Light to fill the hungry

The Magnificat is the text used today as the responsorial psalm for the celebration of the 3rd Sunday of Advent in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. This proclamation of praise of Mary is from the Gospel of Luke. She proclaims that her soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God. In the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, Friar Jude Winkler points out that Paul presents the three components of our being, body, soul and spirit. The soul is our life force. It is the visible evidence that we are alive. The eyes are presented in Scripture as the windows of the soul.  We gaze into the eyes of people to determine their presence to us. Are they enamored with us, interested in what we say, angry, impatient and so on. The soul and life force of Mary makes clear, illuminates and shows greater detail about the life and will of God. The passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is the description of the will of God for Israel and the action of those, like Mary, who have said "yes" to the Divine mission. Jesus quotes this passage from Isaiah at the beginning of His public ministry to shed light on His mission and the mission of those who follow Him. Fr Larry Gillick SJ uses many references to the power of light which John the Baptist uses to refer to The Light for whom John has come to testify. The call to proclaim life in the light is the action of all baptized as priest, prophet and leader in the Christian tradition. Our actions as summarized by Paul, in the conclusion of the letter to the Thessalonians, to bring light include rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, hold fast to what is good and abstain from every form of evil. Friar Jude compares this list of Paul to the instructions given by parents when their child is leaving home for education or work. It is in the context of "be sure to remember this advice". Our magnificent praise of God will be rooted in the life of our Spirit as our soul radiates the energy of love and our body works to "fill the hungry with good things".