PART TWO
A REFLECTION ON CONSECRATED LIFE
IN THE LIGHT OF THE MAGNIFICAT

59. In this second part of our letter we propose, with the Lord's help, to meditate carefully on the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). Mary of Nazareth's canticle renews our vision and strengthens our incentive for living consecrated life authentically. It can also shed new light on our charism of service.
      The beauty and doctrinal richness of the canticle, its liturgical and pastoral value, and the importance the Church gives it have prompted us to choose it for our reflection and meditation. We are sure, sisters and brothers of the Servite Family, that out of love for the Word and devotion to Mary you will agree with this choice.

Section one
The gift of Magnificat

60. The Magnificat is a gift, first of all, from God to the Blessed Virgin, then from Mary to the Church and to each one of us. It must be understood and accepted as a gift, otherwise its appeal cannot be grasped, nor its profound meaning disclosed. The words of St. James apply to the Magnificat: “... all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas 1:17). With gratetul spirit, then, and full of respect for the holy Word, we want to reflect on this canticle that the Lord placed first on the lips of Mary of Nazareth and places now each day on ours.

A gift joined to other gifts

61. The Magnificat, song of the Virgin Mary, “poor woman of the Lord,” is not an isolated canticle. It comes to us along with the canticles of other anawim - the Benedictus (Lk 1: 68-79) of the priest Zechariah and the Nunc dimittis (Lk 2: 29-32) of the “righteous and devout” (Lk 2:25) Simeon. There is also the angels' canticle (cf. Lk 2: 14) and the rich hymnody of the Pauline letters 177 and Johannine apocalypse. 178 We can include here, too, the Our Father (Mt 6:9- 13), the prayer par excellence, and the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:3- 11), of whose message the Magnificat is in a way a lyrical anticipation.
      The Magnificat has its roots in the poetry of the psalms and other Old Testament hymns, especially in the canticles of the women of Israel who extolled the deeds and mercy of God: Miriam, prophetess and sister of Aaron, who led the dancing after the crossing of the Red Sea (cf. Ex 15:20-21); Deborah, judge of Israel (cf. Jgs 4:4), who broke out in a victory canticle after the defeat of Sisera's army (cf. Jgs 5:231); Judith, who intoned a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for the liberation of Bethulia after the victory over Holofernes (cf. Jdt 16:1-17); and Anna, a distressed and humiliated woman, who, after the birth of Samuel, raised up rejoicing a moving canticle of thanksgiving to the Lord who had answered her prayer (cf. 1 Sam 2:1-10).
      Miriam, Deborah, Judith and Anna were all courageous, poetic and prophetic women. Their songs are a prelude to Mary's canticle, and the events of which they sang bear a likeness to the salvific events in which Mary took part. The crossing of the Red Sea foreshadows Christ's Passover; the victories over Sisera and Holofernes, the defeat of the Evil One; and the birth of Samuel from a sterile womb, the birth of Jesus from Mary's virginal womb.

A gift to receive,live and pass on

62. The Blessed Virgin's canticle is deeply rooted in her people's history, and Israel's wisdom and poetry stream into it. You can hear the echo of the patriarchs' longing and the prophets' oracles. The Magnificat is indeed a summary of Israel's faith in God as Savior and its vision of history.
       The Magnificat has a literal meaning related to the time and context in which Mary first proclaimed it, but it comes to us now with the richness of successive ecclesial readings. The Magnificat has accompanied and nourished the Church's prayer and shed light on its journey. It has made the Church grow and has in turn grown with it. To Mary's canticle can be applied in a special way the exegetical principle formulated by St. Gregory the Great (+ 604): “the divine words grow along with the reader.” 179
      The Word discloses ever new aspects of itself to churches, communities and individual disciples who listen to it and pray over it from within their historical situation. The Word was put in writing, became Scripture, for the good of the men and women of later generations. A reading of the Word, then, detached from one's life situation, does not respond to the text's original, divine intention. It is indispensable, however, that the historical readings of the Magnificat be received with spiritual discernment, according to St. Paul's norm: “test everything; retain what is good” (1 Thes 5:21). This norm is important, for surely not every historical reading is to be retained. 180
      With regard to the Magnificat, our situation is this: the Blessed Virgin's canticle is there, in the opening chapter of the third gospel, in just ten verses, immutable in its every word. It has to be understood in the thought of Luke, the inspired author. At the same time, though, it comes to us enriched by numerous ecclesial readings made under the guidance of the Spirit and accompanied by the prayerful jubilation of innumerable Christian generations. It is there to be read, prayed over, interiorized and lived. It also wants, so to speak, to be enriched by our own life experiences. Today we have to be its readers and interpreters, vocalists and artisans, in terms of our condition as Servite men and women in today's world.
       As we said above, the gift must be received and treasured, but it must also be communicated and passed on. In Christianity there is the law of passing on to others what we have received (cf. Lk 1:1-3; 1 Cor 11:23; 15:3). For all of us, it should be a welcome task to hand on to others the gift of the Magnificat, read in the light of our experience and marked with our grateful love.

A gift that leads into Mary's story

63. When we open ourselves to the Magnificat and make it part of our lives, we enter into and become part of the canticle's history. Its history includes all who sang the Magnificat before us and found in it guidance for their journey of Christian discipleship, and all who will sing it in the future and be guided by its illuminating words. The Church, singing it unceasingly, has carefully threaded the story of the “Magnificat of the ages.” 181 We sing it still, as we await the day when Mary's canticle will blend into the final and lasting doxology: “To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb / be blessing and honor, glory and might, / forever and ever” (Rv 5:13).
      But there's still more. In the mystery of the communion of saints, the Magnificat, acknowledged and accepted as a gift, makes Mary contemporary to us and us to Mary. Her canticle becomes ours. United to her, we are joined to all she represents: Israel, of which she is sublime daughter; the Church, of which she is figure (typus) , 182 model (exemplar) 183 and eschatological icon (imago); 184 and all humanity, for she too is a daughter of Eve.
      Just as Mary's fiat was spoken in the name of all humanity, so too her Magnificat is a song that includes the rejoicing and praise of all people. Mary is a creature, an individual fragment in whom, after Christ, all is recapitulated and finds expression. What is true of Mary is true of us. We have been renewed in our vocation as fragments meant to form a unity, and in us and in us through us Israel, the churches, humanity and the entire cosmos are united in singing and glorifying the Lord.

A gift for our prayer

64. The Magnificat is a gift of the Spirit. With Mary's canticle the Spirit has come “to the aid of our weakness” (Rom 8:26) and has offered us throngh Mary, “the prophetess, the mother of the great Prophet,” 185 a text that is both an extraordinary model of prayer and an outstanding text for meditation. Let us consider these two aspects and draw from the Blessed Virgin's canticle suggestions and support for our own prayer life.

