John Koza

Dear Siblings in Christ, 

I have been reading and praying the Daily Office for several years now, and I am constantly amazed by familiar passages suddenly becoming illuminated and imparting wisdom anew.

I’d like to share a recent epiphany I have had with the Magnificat. Most of us are very familiar with Luke’s words which begins:

My soul magnifies the Lord, 
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
For he has looked with favor on 
The lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all 
Generations will call me blessed:
For the Mighty One has done great things for me, 
And holy is his name.

For years I have read this as the words spoken by Mary, not thinking of how this might relate to me. Then one morning I was reading this and suddenly I realized I can make this much more personal by merely emphasizing the words, “my” and “me.”

MY soul magnifies the Lord,
And MY spirit rejoices in God MY Savior,
For he has looked with favor on
The lowliness of his servant (ME).
Surely, from now on all 
Generations will call ME blessed:
For the Mighty One has done great things for ME, 
And holy is his name.

I think I will not attempt to read the Magnificat with this personalized optic every time I read it, but I like the awareness of God’s personal love I feel when I do.

In Christ,

—John