through the prism of the Magnificat., is revealed to be one in which a dynamic on-going process of personal growth and change is causing a shift in the perception of God, of Mary, of prayer and of mission . This shift in image is accompanied by a shift in relationship which, in turn, is expressed in ways of personal prayer which fit the unique personality and situation of each sister. At the beginning of this research a question was raised concerning the manner in which the gospel is brought into dialogue with the world. How is the Word of God heard? Is it an active force in the lives of its listeners? This research demonstrates that the psalm of sacred scripture found in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke and called here, the Magnificat., has been heard and given meaning within the cultural context or worldvieyv of a group of listeners. Yes, the data shows this scripture to be an active force in their lives. A second question raised at the beginning·concerned the connection between what is considered the words of Mary in the Magnificat and a Dominican understanding of discipleship and mission. The ideal of the Dominican Order in mission is, "to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation."4 Mary, as portrayed by Luke, is the paradigm of contemplative consciousness. In Mary's song the fruits of her contemplation are sung forth in a manner which reveals a prophetic understanding of God's action in human history as well as her humble awareness of the mission for which she has been chosen in bringing to fullness the Reign of God. In Luke's gospel, Mary is proto-disciple, the first among all called to follow Christ. In their reflections on meaning in the Magnificat almost all of the sisters saw some aspect of Dominican mission in Mary's response to God. She is seen as contemplative, a role model of prayer and discipleship, one who shares the word that she ponders and who identifies with the poor and oppressed. An image of God as One who loves and cares for the poor is strong. Another aspect of mission entails being aware of soeial evil, confronting it and working with others to bring about a more just social situation in collaboration rather than domination. The meaning of the Magnificat has unfolded as the world behind the text has been explored through exegesis and the world in front of the text has been partially opened up through the insights of a group of contemporary women religious. The following hypotheses and implications may serve to shed some light on the initial question of how the gospel is brought into dialogue with the world. "''nc Dominican motto was given theological expression by Thomas Aquinas when he set the ideal of an apostolic rel igious as, "contemplare et contemplata ali is tradere." (Summa Th eologiae, II, II, a.6). It is quoted in the Adrian Dominican Constitutions and Statutes I I. 151 HYPOTHESES AND IMPLICATIONS 1. The meaning that each sister gives to the Magnificat is directly relat~d to the broad spectrum of life experience that she brings to her meditation on it. Interpretations are thus unique to the personality of each one. 2. The perception of God, of Mary and of call to mission as understood from the words of the Magnificat is directly related to each sister's understanding of herself within the context of her relationship to God. As this self-understanding changes there is a shift in the perception of God and of Mary. 3. The focus of prayer in the Magnificat is God and the dominant relational characteristic of God is mercy. The idea of God and relationship to God continues to evolve. The strong emphasis on use of inclusive; language for God points to a shift in the perception of God as masculine to God as Spirit having both masculine and feminine attributes. There is a corellation between the changing perceptions of God and those of Mary. As prayer becomes more contemplative and God is viewed as more approachable the focus on God increases but the focus on Mary as intercessor decreases. The implications of this finding suggest that an area for further investigation might be to investigate the phenomenon of a shift in the focus of personal prayer in terms of relationship between God and Mary. 4. The person of Mary has emerged from the responses as a traditionally strong presence in the spiritual life of the sisters interviewed. As a sister matured and became more self-determined her image of Mary and relationship to her evolved accordingly. In general the evolution of image was from that of Mary as an unapproachable ideal or as a powerful queen and a merciful mother who grants favors to Mary as strong, liberated woman who is a paradigm of real womanhood and discipleship. 5. The importance of the Magnificat being a woman's prayer was significant. There was a high degree of identification with Mary as a woman in the saying or singing of the canticle. Again the identification was made in unique ways and reflected the self understanding of each sister. An implication of this finding is that because women bring a different set of experiences to the interpretation of scripture than men bring, women's interpretation will probably be from a different perspective from that of men. Already new vitality is being infused into hermeneutics by women exegetes who go beyond study of the traditional interpretation of scripture done by men and surface the unique insights which emerge from woman's experience of God. An area for further research might be an interpretive inquiry study of the meaning which is found in the Magnificat from the perspective of men followed by a comparison of insights found between men and women. 6. Those who chose to be part of this study find the Magnificat meaningful and have not 152 abandoned it as a prayer when aspects of it do not fit their mind-set but translate in way that makes it meaningful. Nothing in the way of personal meaningfulness can be deduced from members of the congregation who were not a part of the study, however, the canticle is almost always chosen to be used as a communal prayer when assemblies are held. The implication is that the prayer is treasured as part of Dominican tradition. 