“He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy.” (Luke 1:52)
In this verse, Mary sings of God’s mercy to his servant Israel. Earlier in the Magnificat, she has praised God for looking upon his “handmaid” (Luke 1:48). Here, the whole people of Israel — which includes Mary — is identified as his servant. Surely, the Blessed Mother is an example for us in having a servant’s heart.
In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus tells a parable about servants. However, some of the servants in the parable don’t, in fact, serve their master very well at all. They bury their master’s money in the ground, instead of doing the investing the master expected them to do. The true servants, on the other hand, are called “faithful,” even in “small matters,” and the master rewards them.
Can we choose to faithfully serve our Lord, even in the “small matters”? Am I willing to do what God asks of me -- or do I do nothing instead? Is this verse from the Magnificat inviting us to be part of God’s servant people? Let us ask Our Blessed Mother’s intercession in helping us to follow her model of service, that we may know the fullness of God’s mercy.