“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. “For the
Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Mary
attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to
the gift of one whose essence is power and whose nature is greatness,
for he fill with greatness and strength the small and the weak who
believe in him.
– Saint
Bede the Venerable from a homily
Saint
Bede the Venerable's patronage:
lectors; English writers; historians; and Jarrow, England.