7. The Dominican ideal of action flowing out of contemplation has been an influence in both the inner and outer lives of the sisters. Mary is viewed as both the paradigm for contemplative prayer and the paradigm for action in accordance with God's plan. Examples of action flowing from prayer have been given in the data. Implications for spiritual growth are that reflection upon the Word of God has a dynamism in the life of a believer that works in a cyclic way. Even as the scripture is interpreted within the context of a perspective fonned by life experiences the same scripture clarifies, justifies and disturbs that per~pective. It could be said that even as experiences in life, including prayer experiences, mold a value system, a value system dictates a mode of prayer. Data taken from the interviews of a number of sisters in this study reveal that faith directs the inner journey which then directs the outer journey. In this the medieval latin dictum, "lex orandi, lex credendi," holds true. An implication of this dynamic in prayer is an affirmation that theological reflection upon one's life experiences or actions is a valuable aid to spiritual growth. 8. The core religious experience of the Israelites was the Exodus and the core religious experience of the Christians is the Christ event. Exegesis reveals that these two core experiences come together in Mary's Song. Mary interprets her own experience of the incarnation in the context of the religious experience of her people. Some of the sisters interviewed related a personal core spiritual experience that had a profound effect upon their way of viewing things and upon the way that they subsequently prayed. In each case the core spiritual experience was interpreted in the context of their entire faith journey which was within the faith tradition of the Church. An area for further study might be to research the phenomenon of core religious experiences, to look at the context in which they occur and the importance of the faith tradition in the way these experiences are interpreted. PASTORAL IMPLICATIONS 1. For preachers and teachers: The kerygmatic interpretation of scripture should be done while keeping in mind both the meaning of the scriptural passage derived from exegesis and the way that meaning will be accepted in the context of the worldview of the hearers. The dual disciplines of exegesis and interpretive inquiry are powerful methods of acquiring knowledge that will assist preachers or teachers to touch the minds and hearts of their listeners. These uncover two aspects of truth. A person's worldview touches the truth of who that person is and it is through one's true personhood that the Word of God becomes meaningful. 153 2 For those engaged in evangelization: The Magnificat is given meaning within the context of the worldview of the sisters who reflected upon it. If what is the case in a microcosm of a few can be extended to a macrocosm of many then it can be said that those who bring the gospel message to people of another culture must enter into the worldview of that culture in order to make the gospel understood. The truth of who God is transcends every cultural expression of the divine. Yet within their own worldview people who receive the message of the gospel may shape their understanding of God in a way not intended or comprehended by those who brought the gospel to them. Further study of the worldview of indigenous people to whom the gospel is brought by missionaries from outside the culture might throw some light upon the phenomenon of syncretism that is sometimes found in religious practices. The research methodology of interpretive inquiry is suitable for determining the meaning that scripture has for indigenous people and how they accommodate the biblical image of God to their own worldview. 3. For spiritual directors: The findings of this study arrived at by the methodology of interpretive inquiry indicate that, at least for the sisters participating, one's image of God and relationship to God continue to change throughout life's journey influenced by both the inner and outer worlds of experience. Studies in the interpretation of other scripture passages using the methods of interpretive inquiry may uncover information on the spiritual life that would be of interest to spiritual directors. The listening skills required in this method are valuable tools for assisting a director to enter into another person's perspective concerning God and the interior life. MEMBER CHECK After the data of the second part of this study had been analyzed the findings were given to six members of the Adrian Dominican Community who were asked to read and comment on them. Two were participants in the study and four were not. There was a general consensus that the findings of the inquiry did indeed represent the majority of members of the Adrian Dominican Community. One sister pointed out that it is possible that there are a small minority of sisters for whom the Magnificat is not meaningful. However, because the responses of the sisters were unique to their individual life situations nothing can be positively deduced from those who were not participants in this project. The response of a Prioress of the congregation follows: With great pleasure I have read the analysis of our sister's reflections on the Magnificat. The issues touched upon in their discussions with you, issues as seen reflected in the song/prayer of the Magnificat, the place of women in the church, women's unique spirituality, how the mercy of God is seen (or not clearly seen) in the plight of the poor, especially in situations of oppression and violence are the familiar statements I hear 154 articulated in mission groups, chapter assemblies and as I visit the women individually. It also rings true to me that although there are many similarities in the understandings of and expressions of the women regarding the Magnificat, there were also unique difference of interpretation, particularly of the phrase God has brought down the powerful from thrones and has lifted up the lowly. There was an at-homeness with the statements such that even if I had not known that this research involved our women, my respnse would have been, "This sounds just like a group of Adrian Dominicans." I believe that your research portrays both the common growth and movement in our spirituality as Dominican women as well as the individuality of understanding and response which has always been a trade-mark of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. A member of the Adrian Dominican General Council writes: Perhaps our relationship with Mary has