65. Model of prayer. When the Constitutions propose Mary as “creation's sublime model of prayerfulness,” 186 they refer especially to the Virgin of the Magnificat.
      Mary of Nazareth, a woman overflowing with divine grace (cf. Lk 1:28) and a humble Servant of the Lord (cf. Lk 1 :38.48), uttered the Magnificat with the Spirit in her heart and the Son of God in her womb. This shows us how genuine prayer arises from a heart docile to the Spirit (cf. Jude, 20; Rom 8:15.26-27; Gal 4:6) and is carried out in union with Christ (cf. Jn 14:13-14; 15:7.16; 16:23-24.26; 1 Jn 5: 14).
       She uttered it in response to Elizabeth's reverent greeting: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45). She then transformed the acclaim addressed to her into praise of God, teaching us thereby how prayer ought to be a response in praise to the Word which has been heard, faith that celebrates grace in song.
      She uttered it sustained by faith, generous in charity, strong in the hope that the promises made to Abraham would be fulfilled. She uttered it in fellowship with her people, rejoicing for the coming of the messianic dawn and grateful to the Lord for having looked down on her, the humble servant of God. This shows us how prayer is to be both communion with God and fellowship with our neighbors, both praise of the Most High and service to our brothers and sisters.
      In addition to this, the Magnificat is given to us as a model of prayer in terms of both its contents and its formal aspects. It is, all in one, a canticle of thanksgiving and praise, remembrance of the wonderful deeds performed by the Lord, an expression of realism with regard to the present, and attention directed to the future. It is an example of how, when we turn to God in prayer, we sense God's absolute transcendence: God is the Lord, the Savior, the Omnipotent, the Holy One (cf. Lk 1:46-47.49). This is coupled with a sense of God's astonishing closeness: God turns to the lowly and offers mercy to those who fear God and are mindful of the divine promises (Lk 1:48.54-55). In the Magnificat, the one the theologians call the totally Other is seen as very near to humankind. In the womb of Mary of Nazareth, the unapproachable God of the burning bush (cf. Ex 3:3 5) has be come Emmanuel, God-with-us.

66. Text for our meditation. With solemn profession we commit ourselves to “live ... Iistening to the Word of God” (“in lectio divina,” according to the Latin original) 187 Although every page of Scripture deserves to be meditated, we nonetheless acknowledge the Magnificat, the song of the Servant of the Lord, as a special gift offered for our lectio divina. The Magnificat is the Word of God and is to be received as Mary received it, in faith and thanksgiving. It is to be meditated under the guidance of the Spirit, just as the Blessed Virgin, guided by the same Spirit, treasured in her heart the memory of all the words and events concerning her Son and the salvation of the human race. The Magnificat is to be sung everywhere as an expression of thankful devotion to the Lord and as proclamation of God's mercy, just as the Mother of Jesus sang it in “a city of Judah” (Lk 1:39). It is to be lived with coherence and boldness, trusting like Mary in God's goodness and grace.
      The Magnificat is thus a text that engages the whole person. Heard, it is taken to heart; then, transformed into song, it comes to vocal expression. It both calls the disciples of Christ to active commitment and sheds light on their journey along the way of holiness and justice.

67. The Magnificat poured forth from a pure and faith filled heart, the only heart able to offer up to God praise worthy of divine glory. Thus we understand the insight of St. Ambrose (+ 397) when he expresses the wish: “Let the soul of Mary be in each one to glorify the Lord, let the spirit of Mary be in each one to rejoice in God.” 188 We understand, too, why the Church has made the Magnificat a climactic moment of the liturgy of the hours, in the East at sunrise and in the West at vespers. The liturgical use of the Magnificat is part of that process of identification between the Church and Mary that was very much felt in the patristic era. 189 Mary and the Church are one person, one voice; the Church at prayer (Ecclesia orans) is Mary the prayerful Virgin (Virgo orans).
       In recent decades, other forms of prayer already known in ancient times have developed in the Servite Family alongside the traditional form of prayer to Mary, namely, prayer like Mary and prayer with Mary. Praying like Mary recalls her as example; praying with Mary alludes to her prayerful presence in the community of her Son's disciples. 190
      It is a matter of a legitimate development and there is abundant evidence of it in the Order's books of prayer. Contemporary Servites' growing esteem for Mary's canticle has contributed to this development. They have wanted to glorify God and proclaim God's mercy with her and like her. Therefore they pray:

Virgin of hope
and bright promise of a new age,
join us as we sing your song of praise
and walk the pilgrim journey ..
May we too glorify the mercy of God
and sing his praise
for the gift of life and salvation. 191

      Allow us friars taking part in the General Chapter to formulate the wish that the Servite Family add its own historical reading to the “Magnificat of the ages” as it cherishes, meditates, sings and lives the Blessed Virgin's canticle.

Section two
The charism of service in the light of the Magnificat

68. In this section we propose to reflect attentively on our charism in the light of the Magnificat. We do not at all intend to make an exegetical study of Mary's canticle. Renowned scholars have already produced excellent commentaries on it. In fact, the Church never dedicated so much attention to the Magnificat as it has recently; reference to it is found in documents of the magisterium, in exegetical and theological works, and in writings concerned with pastoral service, the liturgy and popular devotion.
      As we listen to the exegetes and keep in mind the various situations in which the Servite Family lives, we propose to offer some suggestions for making our service, carried out in the light of the Magnificat, pleasing to God, a channel of grace and a means of fellowship.

A difficult service:
to speak of God to the men and women of our time

69. The Magnificat is a canticle of praise to God. It is also a discourse on God: 192 on who God is (v. 46-50) and what God has done (v. 51-55). It is a discourse on God formulated by Mary with the ancient words of her own people's religious tradition, yet it concerns a new reality contemplated with new eyes. The Magnificatis truly the “new song” (cf. Pss 40:4; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1) of the new messianic era.
      The new reality is the Son's Incarnation in the virginal womb of Mary. The Magnificat is closely related to the Annunciation. It is in fact a response to Elizabeth's acclaim (cf. Lk 1:45) of the faith with which the Blessed Virgin heeded the angel's message. The angel had said: “Bebold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:3133). The new and astounding fact is that God, the Most High, chose her, a most lowly creature, to be the Mother of the Son, the awaited Messiah. The Magnificat is the song that pours forth from the experience of divine motherhood.
      The new eyes are those of Mary, the eyes of the humble Servant on whom the Lord's gaze rested (cf. Lk 1:48; Is 66:2). They are pure eyes that see God (cf. Mt 5:8), look up to God - the Holy One, the Omnipotent, the Savior, the Merciful One - then look down with realism on the oppression, hunger and infamy of the people.
      The Magnificat, a discourse on God, is also a new revelation of God, for from the Blessed Virgin's canticle “the Church derives the truth about the God of the Covenant: the God who is Almighty and does 'great things' for man.”193

70. Necessity and difficulty of speaking of God. Like all institutes of consecrated life, we, too, are asked to speak of God to the men and women of our time. It is a challenging task, the accomplishment of which is beset by many obstacles.
       It is necessary to speak of God to the postmodern person. Although the features of a postmodern mentality are not easily delineated, it can be said that the postmodern person lives with a cultural horizon dominated by pragmatism, apparently closed to the values of tradition and diffident about any kind of utopian idealism. The present, however conditional and transient, is enough; and any talk about transcendence is listened to with skepticism. Relationships with others are valued principally in terms of personal interest and advantage, even if there is also a real sense of solidarity with others in one's immediate surroundings. There is also active concern for bettering the world in which one lives. The postmodern person's world is one in which, under the ashes of ideals which appear to have irretrievably collapsed, there smolder sparks of generosity and a healthy dissatisfaction that can lead to the opening of new horizons.
      To this person God must be spoken of: the God of the Covenant, the ineffable God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of whom Mary sings in the Magnificat, the God who is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 1:2). To this person it must be said that God is a thou, who stands lovingly alongside each person and desires each person's highest good.
       We must speak of God to the postmodern person in an understandable language. This means, first of all, that we must exclude every form of judgmental condemnation (cf. 1 Cor 5:12-13; Jn 3:17) and avoid every kind of ostracism. Our love for the person must be seasoned with wisdom, grace and kindness (cf. Col 4:5-6), and our attitude must be humble and patient (cf. Mt 11:29), “so that the boldness of speech (cf. Acts 4:31) not degenerate into arrogance.” 194 Secondly, we must join to our words deeds of friendship. Relying on the apologetic power of love (cf. Jn 13:35; 17:21) and on the apostolic witness of our lives, we can invite the person to share our experience of faith (cf. Jn 1:39) and show the person our “good works,” which will lead to the discovery of the glory of the Father in heaven (cf. Mt 5:16).

