When Elizabeth and her babe recognize God present in Mary’s womb and proclaim with wonder and joy the blessing that it is to them he has first come, when Mary can feel with certainty that now is the time and this is the moment and she will no longer be the only one to know it, what else is left to but proclaim her love of the Lord? Imagine Mary as she stands before Elizabeth in the quiet shadows of a simple home in Judea, John the Baptist squirming with the delight of salvation in his mother’s womb, and Mary knowing the life in her own womb is who he said he would be, this song escaping from her lips: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant…and done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:46–49).