shifted somewhat, but as we claim ourselves as women of the Gospel, many of us are beginning to relate to Mary in a new way, as one who knows what it means to be chosen and to proclaim with her life, the mercy and goodness of the One whose Spirit is alive in her. As we claim ourselves to be women of the Order of Preachers, we identify also with Mary as she responds to the impulse to go to her cousin and share the Good News. Indeed, you have grasped well the ancient thread drawing together and connecting the mission of Mary as sung in her Magnificat with the Mission of the Adrian Dominicans as we announce it and live it in and through our Constitution. REFLECTIONS UPON IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH t. MARY OF THE MAGNIFICAT: AN IMAGE OF LIBERATION The presence of Mary in the Catholic Church is very powerful. She has been set before women as a paradigm of womenhood. Whatever the power of Mary as role model might have been in forming a sister's self-image in the past, the dynamic at work in the responses indicate that when a sister's self-image changes she changes her image of Mary to one with whom she can relate. At times the image of Mary as paradigm has been made to conform to a particular ideology. But the research seems to indicate that a particular image of Mary is chosen because it is one to whom those for whom she is important can relate. The norm for presenting a true image of Mary is the scripture where Mary is portrayed as paradigm for faith and discipleship. In some parts of the world Mary is highly venerated and her image is a national symbol. The Magnificat, regarded as Mary's words, is an important prayer among the 155 people of the base communities of Latin America. Brazilian liberation theologians, lvone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer consider the Magnificat fundamental for understanding the Marian piety of these people. Mary is a symbol of hope in their struggle for liberation from oppression and is an encouragement to them in their endeavor to build a society of just social structures.5 In speaking of the image of Mary, held by impoverished indigenous people of the Philippines, Isidro Abano, OP deplores the colonial mentality of the people who hold Mary as the powerful caucasian Queen who must be both implored and placated by her powerless subjects. He states: Enthroned as Queen vested with golden mantle and jewels, she appears inaccessible and far from the image of the "poor of the Lord." Her majestic portrayal becomes yet another legitimation cif the privileged position of the rich and powerful, instead of being a ch~llenge to conversion and liberation for all. The poor remain passive and fatalistic; since in beholding Mary as the powerful queen, they cannot identify themselves with the blessedness of the poor as personified by the same Jowly maidservant of Nazareth through whom the Son of God in assuming our humanity choose to live and be known as poor.6 Considering the profound devotion of the Filipino people to Mary, Father Abano calls for the preaching of a truly gospel image of Mary, for an understanding of her that "makes her identified with the poor; and at the same time, becomes a challenge to us all to work for the transformation of an unjust society."7 As regards oppressed people with a strong attachment to Mary, we might ask if the self-understanding of the people will change if an image of Mary, as one in solidarity with their condition of poverty and oppression, is preached to them. Or will their image of Mary change only if their own self-understanding changes from an interiorized sense of powerlessness and worthlessness to one of recognition of personal dignity and self determination. Perhaps the dynamic of change is cyclic with self-understanding and image of Mary mutually influencing each other. In the findings of this study, however, the change in image of and relationship to Mary followed a change in self-understanding. 2. BRINGING THE GOSPEL INTO DIALOGUE WITH THE WORLD The interpretation that is given to scripture is given in the context of a perspective or worldview that differs according to the experience and self-understanding 51. Gebara and M. Bingemer, Mary Mother of God, Mother of the Poor 160-165. 6Isidro Abano, OP, "Maria y los Pobres: La experiencia filipina," paper delivered at Domus Aurea Marian Seminar, Huissen, Netherlands (October 1990) 23. 7Abano 2R. 156 of an individual and thus interpretations of the same text can differ widely. Different worldviews through which scripture is interpreted can give rise to ideological interpretations and even to antagonistic theologies. In 1989 a document was drawn up by Christian representatives from seven nations of the developing world which have a large population of poor and dispossessed people. In this document the situation of division in a country between a few wealthy Christians who hold power and a large population of Christians who live in a state of dehumanizing poverty and oppression is addressed. The writers state: What we have in common is not only a situation of violent political conflict, but also the phenomenon of Christians on both sides of the conflict. This is accompanied by the development of a Christian theology that sides with the poor and oppressed and the development of a Christian theology that sides with the oppressor. l)tis is both a scandal and a crises that challenges the Christian people of our countries.8 After describing the differing theologies the writers stress that this conflict is not merely an academic debate but a matter of life and death, justice, peace, freedom and the glory of God. They go on to ask: "Is the God invoked by both sides the same God? Is God on both sides? If not, on whose side is God? What has been revealed to us about God in Jesus?" The world behind the text of the gospel is the same for all partisans in this conflict. It is the world in front of the text that differs. The only way to grasp the world in front of the text is to enter into the worldview of the readers or hearers of the gospel and to understand it from their perspectives. Perhaps this is the only way that the truth of the situation can be found and a process of reconciliation between the antagonistic theologies can begin. Bringing the gospel into dialogue among opposing theologies is an aspect of bringing the gospel into dialogue with the world. 