71. But today we find ourselves in the presence of other mentalities, too. The forecasts of an irreversible secularization of society have turned out to be mistaken. Everywhere in fact we see signs of an explicit spiritual quest and of a growing return to the sacred. Unfortunately, it is often a deviant religiosity we encounter and people speak of sects, new religious movements, and cults. It is a vast phenomenon. “All the local churches note the emergence of all kinds of new religious or pseudoreligious movements, groups or experiences.” 195
      The sects seem to offer several things: a sense of belonging to those who have strayed and feel uprooted from family or earlier institutional bonds; simple and ready answers to those who are beset by the fundamental questions of human existence or find themselves in a complicated life situation; a satisfying religious experience, which involves the whole person, body and soul, is strongly emotional, and includes the possibility of spontaneous and creative self-expression; the opportunity to belong to an elitist group, with prospects of success and self-development; easy access to the transcendent, to the gifts of the Spirit (for example, the gift of tongues or the gift of healing), mystical manifestations and a profound knowledge of Scripture; a concrete mission for a better world, with the possibility of sharing in decisions and achievements; and a sure guide in the person of the charismatic leader, master or guru.
      One can say that adherence to sects, movements or cults constitutes a search for belonging in a situation where “numerous forms of alienation (from self, others, one's own roots, one's culture, etc.) , 196 have taken hold. Hence there is often an emptiness created by family, school, parish and civil institutions. Those who have lost all direction for their lives are really interested in finding their way again.
      Such pastoral situations are well known to many Servite men and women who carry out their ministry in cities where the phenomenon of the sects is growing. They deal with these situations respecting the persons involved and following the directives proposed by the local church.
      To the men and women of the sects, too, it is necessary to speak of God: the God of the Virgin Mary and the Lord Jesus, the God who does not propose an easy way nor assures immediate communication with the transcendent, nor promises personal worldly success. And when we speak of God we have to point out how Mary of Nazareth adhered to God's plan: in faith alone, without any vision and without any beguiling words promising success; and in the most absolute freedom and not as the consequence of any kind of imposition. In fact, what bothers most an upright Christian conscience about the sects is the social and psychological manipulation that the new members suffer: “The sects impose their special ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, contrary to the Church's approach which implies a convinced and responsible assent.” 197

72. To speak of God, theology, is always strenuous and difficult. At times it seems to be a contradiction in terms because it aims at saying what is inexpressible, at speaking of what is ineffable.
      As we said above, in the context of a canticle of praise, Mary of Nazareth made a discourse on God. We now want to draw a few points from it for all Servants of Mary, so that our way of speaking of God will be in harmony with Our Lady's.
      The Blessed Virgin's discourse on God starts from faith. It is the faith of her people in the God of the Fathers and in God's self-revelation in words and deeds in the history of Israel. It is also her own heroic faith, which, like Abraham's,198 involved her whole existence and meant the unconditional acceptance of God's salvific plan. Secondly, the Blessed Virgin speaks at the Spirit's urging. The divine Spirit that had already descended on her so that she became the virgin mother of the Messiah (cf. Lk 1:35), now moves her heart to rejoicing in God and and places on her lips words of revelation about God. The Spirit that “has spoken through the prophets,” 199 the Spirit that, according to Paul, “scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10), now speaks through Israel's last prophetess. Thirdly, Mary speaks of God fully aware of her own lowliness (cf. Lk 1:38.48). Her primacy was that of being the most humble. 200 In this way she met the first and indispensable condition for speaking of God correctly, namely, awareness of the infinite distance there is between God and human beings. It is a distance that only grace and revelation can traverse, bringing God close to human beings and disclosing to the creature the mystery of the Creator. The fourth characteristic of Mary's discourse is its concreteness. In the Magnificat, discourse on God becomes right away discourse on human existence. After praising God, Mary turns her attention to human beings: to herself (cf. Lk 1:48-49), to the oppressed, to those who count least in society's eyes (cf. Lk 1:50-53), and to her own people, Israel (cf. Lk 1:54-55). This reminds us that every genuine theology becomes necessarily anthropology, concern for human beings, for all men and women, who are the work of God's hands and God's highest likeness (cf. Gn 1:27; 2:7.18-22).
      We draw these few points from the Blessed Virgin's canticle in the hope that our speaking of God, a service that is both difficult and often asked of us, will arise from our bond to the Word and our attention to the Spirit's voice; in the hope, too, that we always speak of God with profound veneration and aware of the insuperable limits involved.

The service of praise

73. “Praise the Lord” is the command that reverberates constantly in the psalms and hymns of the Old Testament. It is addressed principally to the “servants of the Lord” (Ps 113: 1), to those who fear the Lord (cf. Ps 22:24) and to the holy city Jerusalem (cf. Ps 147: 12) . But it is also addressed to “all you peoples” (Ps l l 7: 1; Ps 148: 11), to the angelic hosts (cf. Ps 144:2) and to the entire cosmos. “Praise and exalt [the Lord] above all forever” is the unceasing refrain repeated from the fiery furnace by Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael. They call out to all creatures to praise God - stars of the heavens, rain and frost, ice and snow, thunder and clouds ... (cf. Dn3:52-90). Mary of Nazareth is one of those who praise the Lord. Hers is the purest and most sublime voice. The Magnificat marks the summit of the Old Testament hymnody that began with the canticle of Moses (cf. Ex 15:1-8) and it inaugurates the hymnody of the New Testament, which culminates in the eschatological song of the Lamb (cf. Rv 15:3-4). Between the Exodus, Passover in figura, and the Eschaton, the final Passover at the end of time, there is the era of the Church. The Magnificat, with its own paschal cadence, belongs to the era of the Church and its sacramental celebration of the mystery of the Lord's Passover.

74. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” (Lk 1 :46), that is, my soul exalts, glorifies, praises and blesses the Lord. Mary proclaims the greatness of God who has done “great things” in her (Lk 1:49). In her song she discloses what happened in the silence of the Annunciation, what Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1 41), understood. The time is fulfilled, the messianic era has begun, the Savior has come. And she, Mary of Nazareth, is his Mother.
      The Magnificat is a song of praise and thanksgiving for the “great things” that the Lord, “remembering his mercy” (Lk 1 :54), has done in favor of the servant Mary (cf. Lk 1 :48), and the servant Israel (cf. Lk 1 :54). The Magnificat, seen in this light, is a history of salvation in song.
      “My soul ... my spirit” (Lk 1 :46-47): the whole of Mary's being, her whole person as thoughtful and ardent woman, 201 rejoices in God the Savior (cf. Lk 1:47). It has been said that “the Magnificat mirrors the soul of Mary.” 202 But others have noted that the Magnificat seems to reflect also the bodily dimension of Mary's existence. When she sings of her joy she uses an expression that indicates the participation of the body in the spiritual impulse of joy. Perhaps the reference is to dancing as in the cases of Miriam (cf. Ex 15:20-21) and King David (cf. 2 Sm 6: 14). 203

75. Mary exults and rejoices in God her Savior. The Magnificat, “the exultant hymn of all the humble,” 204 is the realization of the ancient prophetic summons to rejoice (cf. Zep 2:14-15; 3:14-18; Zec 9:9-10; Jl 2:21-27) and the culminating response to the angel's bidding: “Rejoice, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).
      According to Old Testament spirituality, joy accompanies praise of the Lord and the celebration of the Lord's feasts. It crowns the observance of the Law (cf. Ps 19:9; 119:14.16.24.35.77.92.143.174) and is insight and foretaste of the coming fullness of messianic goods. It was directly in reference to the coming Messiah that Jesus said: “Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad ” (Jn 8:56). With sharp insight St. Irenaeus (+ 200 ca.) caught the connection between the jubilation of Abraham and the joy of Mary: “She says: 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit has delighted in God my Savior.' The exultation of Abraham came down on his descendants who kept watch, saw Christ and believed in him. The exultation turned back and ascended from the children to Abraham who desired to see the day of the coming of Christ.” 205
      For an accurate understanding of the joy of the Magnificat two elements are to be noted: where the joy becomes manifest and the situation in which it is perceived. The place is “in God the Savior” (cf. Lk 1 :47), the unique and holy place from which joy springs peacefully and in which it reaches its fullness. The situation is Mary's humble condition (tapéinosis) (cf. Lk 1 :48), the only condition, in a biblical view, in which pure delight is possible.
      Following the liturgy, which applies to Mary the prediction in Is 61:10, 206 and synthesizing centuries of Christian reflection, Paul VI wrote: “What wonderful reverberation the prophetic words addressed to the new Jerusalem acquire in her individual existence as Virgin of Israel: 'I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul, for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels' (Is 61:10). Close to Christ, she recapitulates in herself all joys: she lives the perfect joy promised to the Church: 'Mother full of holy joy.'” 207

76. We have reflected on the Magnificat as a text that teaches us how to speak of God. 208 Now we propose to draw from it suggestions on how to praise God.
      It is necessary above all to praise God in the Spirit, opening one's heart to the Spirit's mysterious voice and letting oneself be enveloped by the Spirit's unfathomable presence. In this way we follow the example of Mary of Nazareth, whose song was an expression of her singular experience of the Spirit. The Spirit moved Zechariah to sing the Benedictus (cf. Lk 1:67), Elizabeth to bless the Mother and the fruit of her womb (cf. Lk 1 :41), Simeon to chant the Nunc dimittis (cf. Lk 2:26), and, especially, Jesus to rejoice for the wise and astonishing plan of God: “He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said: 'I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”' (Lk 10:21).
      Without the Spirit, source of all psalmody, there is no Magnificat, no prayer (cf. Rom 8:26) “Abba, Father!” (Rom 8:15; cf. Gal 4:6), no sublime discovery of Jesus' identity (cf. 1 Cor 12:3). Luther (+ 1546) shows very well how the Magnificat gives expression to Mary's spiritual experience.

In order properly to understand this sacred hymn of praise, we need to bear in mind that the Blessed Virgin Mary is speaking on the basis of her own experience, in which she was enlightened and instructed by the Holy Spirit. No one can correctly understand God or His Word unless he has received such understanding immediately from the Holy Spirit. But no one can receive it from the Holy Spirit without experiencing, proving, and feeling it. In such experience the Holy Spirit instructs us as in His own school, outside of which nothing is learned but empty words and prattle. When the holy virgin experienced what great things God was working in her despite her insignificance, lowliness, poverty, and inferiority, the Holy Spirit taught her this deep insight and wisdom, that God is the kind of Lord who does nothing but exalt those of low degree and put down the mighty from their thrones, in short, break what is whole and make whole what is broken. 209

      Praise of God, furthermore, must be done with the joy that is a gift of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22). The Christian liturgy has been marked indelibly by the Magnificat's jubilance and by Easter's alleluia song. Joy is indeed the liturgy's dominant if not its only note. It is suffused with calm, composed joy, permeated with the “sober inebriation of the Spirit,” and open to song, poetry, music and art.
      The Magnificat also teaches us to bring together, without any artificial opposition or superficial juxtaposition, praise of God and life commitment. The Blessed Virgin sang the Magnificat just after giving herself over totally to God's salvific plan. She did God's will (life) and proclaimed God's greatness (praise). The ecclesial tradition adds that in a certain sense Mary “made great” the Lord in herself, the Lord who “cannot receive increase or diminution” and that every person must “make great” the Lord in his or her center. Origen (+ 254) explains that just as Christ is Image of the Father, so our soul is an image of Christ. Through our thoughts, words and deeds the soul grows and thus becomes a “greater” image of Christ and in this way the Lord is magnified or made great in our soul. 210 Martin Luther makes a similar observation: “... Mary says, 'My soul magnifies Him - that is, my whole life and being, mind and strength, esteem Him highly.” 211
       The entire Church, including us Servites, learns from the Magnificat. We want to praise God as Mary did. We want to sing docile to the Spirit's guidance and brimming with joy. We want to sing of God's mercy and the “great works” God has done in every age and for all people - Israel, Mary, the Church, ourselves, every person. We want to sing, then perform in our lives what we proclaim in our song. We want to be singers in whom memory of the past is joined to expectation of “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pt 3:13).

At the service of the new evangelization

77. Paul VI spoke of Mary as “the star of ever renewed evangelization” 212 and for some time now John Paul II has been proposing to the Church the task of a “new evangelization.” He goes so far as to say, “As the third millenium of the redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see its first signs.” 213 We are in the presence of a “new springtime for the Gospel” 214 that bears on the new issues arising in this time of epochal change. Among these issues are the service of life in all its forms, the protection of the environment, the move toward greater unity among all peoples while respecting cultural diversity, the achievement of lasting peace based on truth and justice, the development of interreligious dialogue, and the defense of women's dignity. There have been many responses within the Church to the Holy Father's call for a new evangelization. We would like to recall two of them that are especially striking: the IV Conference of the Latin American Episcopate that was held in Santo Domingo in 1992 and had as its theme New Evangelization, Human Promotion and Christian Culture; 215 and, second, the special synod of African bishops held in Rome in 1994 with the theme The Church in Africa and irs Evangelizing Mission Towards the Year 2000. 216
      Our Order has given a first and simple but resolute response to John Paul II's call with the letter of the Prior General, Fr. Hubert M. Moons, Sent to Serve 217 and with the General Chapter we are now celebrating and whose theme is The Servants of Mary for the New Evangelization at the Approach of the Year 2000.

