“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” With these words Mary first acknowledges the special gifts she has been given. Above all other saints, she alone could truly rejoice in Jesus, her savior, for she knew that He who was the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in one person both her own son and her Lord.
-- Saint Bede the Venerable
