Mary's "Magnificat" (Luke 1,46-55) : its structure, meaning and Old Testament background

Abstract

After Conzelmann's theology of Luke, the Third Gospel has been constantly made the object of serious studies, and it has ever since drawn the attention of various scholars. The Infancy chapters have been the object of a close scrutiny, not least by R. Laurentin. Marian devotion, prevalently within the Catholic church, has undergone various changes. Vatican II itself, ecumenically oriented as it was, felt the urgent need to base all doctrine, including Marian theology, upon the solid foundation of Scripture. It is precisely here that we are called upon to reflect on Mary's role, given the fact that Luke looks at the early stages of Jesus' earthly life from the point of Luke contrasts in a parallel way the chapters that are related to Jesus' and John the Baptist's infancy stages. We notice that Luke resorts to the use of hyms not to bring out the nature of his characters' inner feeling and disposition of mind, but also to present what is going to take place against the setting of Old Testament salvation history. [...]