78. A question has come up among us that has also been raised by theologians: to what extent is it legitimate to speak of a “new” evangelization? Let us try to answer this question starting with a premise.
      The proclamation of the Gospel is not subject to substantial change. Its object is Christ who “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8) and for this reason Vatican II states that “no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 218 At the same time, though, evangelization has to be constantly renewed because of new events in history and new circumstances in individuals' lives. When the immutable word of the Gospel is brought to bear on the signs of the times it discloses ever new meanings that the Spirit suggests to the churches of every time and place (cf. Acts 2: 17.11.17.29; 3:6.13.22). The daily encounter of “bible and newspaper” gives rise to an endless rereading of the abiding Word. The risen Lord reveals its hidden implications through his Spirit. What Jesus said to his disciples, the Spirit now says to the churches (cf. Jn 14:26;16:12-15). The Church, enriched with the gift of discernment, looks with joy and wonder at the signs of the new springtime that Easter has disclosed in the world. And it is the risen Lord who calls us and teaches us to see: “Behold, I make all things new!” (Rv 21:5).
      Mary's canticle, song of the new Covenant, has its place in the new evangelization that is being called for. It offers two saggestions for revitalizing our proclamation of the Gospel in the unsettling but fascinating times we are living in. We see, first, how the Blessed Virgin shares with her own people, eagerly and in continuity with Israel's faith, the stupendous event of the Incarnation that was foreshadowed in the promise of Emmanuel (cf. Is 7:14; Mt 1:23). It was a matter of sharing the Good News without delay and of wisely knowing how to bring together things old and new (cf. Mt 13:52).

Sharing without delay

79. As she listens to the message of the angel Gabriel who speaks to her in the name of God, Mary becomes the first daughter of Israel to be evangelized in the new Covenant that has its ineffable beginning in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word (cf. Lk 1:26-38). Setting out then “in haste” toward the hill country and Zechariah's house, Mary became the new Covenant's first evangelizer. She proclaims the “great things” God has done in her (cf. Lk 1:39-56). 219
      In the biblical tradition, the “great things” of God (magnalia Dei) are the wondrous gifts God continuously bestows on the people and the gracious deeds the Lord performs in the history of the Covenant. These wonders of God's love are generally directed to the whole people of Israel, as the psalmist attests: “The Lord has done great things for them” (Ps 126:2). But it often happens that they are performed for the benefit of an individual person, as in the case of Abraham (cf. Gn 12:2), Joseph (cf. Gn 50:20), Moses (cf. Dt 34:10-12, in the Septuagint; Sir 45:2), David (cf.2 Sm 7:21-22.25-26; 22:51), Solomon (cf.1 Kgs 1:37.47), Jeremiah (cf. Jer 33:33), Esther (cf. Est 10:3s), Judith (cf. Jdt 15:8.10), and the Baptist's mother, Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1 :58). Even in these cases, though, there is a communitarian or ecclesial dimension to the “great things.” Through the favored individuals the Lord intends to enrich all the people. Since the “great things” of God are ordered to the good of the entire Covenant community, they are therefore to be proclaimed to all. All must be told of the gifts the Lord has deigned to bestow on that family which is the Church of the first and second Covenants.
      This is what Mary does. The “great things” the Almighty has worked in her,daughter of Sion (cf. Lk 1:28) and poor servant of the Lord (cf. Lk 1 :48), redound to the benefit of Israel, servant of the Lord (cf. Lk 1:54), and all the poor who put their trust in the Lord (cf. Lk 1:50.52). 220 It is for this reason that in the Magnificat Mary “turns naturally from herself to her people.” 221 She is aware that the “great hings” of the mystery of the Incarnation are the supreme gift God has bestowed on Israel and the fullest expression of God's visitation to the people. For this reason Mary is filled with the desire to share this gift. She goes in haste to proclaim the salvific event to the house of the priest Zechariah (cf. Lk 1:5.40). That priestly house represents another one, the whole people of Israel as a “kingdom of priests” for the Lord in virtue of the Covenant ratified at Mount Sinai (cf. Ex 19:6). Through Mary the house of Israel is filled with the presence of God incarnate who has come to dwell among us (cf. Jn 1:14).

80. “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Mt 10:8). This saying, taken together with the words of the Apostle: “woe to me if I did not preach [the gospel]” (1 Cor 9:16), if accepted and lived out faithfully, will enable us to experience “new fervor” for evangelization and a real desire “to touch others with the joy of the faith.”222
       Encouraging for us Servite men and women should be the fact that since the 1970s we have taken on new evangelization tasks in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Carribean. And after the fall of the Berlin wall (1989) the Order quickly returned to several countries of eastern Europe (Albania, Hungary and Bohemia) where our houses flourished before the communist era. In an Order as small as ours, such a missionary and evangelizing effort could be considered imprudent, but as the Prior General, Fr. Hubert M. Moons, observes with confident generosity: “Despite a general crisis of numbers and aging, we are serenely putting our trust in the Word of the Lord, that by giving we shall receive, and by losing ourselves we shall implant the seeds of a new and unexpected Springtime (cf. Lk 6:38; 9:24; Mk 8:35; Mt 10:39).” 223
      Our specific vocation in the Church calls for a further comment. Among the gifts with which we Servites have been enriched there is the Lord's Mother herself. This gift, though, carries with it the commitment to share her with all. The churches of Christ, including those outside Catholicism, should see in our Order a small sister church with the charism of spreading the good news of Mary. Our Constitutions state: ” The friars should strive to communicate the significance of the living reality of the Mother of Christ to the people of their time ... For this purpose, they should deepen their knowledge of the Virgin, especially through study, in order to present her to God's people in their lives, words and publications '' 224
      With this responsibility in mind we encourage all Servite men and women to support and maintain the centers that have been established in the various provinces and congregations for the spread of Marian doctrine and the promotion of sound Marian piety. And it is with the same sense of responsibility arising from our Marian charism that we should consider all steps for strengthening the Pontifical Theological Faculty <<Marianum>>, entrusted to us by eccleslal mandate.

The new in continuity with the old

81. The message which Mary brought to Zechariah's house had to do with the most sublime of all the “new things” performed by God in salvation history, the Incarnation of the Son of the Most High, “born of woman” (Gal 4:4)
      It is to be noted, however, that this uniquely new reality does not mean a departure from the plan which God was progressively actualizing in previous generations. Mary, in fact, hails the event as the fulfillment of the promises made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever (Lk 1:55). To interpret the event, Mary draws on Israel's traditions in such a way that the Magnificat comes across as a prayerful synthesis of the major themes of the Old Testament reworked in function of the New. Luke (1:39) notes, for example, that the Virgin sings her canticle “in the hill country.” Numerous commentators, both ancient and modern, see in this detail an echo of Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings.” The Jewish tradition saw in the “hills” a figure of the Fathers or Prophets of Israel. 225
      In this way Mary sheds light on the new reality of the Incarnation by connecting it to the ancient events that prepared it. This example shows us, furthermore, how the Virgin went about reflecting on all the things she treasured in her heart (Lk 2:19).

82. In Scripture, tradition is understood as looking to the past in order to understand and live in the present. It is this relationship between memory of the past and immersion in the present that should inspire our renewed service to the Word of the Lord.
      The person and teaching of Jesus - “the one who is and who was and who is to come” (Rv 1:8) - are an incomparable expression of the dialectic between past and present. In Jesus, past, present and future converge. When we open ourselves to him who is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rv 22:13), we come into communion with all creatures and are contemporary to every event and every person. He is the creator and redeemer, the brother and friend of all and everybody.
      Love of the Lord's Word enkindles lively interest in the tradition of the Church, which interprets the Word through the careful attention of the magisterium, the work of exegetes and, especially, the witness of the saints. And in us Servites, love of Scripture sparks love for the tradition of our Order. Knowledge of our history, in turn, with its prominent Marian character and rich spiritual heritage, becomes an authentic factor in the renewal of our evangelizing work. The seed of the Word planted in the ground of our tradition will then grow into a tree with large branches in whose shade the birds of the sky will take refuge (cf. Mk 4 32; Mt 13:32; Lk 13:19).