8"Road to Damascus," Kairos: Three Prophetic Challenges to the Church, ed. Robert McAfee Brown (Grand Rapids, Ml: Eerdman, 1990) 113-38. The document was drawn up and signed by Christians from different church traditions in seven different nations: The Philippines, South Korea, Namibia, South Africa, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. 157 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW FOLLOW-UP I have read the transcription of my interview on the Magnificat and I affirm that it does reflect my basic ideas on this topic. You have permission to incorporate any of these ideas into your paper and to quote me where it is appropriate. I understand that all of the information is coded and I will not be named unless I am asked and agree to being cited by name. Signature: ______Date: If there is something further that you would like to add to the information that you have already given or any correction that you would like to make, please do so. A response to the following questions would be appreciated. l. Do you continue to use the Magnificat in private prayer? Regularly or on certain occasions? Would you use it when creating a community prayer service? Why or why not? 2. Who is Mary of Nazareth as understood from the words of the Magnificat? Do you identify with her in any way? 3. Do you feel any relationship with Mary? If so, would you say a few words describing your relationship with Mary and how it may have changed over the years? To what do you attribute this change if, indeed, there was one? 4. Is there anything further that you feel you could now share with me concerning the meaningfulness of the Magnficat to you? A brief account of any experience that you have had that relates to Mary or to the Magnificat would be helpful. 5. Is there anything you would like to add to the discussion of the Magnificat and of Dominican mission? 6. Do you have any questions for me? 158 APPENDIX B INTERVIEW WITH RESEARCHER TO SURFACE ATTITUDES/BIASES ON THE MAGNIFICAT I. Why did you select the Magnlncat as the focus of your dissertation research? When I first began my work for a doctorate in the International Marian Research Institute I knew that I would be doing research on Mary. My initial interest was in determining what place Mary had in the spirituality of the Sisters of my religious community. I began to look for sources that would give me a sense of the place that Mary had in the history of our congregation. I ~nsulted with congregational historians and found that although the mother monastery in Germany from which the Dominican nuns came to the United States was founded in the 13th century and is still functioning at the original site, all the priceless books and records documenting the history of the monastery up to the first part of the nineteenth century had been either stolen or sold off to save the monastery under Napolean's regime. All that was left to give a sense of devotion to Mary were the objects of art decorating the building itself. The newly revised constitutions of our congregation refer to the Magnificat in the section dealing with the mission of the congregation. I love scripture and have a good background in it. The Gospel of Luke is a favorite of mine and in particular I am fond of the Magnificat. I have some familiarity with biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew. I knew that I could do an exegesis but what interested me mainly was in finding out what significance this piece of scripture had for my Sisters. Did they see Mary in her Magnificat as a paradigm of mission as the constitutions suggested? It seemed a good topic for research. 2. Since no "qualitative" research has been done In theological studies prior to your use or this approach, what made you think about trying to nnd out the meaning or the Magnlncat In a living community today? Very early in my consideration of a research topic I had discussed my interest with one of our Sisters who was teaching at a Canadian University. She suggested that I consider doing qualitative research on this topic rather than historical research. She referred me to some materials on ethnographic studies which I read. Then in a conversation with my brother, John, I found that qualitative research was important in his department at the University of Ge rgia. He referred me to Dr. Mary Jo McGee Brown and my excitement about using interpretive inquiry to find out how the Magnificat lives today in a contemporary, apostolic community for whom it is a familiar prayer energized me to proceed with this methodology. 159 3. Other than convenience In accessing participants, were there any other reasons for selecting your own community to study? As mentioned above, my interest in doing research on the influence of Mary in my own Dominican community preceded the selection of interpretive inquiry as a methodology. It seemed to be the best tool to use to obtain the kind of information that I was seeking. What remained was to select a manageable target group from the community which numbers over 1300 Sisters and is only one Dominican congregation of many in the Dominican Order. One of the members of our leadership suggested that I might want to expand the research to include other Dominican congregations. The considerations of time and finances have led me to confine myself to a select group within my own congregation. The study, however, has broader implications and can be a starting point in forming a theory on how a piece of scripture impacts the spirituality of those who reflect on it in general. 4. Describe the earliest time at which you felt that the MagniOcat had a particular meaning In your own life? As I young child, as early as age six, I can remember having a special relationship with Mary. My family lived close to our church which was always open in those days and I used to slip in to kneel before her image there and discuss things with her. I entered the Dominicans at age 18 and it was during the first year of my religious formation during Advent that the Magnificat took on special meaning for me in terms of my religious vocation. 