Icon of Evangelization

83. We began our reflection “at the service of the new evangelization” by quoting Paul VI's description of Mary as the star of ever renewed evangelization. 226 The metaphor points to the Blessed Virgin as luminous guide in the often arduous and obscure journey of evangelization. But the Virgin of the Magnificat is also an “icon of evangelization,” a model to inspire our evangelizing activity.
      John Paul II characterizes the new evangelization as “new in its fervor, its methods and its expressions.”227 This leads us to take the Virgin of the Magnificat as icon of our evangelization commitment. Her fervor is the fruit of her faith and humility and expresses her gratitude and enthusiasm. Her method, we have seen, has several elements: generosity in opening herself to the gift of God, eagerness to share the gift, attention to both the tradition and the present, confidence in the future, love for her own people and communion with all peoples, a spirit of service and commitment to the most needy - the lowly and the hungry (cf. Lk 1:52-53). The form of expression she chose was a joyful song of praise that was also a deed of gentle boldness and prophetic utterance.
      In the house of Nazareth, threshold to the first millenium, it is Mary who carries in her womb the Author of the Gospel (cf. Lk 1:28.56). In the house of the priest Zechariah, it is again Mary who is the minister of grace and messenger of joyful tidings. And in the house of Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:14), we see her again, as the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, set out to proclaim to the whole world the saving Word. Missionaries, both men and women, look to these three houses for inspiration and strength in their work of proclaiming the Gospel to all peoples. Servite men and women, too, look to them. The fiat of the Virgin (cf. Lk 1:38) inspires the fiat they have to pronounce daily and joyfully in dealing with the situations and tasks involved in their evangelizing activity. Mary's “haste” (Lk 1:39) in bringing Christ to John stimulates their own eagerness to spread the Good News. Her praying assiduously and in one accord with the others urges them to pray before proclaiming and to carry out their work in full communion with the Church.

At the service of the cause of women

84. The General Chapter does not intend to speak magisterially about the promotion of women, for such is not its task, nor is it competent to do so. Rather it has simply listened to the teaching of the Church and to women themselves. Women decry in many ways the situation of submission and oppression in which many women live; they give voice to their aspirations and manifest a strong desire for dialogue and equality in society and the Church. What we say here has the sole objective of encouraging Servite men and women to keep the promotion of women in mind in their daily lives and in their pastoral work. We do not want our friars and sisters to be insensitive to this problem, unresponsive to the pronouncements of Church authorities, or conditioned by centuries - old prejudices. It would be truly inappropriate for the Servite Family to show indifference toward what John Paul II judges to be “a history which has conditioned us to a remarkable extent. In every time and place, this conditioning has been an obstacle to the progress of women. Women's dignity has often been unacknowledged and their prerogatives misrepresented; they have often been relegated to the margins of society and even reduced to servitude.” 228 The centuries -old oppression of women is a matter of “universal signifi cance” and its solution is “a central concern of any contemporary mission which seeks to integrate faith and justice.” 229
      To begin our reflection on the promotion of women, let us turn again to the Virgin of the Magnificat. In Mary, God has “promoted” a woman by involving her profoundly in a unique event of grace and salvation.

The Visitation

85. In the story of the Visitation, men - scribes, priests, soldiers, civil officials - have been left out. When the fullness of time comes (cf. Gal 4:4; Eph 1: 10), the protagonists are two women: Elizabeth who is of the tribe of Aaron and the wife of the priest Zechariah (cf. Lk 1 :5), and Mary, of unknown tribe and the promised spouse of Joseph of the house of David (cf. Lk 1:27; Mt 1:18.20). Both are pregnant, Elizabeth by an “act of grace” from the Lord (cf. Lk 1:13.24-25) and Mary through the working of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:34-35). Elizabeth, sterile and aged, carries in her womb the Precursor; Mary bears in her virginal womb the Messiah and Savior.
      Elizabeth's is the voice of blessing. Filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:41), she blesses Mary and the fruit of her womb (cf. Lk 1:41). She represents the Israel that is faithful to God and which discovers how the Old Testament, “time of promises,” comes to its conclusion through God's decisive intervention in sending the Awaited One of the nations. Elizabeth seems to take the place of Uzziah and the high priest Joakim, who had blessed Judith for the liberation of Bethulia (cf. Jdt 13:18; 15:8-10). Zechariah's wife blesses Mary for having become the mother of Israel's definitive Liberator: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42). The blessing then changes into a proclamation of beatitude: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45). This expresses what will be Jesus' teaching on the beatitude of faith: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:29; cf. 4:48). It is thus a woman who utters the first blessing and pronounces the first beatitude of the New Testament.
      Mary's is the voice of prophecy. She speaks out of the depths of her experience of God - a word heard, a gaze come to rest on her, a life mysteriously begun in her womb. Like every prophet, Mary speaks of God's works, recalls God's saving deeds, remembers the promises made to the Fathers, scrutinizes the present and looks ahead to the future. It is thus a woman who speaks the first prophetic utterance of the new Covenant.
      In its extraordinary richness the Visitation account is open to numerous readings. Here we have proposed one that highlights two women's trust in God. They were told the secret of the Word's incarnation and entrusted with caring for life. It is of these women that the first act of service in the cause of messianic salvation was asked.
      The Lord's attention to Elizabeth and Mary prompts us Servites to adopt an attitude of trust and respect toward women and actively to encourage their promotion. The Lord's attention to them was also an expression of the Lord s concern and care for the oppressed, for such was the condition of women in Mary's time. They were given little consideration and were subjected to many forms of discrimination and injustice.

Jesus and women

86. Many excellent studies on Jesus and women, women in the gospels, and other related topics have made clear that in his words, attitudes and choices Jesus appears as a transgressor in relationship to the Jewish mentality of his day, which marginalized women, kept them out of public life and did not give them access to education. By his deeds Jesus breaks through ancient forms of bondage, transforms bans and prohibitions into opportunities for dialogue and friendship, and affirms the equality of men and women with regard to disciple ship and the proclamation of the new messianic Kingdom. John Paul II reminds us that the Church's message regarding women's liberation “goes back to the attitude of Jesus Christ himself.” 230 The Holy Father adds that “in the eyes of his contemporaries Christ became a promoter of women's true dignity and of the vocation corresponding to this dignity.” 231 It would thus be irresponsible of us as disciples of the Lord not to follow the teaching and example of the Master in a matter of such importance for all humanity.

87. Connecting the two themes, the promotion of women and the new evangelization, we can consider several other women present in the gospels besides Mary and Elizabeth who played an important role in the proclamation of the Good News.
      The prophetess Anna personifies the devotion of the “Lord's poor ones”: “She never left the temple but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer” (Lk 2:37). When Mary came to offer her Son to the Lord (cf. Lk 2:22), Anna “spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:38). Anna is thus a figure or image of how our apostolic commitment flows from assiduous prayer and is directed to the proclamation of Christ the Savior.
      The Samaritan woman receives personally from Jesus the revelation of the Messiah and the good news that “the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth” an 4:23). When she discovers the source of living water she leaves her water jar (cf. 4:28) and, the first woman apostle, runs to announce in the land of Samaria the coming of the Kingdom (cf. 4:39). She sows the seed of the Word where the apostles will later gather abundant harvests (cf. Acts 8:1 - 17).
      Mary of Bethany gives no heed to social conventions and seats herselt at the Master's feet (cf. Lk 10:39). She claims for herself what was reserved to men, namely, a place as a disciple. She anoints Jesus' feet with a richly perfumed oil (Jn 12:3), a gesture that Jesus himself interprets as a prophecy of his redemptive death (cf. Jn 12:7). In this way Mary is a figure or image of the disciple and spouse and as such a constant reminder to the Church to listen to the Master always and to love the Beloved without reserve.
      Martha of Bethany's profession of faith in Christ (cf. Jn 11:27) is not less than Peter's (cf. Jn 6:68-69). She calls her sister Mary to the Master's side (cf. Jn 11:28), just as Andrew led his brother Peter to Jesus (cf. Jn 1:40-42). Martha is the woman of the house of hospitality, from which goes forth the King to make his messianic entry into Jerusalem (Jn 12:12-15), the Prophet to proclaim every day in the temple the word of life (cf. Mk 11:11; Lk 19:47), the Priest to offer himself in sacrifice on the cross in “expiation for our sins” (1 Jn 2:2).
       Mary of Magdala is the first in the group of devoted women who accompany Jesus from place to place on his evangelizing mission. She is the woman who “on the first day of the week” and “early in the morning” (Jn 20: 1) - dawn of the first day of the new creation - ran crying to Simon Peter and the beloved disciple to tell them grieving, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb” (Jn 20:2). And it is Mary who, after meeting the risen Lord, goes again at his command (cf. Jn 20:17), “apostle of the Apostles,” 232 to tell the “brothers” the news that stamps the truthfulness of the Gospel: “I have seen the Lord” an 20:18; cf. Mk 16:9-11.14).
      All these deeds of women recorded in the gospels bear hidden and rich symbolic meanings that the Church under the guidance of the Spirit (cf. Jn 16: 13) gradually uncovers through unceasing meditation of the Scriptures. They are deeds which in a wonderful variety of ways show women's service to the Word: listening and treasuring, meditation and correlation, memory and prophecy, s lvific announcement and abiding support in the time of sowing the seed throughout the world. From all this John Paul II drew the conviction that Christ entrusted “the divine truths” “to women as well as to men.” 233 And we hope the new evangelization will be the time when women, after having been deprived of it for centuries because of cultural conditionings, will be allowed again their own word in many church endeavors.

88. The women's issue has come up often in church discussions during the past forty years. At its conclusion (8 December 1965) the Council sent a Message to women in which it stated that “the Church is proud ... of having exalted and liberated women, of having brought to light in the course of history their basic equality with men.” The Council entrusted women, believers and unbelievers alike, with the task of reconciling men with life, of restraining “the hand of men who in a moment of insanity would try to destroy human civilization,” and of “saving the world's peace.” 234
      The conciliar claim regarding the Church's positive role in the liberation and promotion of women was surely justified. The conciliar message overall, however, presented an image of women suggested more by cultural stereotypes than by women's natural distinctiveness. And no mention was made of those gray areas either due to, or not opposed by, church intervention. John Paul II admitted these acts of negligence and lethargy and asked forgiveness of women themselves.
       Since the end of the Council, many church documents have come out from various sources: the Holy See, bishops conferences at the regional, national and continental leve1s, individual bishops, and church groups of various kinds - lay associations, basic communities, institutes of consecrated life. It could be said that there is no pastoral program of a certain length that does not dedicate a chapter to the promotion of women. Of all these documents we can mention the following of Paul VI: several texts during the Interr~ational Year of Women (1974) and several passages in the apostolic exhortation Marialis cultus (2 February 1974);and of John Paul II: the apostolic letter Mulieris dignitatem (15 August 1988) “on the dignity and vocation of women on the occasion of the Marian year”; important passages of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici (30 December 1988), the message Woman: peace educator (1 January 1995) for the twenty-eighth Day for World Peace, and the Letter to Women (29 June 1995) prepared at the time of the fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995)
      All these documents together have contributed to making different segments of the Church aware of the importance and urgency of the women's issue. They have unearthed deep-rooted convictions and customs that seemed unshakable and have made better known the centuries - old conditionings that have weighed on women, limiting their freedom, holding back their development and offending their dignity. They have also helped to clarify women's legitimate demands and their rights in the areas of family life, education, work, and social and political life. They sharply denounce the forms of violence that find support in ideologies of which women are still victims in many countries. Scriptural texts that were open to misogynous interpretations are presented correctly, and on the basis of the numerous studies done on women in the bible and Jesus and women offensive clichés are put to rest. The relativity of certain patristic texts and some liturgical practices are also recognized. Lastly, light is shed on the subordinate place occupied by women religious in comparison with that of men religious.
      The Church has indeed come a long way in the promotion of women in the last forty years, but the road ahead is still longer because of the centuries - old lag.

Suggestions

89. It is our intention as Servite men and women to be of service in the promotion of women. With this in mind, we want to offer a few suggestions based on experience and, once more, on the Virgin of the Magnificat.

90. Attention to the women's issue. The first act of service we can offer for the promotion of women is to be open and attentive to the world of women, their problems and their aspirations in the Church. How much have we done thus far in this regard? Can we say, for example, that we have taken seriously John Paul II's appeal that “everyone ... make every effort to ensure that women regain full respect for their dignity and role”? 235 The Holy Father himself adds with concern: “As we look to Christ at the end of this Second Millennium, it is natural to ask ourselves: how much of his message with regard to the liberation of women has been heard and acted upon?” 236 And are we sure, just to stay in the context of the Servite Family, that our Servite sisters are sufficiently appreciated for the equal contribution they could make in many areas of pastoral activity to the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Kingdom? 237
       Involvement in the women's issue presupposes the abandonment both of a culpable do-nothing attitude that always involves the risk of complicity in injustice and of a brash radicalism that only irritates the situation. What is required instead is the sincere willingness to change one's mentality and to abandon age-old prejudices. It is also necessary to let go of the disdainful expressions about women and the harsh judgments that men pass on about them, subtilely persuaded that they are not a display of arrogance but “basically” true, a kind of folk wisdom. What is also needed is an attitude of real gentleness arising from a deep sense of respect and the abandonment of every form of paternalism. Primacy must be given to the person without consideration of sex and to the reciprocity and complementarity of the sexes based on their equal dignity.

91. Free of fear. Fear, we know, can be paralyzing, can block action and cause immobility. Old fears seem to come forward every time the promotion of women is mentioned. Sometimes there is the fear of accepting that things are different than we thought or the fear of changing when the consequences cannot be foreseen. It is never easy to accept what cannot be fit into our cultural and theological patterns.
      But fear must give way in us to discernment, to calm trust in God's plan and God's presence in the life of the Church. More than a few ecclesial experiences show how changes that at first seemed to be precursors of catastrophe turned out to be really positive.