5. What meaning did the Magnlncat have for you at that time? I had discerned a calling to religious life as a call from Christ. A further development was that of identifying with Mary in the bearing of Christ to others. The scene of the Visitation was very significant to me in terms of the impact that the presence of Mary bearing Christ had on Elizabeth and John the Baptist. I saw my call as one to live in such a way as to make God better known and loved. The following year, our novice director spoke beautifully about the Magnificat as an appropriate prayer for us as women committed to God. We chanted or sang it every evening at Vespers. After hearing her speak of it I began giving special attention to the words of the Song and it took on special meaning for me as I then consciously identified with Mary's attitude of gratitude to God for what God had done for her. Novitiate was a happy time for me. 6. At present, what meaning does the Magnlncat have for you? Now that I have done an exegesis of the Magnificat, I see much theological significance in this piece of scripture. Because my research is continuing I continue to find new meanings . . I still pray this prayer almost daily. The first part of it, Mary's 160 personal response to God, has the most meaning for me as a personal prayer. The second part carries meaning for me as a meditation on God's actions giving meaning and purpose to my life and mission. 7. Describe the different relationships you feel when you read or pray the Magnlncat. At the present time the prayer is my own. I am not always conscious of Mary's presence in the prayer or of saying it with her. Her presence is always in a certain sense behind it though. Many times I sing certain phrases of it or, perhaps more correctly, paraphrases of it, that are contained in the various musical settings. The exact words are not so important as the thought behind the words. Because I do see within the ideas expressed in the Magnificat a confirmation of my congregation's idea of mission I can say that this prayer does bring me into a sense 9f solidarity with others, especially those who are my brothers and sisters in the mission of furthering the "reign of God." I do have a sense of relationship with God, Mary and others when I pray. This sense of relationship, though, is not limited to the Magnificat. The concept of "communion of saints" has always been meaningful to me in the sense of feeling connected to the whole Church when I pray those prayers that I know are prayers of the whole Church, that is, liturgical prayers. Early in my Dominican life it became clear to me that part of my the meaning of my life was to be in prayer with and for the whole body of the Church. Later, this idea became more universal as I saw purpose in being part of the mission of the congregation which was part of the universal mission of the Church which was extended really to all of creation. 8. Describe the ways that the meaning or the Magnlncat has changed for you during the past two years. Explain the circumstances In which any changes have occurred. The most significant changes have been in my understanding the theological meaning of the Magnificat due to the study of the Old Testament background and also the themes of the Gospel of Luke. I see so much theological content in it now. Also, the sharing of the Sisters that I have interviewed has helped me see meanings in the applications that they have made in their own lives of this prayer. One specific idea that became an important insight for me was the concept of "mercy" as being a translation of God's "hesed" which is a quality of the covenant relation that God has with those who have entered into this relationship. Now, whenever I pray or read the Magnificat that term takes on a special meaning. 9. U this Song or Mary happens to be one or the most Important pieces or scripture to you, share with me two other selections or scripture that are equal In Importance. Is there anything that the three selections have In common? There are many passages of scripture that have become important to me at )6) various times and in various circumstances of my life. Depending upon ~y experiences a passage may be very important for a while and then another will take over. Two passages that come to mind now are both resurrection stories. One is the scene where Mary Magdalen is weeping at the tomb of Christ and doesn't recognize him until he speaks her name. She couldn't find him but he found her. (John 20:11-18) Another is the encounter with Christ of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-35) All three scenes depict personal encounters where the identity of the Lord is recognized. All contain the idea of being chosen for a mission. 10. What part do you feel the Magnlncat should play In the lives of the sisters In your community? What Is your basis for feeling this way? At this time I cannot relate to the word "should". It seems to me that it is not my place to say what part the Magnificat should pll!Y but to inquire about what part it does play. I do not feel any urgency to make it meaningful as I trust that God is leading each sister in a unique way to the fulfillment of her life in union with the Godhead. My interest now is in better understanding how it is God speaks to us through scripture, specifically through this piece of scripture. - Mary Catherine Nolan, OP 162 BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR EXEGESIS American and British Committees of the International Greek New Testament Project. The New Testament in Greek: The Go.fpel According to Luke, Part One. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984. Aquinas, Thomas, O.P. The Summa Theologica. Part Ill (QQ XXVII-LIX). Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, Ltd., 1926. __. The Three Greatest Prayers. Trans. Laurence Shaprote, OP. London: Burns Oates and Wasbbourne, Ltd., 1937. Backherms, Robert E., SM. Christians Rejoice: A Biblical Theology of New Testament Joy. Freibourg, Switzerland: St. Paul's Press, 1963. Bingemer, Maria Clara and lvone Gebara. Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 1989. Bemile, Paul. The Magnifrcat within the Context and Framework of Lucan Theology: An Exegetical Theological Study of Luke 1: 46-55. New York: Yerian Peter Lang, 1986. Black, Matthew. The Scrolls and Christian Origins: Studies in the Jewish Background of the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961. Bouyer, Louis. The Seat of WISdom: An essay on the place of the Virgin Mary in Christian Theology. Trans. A. V. Litt1eda1e. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1962. Brown, Raymond E. Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine. Mahwah, NJ : Paulist Press, 1985. __. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Na"atives in Matthew and Luke. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977. __. "Hermeneutics." Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. 605-25. ~_.Schneiders, Sandra. "Hermeneutics." New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1990. 1146-65. __. The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. New York: Paulist Press, 1984. 163 Brown, Raymond E., Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, John Reumann, eds. Mary in the New Te.rtament. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978. · Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of the Psalms. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984. Buby, Bertrand, SM. Mary, The Faithful Disciple. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. "Mary, A Model of Ecclesia-Orans," Marian Studies XXXV (1984): 87-99. Mary in the New Testament. New York: Alba House, 1994. Vol. 1 of Mary of Galilee. 3 vols. Caird, G. B. Saini Luke. Baltimore, MD: Pen8tJin Books, 1963. Charlesworth, James Hamilton. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament: Prolegomena for the Study of Christian Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Conzelmann, Hans. The Theology of Luke. Trans. Geoffrey Buswell. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1961. Coyle, Kathleen, SSC. "Re-Interpreting Marian Symbols Today." Doctrine and Life 40 (July/August 1990): 291-98. Dahl, N. A. "The Story of Abraham in Luke-Acts." Studies in Luke-Acts. Eds. L. Keck and J. L. Martyn. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966: 139-58. Delitzsch, Franz. Hebrew New Testament. The British and Foreign Bible Society, 1937. Delorme, Jean. "Le Monde, Ia Logique et le Sens du Magnificat." Semiotique et Bible 53. Cadir 1989-Depot legal mars, 1989. Deiss, Lucien, CSSp. Mary, Daughter of Sion. Trans. Barbara T. Blair. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1972. de Ia Potterie, Ignace. Mary in the Mystery of the Covenant. Trans. Bertrand Buby, SM. New York: Alba House, 1992. Dimier, Catherine. The Old Testament Apocrypha. Trans. S. J. Tester. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964. Donnelly, Doris, ed. Mary, Women of Nazareth: Biblical and Theological Perspectives. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 164 Farris, Stephen. The Hymns of Lukes Infancy Na"ative.f: The Origin, MeaninK and Significance. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1985. Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament . London, 1971. __. The Gospel According to Luke I-IX. The Anchor Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1981. __. Luke, the Theologian: Aspects of His Teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1989. Ford, J. Massingberd. My Enemy is My Guest. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 1984. Forestell, James. "The Old Testament Background of the Magnificat." Marian Studies 12 (1961): 205-10. Galot, Jean, SJ. Mary in the Gospel. Trans. Sr. Maria Constance, SCH. Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1965. Gebara, lvone and Maria Claraa Bingemer. Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 1989. Gelin, Albert, PSS. The Poor of Yahweh . Trans. Kathryn Sullivan, RSCJ . Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1964. Gesenius, William. A Hebrew and English f....ajcon of the Old Testament. Trans. Edward Robinson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951. Heath, T. R., OP. Our Lady (Summa Theologica) 51. New York, 1969. Jeremias, Joachim. New Testament Theology. Trans. John Bowden. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. John Paul II. Redemptoris Mater. Encylical. Cincinnati: Catholic Telegraph, 1987. Johnson, Elizabeth, CSJ. "Mary and the Female Face of God." Theological Studies 50 (1989): 500-26. __."The Marian Tradition and the Reality of Women." Horizons (Dec. 1, 1985): 116- 35. Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Vol. 3. Ed. Daniel Harrington, SJ. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. 165 Joncas, J. Michael. "The 'Visitation' Formulary in the Collection of Ma~s of the Blessed Virgin Mary: An Exercise in Liturgical Exegesis." Worship 64 (1990): 242-59. Jones, Douglas R. "The Background and Character of the Lukan Psalms." The Jouf711ll of Theological Studies XIX. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968: 19-50. Joiion, Paul, SJ. Grammaire de I'Hebreu Biblique. Pontifical Biblical Institute: Rome, 1947. Karris, Robert J., OFM. 'The Gospel According to Luke." The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Eds. Raymond Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffe, NJ : Prentice Hall, 1990. 43:675-721. __. "Mary's Magnificat and Recent Study." Review for Religious 42 (1983): 903-08. __. Missionary Communities: A New Paradigm for the Study of Luke-Acts." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41 (1979): 80-97. Kittel, Gerhard, ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966. Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Theology of the Psalms. Trans. Keith Crim. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986. Lagrange, Marie Joseph, OP. Etudes Biblique: Evangile selon St. Luc. Paris: Librairie Lecoffre, 1948. Laurentin, Rene. Structure et thtologie de Luc 1-11. Paris: Gabalda, 1964. __. The Truth of Christmas: Beyond the Myths. Trans. Michael J. Wrenn and Associates. Petersham, MA: St. Bede's Publications, 1986. Lemmo, Nunzio, Maria. "Figlia di Sion: Lc 1, 26-38." Marionum 45 (1983): 175-258. McHugh, John. The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1975. McKenzie, John L. "The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament." Mary in the Churches. Concilium 168. Eds. Hans Kung and Jorgen Moltmann. New York: Seabury Press, 1983: 3-ll. __. Dictionary of the Bible. (Macmillan: NY, 1971). 166 Mansoor, Menahem. The Thanksgiving Hymn.{ . Grand Rapids, Ml: Wm . B. Eerdmans, 1961. Volume Ill of Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah . Ed. J. Van Ploeg, OP. Marshall, Alfred. The New International Version, Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Grand Rapids, Ml : Zondervan Publishing Company, 1976): 223-24 . Marshall, I. Howard. The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text . Grand Rapids, Ml: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978. __. Luke: Historian and Theologian. Exeter, 1988. Marthaler, Bernard L. OFM, Conv. "From the Infancy Narratives to Mariology." The Creed. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1987. Metzer, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament . New York: United Bible Societies, 1971. Minear, PaulS. "Luke's Use of the Birth Stories." Studies in Luke-Acts. Abingdon, 1966: 111-30. Mowinckel, Sigmund. The Psalms in Israel's Worship. Trans. D. Thomas. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962. Muiioz, Iglesia, Salvador. Los Conticos del Evangelio de Ia lnfancia segun San Lucas. Madrid: lnstituto "Francisco Suarez," del C.S.I.S., 1983. O'Carroll, Michael, CSSp. Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Wilmington, Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1986. O'Day, Gail. "Singing Woman's Song: A Hermeneutic of Liberation." CurT M 12 (1985): 203-10. Paul VI. Maria/is Cultus. Apostolic Exhortation. 1974. Pazdan, Mary Margaret, OP. "New Testament Patterns of Apostolic Life." Common Life in the SpiriJ of St. Dominic. River Forest, IL: Parable Press, 1990. Peretto, Elio. "Magnificat." Nuovo Dizionario Di Mariologia . A cura di Stefano De Fiores e Salvatore Meo. Milano: Edizioni Paoline, s.r.l., 1986. Plummer, Alfred, MA. DD. The Gospel According to Luke. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Luke. The International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, Ltd., 1981. 167 Rahner, Karl. Mary, Mother of the Lord. New York: Herder and Herde.r, 1963. Ramaroson, L. "Ad structuram cantici 'Magnificat.'" Verbum Domini 46 (1968), 30-46. Roten, Johann G., SM. "Memory and Mission: A Theological Reflection on Mary in the Paschal Mystery." Marian StudieJ XLII (1991): 73-132. Sabourin, S. J. The Psalms: Their Origin and Meaning. New York: Alba House, 1970. Sanders, E. P. and Margaret Davies. Studying the Synoptic Gospels. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989. Schillebeeckx, Edward. The Langunge of Faith: essays on Jesus, Theology, and the Church. lntro. Robert J. Schreiter. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1995. __. "Magnificat: A Toast to God." God Among Us: The Gospel Proclaimed. Trans. John Bowden. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1983. Schillebeeckx, E. and Halkes, Catherina. Mary: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1993. Schiirmann, Heinz. Das Lukllsevangelium /. Freiburg: Herder, 1969. Serra, Aristide, OSM. E C'era Ia Madre di Gesu: Saggi di Esegesi Biblico-mariana. Milano: Edizioni Cens-Marianum, 1989. Schmitt, John J. "The Motherhood of God and Zion as Mother." Revue biblique 92-94 (1985): 557-69. Skiba, Richard J. "Mary and the 'Anawim.'" Mary, Woman of Naroreth: Biblical and Theological Perspectives. Ed. Doris Donnelly. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1989. 123- 32. Schmitt, John J. "The Motherhood of God and Zion as Mother." Revue biblique 92-4 (1985): 557-69. Stuhlmueller, Carroll, CP. "The Gospel According to Luke." The Jerome Biblical Commentary. Eds. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph E. Fitzmyer, Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 45:115-64. Talbert, Charles H. Literary Pallerns, Theological Themes, and the Genre of Luke-Acts. Missoula, MT: Society of Biblical Literature and Scholars Press, 1974. 168 Tannehill, Robert C. "111e Magnificat as Poem." Journal of Biblical Literature 93 ( 1974 ): 263-75. __. The Na"ative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation. Volume One: The Gospel According to Luke. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986. Valentini, Alberto. //Magnificat: Genere letterario. Struttura. Esegesi. 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Rome: Pontical Biblical Institute, 1963. Zerwick, Max and Mary Grosvenor. A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament. Vol I. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1974. 169 BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms . 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981 . Brown, Mary Jo McGee. "Validity and the Problem of Reality: An Issue of Trust." A paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April, 1991. __. "Reconstruction of Which Reality? Qualitative Data Analysis." Qualitative Research in Education; Substance, Methods and Experience. Ed. J. C. Goetz, J. Allen. Proceedings from First Annual C9nference of Qualitative Research. Jan. 1988. Athens, GA: UGA. 90-101. Brown, Raymond E. and Sandra M. Schneiders. "Hermeneutics." New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. 1146-65. Burgess, R. G . In the Field. George Allen & Unwin, 1984. Charmaz, Kathy. "The Grounded Theory Method: An Explication and Interpretation." Contemporary Field Research. Ed. Robert M. Emerson. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 1983. 109-26. Cook, Thomas D. and Charles S. Reichardt. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Evaluation Research. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1979. Denzin, Norman. "Multiple Triangulation." The Research Act. 1970. 297-343. Emerson, Robert M., ed. Contemporary Field Research: A Collection of Readings. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 1983. Erickson, Frederick. "Qualitative Methods in Research on Teaching." Handbook of Research on Teaching. Ed. Merlin C. Wittrock. New York: Macmillan, 1986. 119- 61. Fetterman, David M. Ethnography: Step by Step. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1989. Fish, Stanley. Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980). Freund,· Elizabeth. The Return of the Reader: Reader response Criticism. London and New York: Methuen, 1987. 170 Gadamer, Hans-Georg. "The Problem of Historical Consciousness." Trans. Jeff L. Close from "Le Probleme de Ia conscience historique." (lnstitut Superieur de Philosophie, Universite Catholique de Louvain: 1963). Introduction ( 1975) Trans. Hans Fantel. GradUilte Faculty Philosophy Joumea 5.1 (1975). Gans, Herbert J. "The Participant Observer as a Human Being: Observations on the Personal Aspects of Fieldwork." F~ld Research: A Sourcebook and Field ManUill. (1982). 205-13. Geertz. Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1973. Glaser, Barney G . and Anselm L. Strauss. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine Publishing Company, 1967. Glaser, Barney G. Basics of Grounded Theory Analysir: Emergence vs Forcing. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press, 1992. Goetz. J. P. and M. D. LeCompte. Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research. New York: Academic Press, 1984. Guba, E. G . and Lincoln, Y. S. Fourth Generation EvaiUiltion . Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1989. Johnson, Jeffrey C. Selecting Ethnographic lnformalllS. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1990. Lincoln, Y.S. and E. G . Guba. Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1985. Manhall, Catherine and Gretchen B. Rossman. Daigning QUillitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1989. Mathison, Sandra. •Why Triangulate?" Educational Researcher 17.2 (March, 1988): 13- 17. Merriam, Sharan B. Case Study Research in Education: A QWllitative Approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishen: 1988. Moustakas, Clark. Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology. and Applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1990. Patton, Michael Quinn. QWllilative Eva/Uiltion Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1980. 171 Peshkin, Alan. "In Search of Subjectivity--One's Own." Educational Researcher (October, 1988): 17-21. Powell, Mark Allen. What is Narrative Criticism? Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. Rabinow, Paul and William M. Sullivan, eds. lnurpretiw Social Science: A Reader. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1979. Ricoeur, Paul. Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning. Fort Worth, TX: Texas Christian University Press, 1976. _ _ . "The Model of the Text: Meaningful Action Considered as a Text." Social Research 38.3 (Autumn 1971). Schneiders, Sandra M. and Raymond E. Brown. "Hermeneutics." New Jerome Bibliclll Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1990. 1146-65. __. "Scripture: Tool of Patriarchy or Resource for Transformation.• Beyond Patching: Faith and Femini.fm in the Catholic Church. New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1991. 37-71. __. "Feminist Ideology Criticism and Biblical Hermeneutics. • Biblical T'heologictJl Bulletin 19.1 (1989): 3-10. __. The Rew/otory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Schweitzer de Grys, Mary. "Why Would God Command Me to Be Poor?" Antlv~ and Humanism Qwmerly 8.3 (Sept. 1983): 14-19. Shulman, Judith H. "Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Anonymity Versus Visibility in Case Studies of Teachers." Educational Researcher 19. 6 (Aug-Sept. 1990). Sperber, Dan. On Anthropological Knowledge: Three Essays. New York: Cambridse University Press, 1989. Spradley, James P. The Ethnographic Interview. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979. Strauss, Anselm and Juliet Corbin. Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded T'heory. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1990. Strauss, Anselm L. Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientests. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. 172 Taylor, Charles. "Interpretation and the Sciences of Man ." The Review of Metaphysics 25.1 (September 1971). Wolcott, Harry F. "On Seeking--and Rejecting--Validity in Qualitative Research." Qualitatillt! Inquiry in Education. Ed. E. W. Eisner and A. Peshkin. Teacher's College Press, 1990. __. Writing Up Qualitatillt! Research. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1990. 173 INDEX Abaiio, Isidro, 156 John Paul II, I Abrams, M.H., 58 Johnson, Luke Timothy, 7, 33, 38, 42 Balz, H. R., 39 Jones, Douglas, 7, 14-15, 18, 25, 30, 36, Bemile, Paul, 7, 12, 30 39 Bertram, G, 42, 45 Karris, R. J ., 46 Bietenhard, H., 37 Kittel, Gerhard, 7 Bingemer, Maria Clara, 14. 30, 32, 39-40 Lagrange, Pere M. J., 7, 10, 16, 22, 30, 47 40, 42 Braun, H., 41 Laurentin, Rene, 7, 18-19 Brennan, Walter, 18 Lincoln, Y.S., 67, 73 Brown, Robert McAfee, 157 Luke, 2-7, 9-11 Brown, Mary Jo McGee, 6, 59, 63, 66 Mansoor, Menaham, 7, 17 Brown, Raymond, 2-3, 13, 15-18, 21-22, ~Marshall, I. Howard, 7, 10, 39, 43, 49 31-32, 34, 36-37, 39-41, 46, 48, 76 Mathsion, Sandra, 67-68 Brueggemann, Walter, 12-13 McHugh, John, 15, 22, 29 Buby, Bertrand, 6-7, 15 McKenzie, John L., 51 Buchsel, F., 39 Metzer, Bruce M., 28 Bultmann, R., 31, 38 Michel, 0., 31, 48 Charmaz, Kathy, 71 Mowinckel, Sigmund, 12 Conzelmann, Hans, 51 Patton, Michael, 59, 67-69, 73 Corbin, Julie, 59, 69 Peretto, Elio, 7, 14, 37, 43 de Ia Potterie, Ignace, 31 Plummer, Alfred, 7, 23, 26-27, 40 Deiss, Lucien, 7 Ramaroson, L., 23 Delitzsch, Franz, 30 Rengstorf, K. H., 32 Denzin, Norman, 67 Ricoeur, Paul, 57 Dimier, Catherine, 7, 14, 16 Roten, Johann, 10, 51 Farris, Stephen, 7, 23 Ryan, Mary Philip, 60 Fitzmyer, Joseph, 7, 9, 15, 17-18, 22, 35, Sabourin, Leopold, 7, 11-12, 20, 23 37 Sasse, H., 49 Fohrer, G., 30 Schlier, H., 41 Forestell, James, 7, 11, 28-29, 31, 34, 37- Schneider, C., 43-44 38, 42-43, 45, 48 Schneiders, Sandra, 2-5, 58, 147 Gadamer, Hans-George, 56 Schurmann, Heinz, 13 Gebara, lvone, 14, 32, 39-40, 47 Schweiger, E., 29 Gelin, Albert. 7, 25, 33, 39-40, 44-45 Serra, Aristide, 7, 17, 21, 34, 36-37, 45, Glaser, Barnes, 63-64, 69-71 47 Goppelt, L., 46 Stahlin, G., 35, 46 Grundmann, W., 34-36, 44 Strauss, Anselm, 59, 69, 71 Guba, E. G., 67, 73 Talbert, Charles, 7 Gunkel, Herman, 11 -12, 14 Tennehill, Robert. 7, 9, 21 -27 Hauck, F., 35 Valentini, Alberto, 7 Jeremias, Joachim, 48, 51 Webb, E. J., 67 174 Westermann, Claus, II -t3 Winter, Paul, 7, 14, 16. 28, 30, 41 Wurthwein, E., 42 Zerwick, Max, 7, 30 175 INDEX OF SUBJECfS IN FINDINGS DOMINICAN MISSION 139 GOD 91 Action of Social Reversal 133, 104 Changing Perceptions of 106 Concept of 92 Favor 100 Jesus 105 Love and Faithfulness 97 Mercy of 95 Might 100 Remembrance 138 Response to prayer 101 Spirit 105 Priority for the Oppressed 102 MAGNIFICAT THEMES 126 Communal Message 133 Joy/Gratitude 127 Lowliness/Humility{fruth 130 Mercy and Fear of the Lord 131 Proclaiming the Greatness of God 129 MARY 76 Aware of Social Evil 82 Mission 81 Personhood 76 Relationship (change) 85 Relationship (early) 83 Relationship to (later) 88 Spirituality 79 Prayer · Attitude toward 116 Changing Modes of 123 Contemplative/Reflective 117 Identification with Mary 115 Magnificat as Medium 108 Magnificat as Song 112 Mary's 114 Moves to Action 125 Perstlnal and Communal 109 Scripture in 120 Study 122 Woman's 113 SUMMARY 143 176