92. In the light of the Virgin. With regard to the promotion of women, Mary's life offers many points for reflection and a number of suggestions for our own lives.
      The Virgin of the fiat is a woman who makes decisions The Christian tradition has repeatedly pointed to the wisdom Mary shows in her conversation with Gabriel and the importance of her assent for the salvation of the human race. At the Annunciation, Mary shows herself to be capable of autonomous action and able to assume responsibilities that, given the social, religious and cultural context, could have aroused wonder, misunderstanding and scandalized disapproval. The attitude of Mary - autonomous, decisive, open to God's grace - poses the question to us: to make responsible decisions at the natural or supernatural levels do women always need a man's mediation? Do not many men have the tendency, latently or explicitly, to keep control over any decision made by women in church related matters?
      The Virgin of the Magnificat sings of God as Savior of the oppressed (cf. Lk 1:51-53) and urges us to take sides with the oppressed, as God did and as she did. This means taking the side of women, for they have been for ages and still are today subject to many forms of oppression and marginalization. But it is not enough to take their side. We have to go further and rid ourselves of the view that the weakness of women is natural (the weaker sex), as if the root of their dependence and inferiority with respect to men were inevitable because natural and not the consequence of ingrained cultural views and historical conditionings.
      The demeanor and words of Mary of Nazareth (cf. Lk 1:26-38) in Zechariah's house (cf. Lk 1:39-56), in the marriage hall at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1-5), at the hill of Calvary 19:25-27) and in the upper room before Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:13.14) show her greatness in cooperating with God. The mysterious cooperation between God and the Blessed Virgin is indeed unique and part of the Most High's singular and unfathomable plan. But what is extraordinary in Mary's case should not be taken as justification or excuse for isolating her and setting her apart from other women. In the New Testament economy, Mary is the first but not the only woman who cooperates with God in the realization of the plan of salvation. By her faith and the gift of divine motherhood she is “blessed” (Lk 1:45;cf. 1:42),but not only she. Her blessedness reaches forward, even if in a different way, to all women - and to all men - who do the will of the Father and open themselves to accept Christ as God's living Word (cf. Mk 3:35; Mt 12:50; Lk 8:21).

93. At this point it wonld be helpful if we conclude our reflection on the exemplary value of the figure of the Blessed Virgin for the promotion of women with a few thoughts which, though not at all novel, are not always sufficiently kept in mind in practice.
      It must be remembered that every act of creaturely cooperation with the Creator is a gift of God and is possible only by grace. The Spirit precedes and accompanies the creature's action. The Blessed Virgin's cooperation in the plan of salvation is not different in nature from that of other women, nor is women's cooperation essentially different or inferior to men's. Mary's “yes” is a model of the faith and love with which every man and every woman must hear and respond to the Lord's call.
      Any kind of harmful isolation of Mary from other women must be avoided. This happened at times in the past through an exaltation of the Blessed Virgin that was either doctrinally (for example, in some mariological treatises) or devotionally poorly informed. And according to many witnesses, the result of such exaltation was a feeling of frustration among women themselves. They were being encouraged to imitate a woman who was being presented as unreachable, inaccessible, and as the personification of all virtues and of perfection itself. All of this did not help to move forward smoothly and harmoniously the women's cause and Marian devotion. It must be said against such an orientation, as the Church teaches, that the singular gifts of grace bestowed on Mary and the uniqueness of her mission do not annul her creaturely status. She is indeed privileged, but she is also a daughter of Adam and the sister of all women, with whom she shares the limits of the human condition, the risks and the glory of human freedom, the need to make decisions, and the effort to live by faith.
      It is imperative that we reject the recurring and sometimes masked tendency to see in God as Father and in Jesus as Son the most elevated expression of the male sex, and in Mary as woman the highest expression of the female sex, then to infer the implicit superiority of men over women. This is unacceptable. The human distinctions of sex cannot in any way be referred to God. God possesses every perfection to be found in men or women, for all are created in God's image and likeness (cf. Gn 1:26-27). 238
      Another inexact idea to be excluded, even if it was put forward by some Fathers of the Church, is that Christ is the model for men and Mary the model for women. This is seriously misleading. The Virgin of Nazareth is not the defender of any social-cultural type of female existence. Her exemplarity is situated in the order of grace and is related to her discipleship. The Blessed Virgin Mary is proposed for imitation by the faithful because “in her own particular life, she fully and responsibly accepted the will of God (cf. Lk 1:38), because she heard the word of God and acted on it and because charity and a spirit of service were the driving force of her actions. She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ's disciples. All of this has a permanent and universal exemplary value.” 239

94. It can be said, nonetheless, that the Blessed Virgin is prophetically the highest expression of womanhood, 240 the woman par excellence and the personification of “the radical dignity of women.” 241 Mary was a woman and it was as a woman, “with all her human and feminine 'I',” 242 that she pronounced the spousal fiat (cf. Lk 1:38). It was as a woman that she conceived and gave birth to a son, Jesus, and as a woman that she nurtured and raised him. In Mary, in her reality as a woman (cf. Jn 2:4; 19:26; Gal 4:4; cf. Rv 12:1), the prophecy regarding the messianic Eve comes to fulfillment (Gn 3:15). It was as the “Mother of Jesus” that she was present at the wedding feast in Cana (cf. Jn 2:1), beside the cross (cf. Jn 19:25) and with the others in Pentecostal expectation (cf. Acts 1:14).
      We are convinced that the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as the highest realization of the feminine genius must be done in strict adherence to the portrait of Mary found in the bible and in the patristic, liturgical and magisterial tradition of the Church. It cannot be done on the basis of some ideal woman with more or less mythical traits, on whom are projected the historical and cultural features of different eras. Such a way of presenting Mary not only does not aid the cause of women, but in certain settings it also produces an outright rejection of Mary.

95. The need for coherence. Nowadays we often hear statements of principle on the equal dignity of men and women and on the need to put an end to age -old injustices , to endorse the promotion of women, and to entrust them with fitting responsibilities both in civil society and in the church community. These affirmations are made not rarely by highly placed persons. But at the same time we see a serious lag in the practical application of these principles. Situations continue to persist which in the past accounted for the social and ecclesial marginalization of women.
      We must be grateful to God that many institutes of consecrated life, especially the Company of Jesus, 243 have included in their apostolic plans the commitment to work for a structural change in women's status.
      And we Servites, out of fidelity to the Gospel, love for the Blessed Virgin - whom we greet as “Our Lady,” - and loyalty to the Church's magisterium, must heed several points.
      We have to help get rid of atavistic prejudices, fight against arrogant and aggressive male chauvinism as something profoundly contrary to the Gospel, and remove all obstacles to the realization of real equality between men and women.
      We should support the demands of groups which, as the Holy Father acknowledges, struggle against “everything in the past and present that has hindered the full appreciation and development of the feminine personality as well as her participation in the many expressions of social and political life. These demands were in large part legitimate and contributed to building up a more balanced view of the feminine question in the contemporary world. The Church, especially in recent times, has paid special attention to these demands, encouraged by the fact that the figure of Mary, if seen in the light of her Gospel life, is a valid response to woman's desire for emancipation.” 244
      We should also endorse the activities of those striving to get juridical recognition for the role women in fact play in apostolic, academic, cultural and administrative areas of Church life.
      In all our associations, pastoral institutions and schools, we should promote ways of working together based on the fundamental equality and the equal dignity of men and women.