After the layer of childhood comes the layer of youth, then the layers of family life, work, and social life, until we reach the layer of the senior, and we expect what will happen next. Miners can drill deep into the ground. The cosmonaut must pass through several layers before reaching orbit. One realizes that living means passing through the layers to the future.
Religious holiday of: Visiting the Virgin Mary in Ain Karem is an opportunity to look into some layers of her life and derive timeless wisdom from them. For example, in Mary’s layer of youth we find a willingness to fulfill God’s law, his will, which is expressed by the words: „ Behold the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word“ (Lk 1, 38). When she learned that Elizabeth, her relative, had conceived a son in her old age, she did not hesitate to visit and rushed to the Judean city in the mountainous region (compare Lk 1, 36-39). In the family life layer, we see Mary in Nazareth shopping, washing, cleaning, cooking, sewing, and doing everything to support the child’s growth. She also experienced a layer of pain and misunderstanding, because she saw what they were doing to her son – they were nailing him to the cross.
It was painful, Maria. Later, we see her with the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection, and that is already a layer of joy. Even after two thousand years, we remember the glorified layer of Mary’s life, because God did not let her body remain on earth and decay; He glorified the alley with body and soul in heaven, as John Damascene writes about it (650-749). There is something familiar to all layers. It was like that in Maria’s life as well. It is openness to God’s wisdom, which, with its presence, can illuminate every layer of life and inspire service. The fruit of this cooperation is Mary’s joy: „ My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior“ (Lk 1,46-47). What does that mean?
We are talking about the Magnificat in Latin. Magnificat means to make big. In her approach to God, Mary makes it clear that she considers him great, powerful, important, and generous. Not everyone considers God necessary, incredible, or powerful. Mary’s mind is different: Magnificat means, ‘God, you are great, powerful, and glorious.’ She felt in herself how big things he had done to her. Every person glorifies God to the extent that they accept him. As much as he knows how to do Magnificat, he gives God the right place in his life. Day after day, decisions must be made: Who do I consider God? Is it essential or not? Will I go to church or not? Shall I keep the commandments, or shall I make a dispensation? Will I be human or cruel? Do I have a sense of service and dedication? The experience of the current layer of life depends on it. We cannot remain oblivious, because through God’s kindness, the correct orientation towards the future develops in our lives.
Paul aptly wrote in the Letter to the Ephesians: „God prepared heaven for us in Christos“ (Ef 2, 6). Therefore, it is worth doing everything to make the Magnificat a part of yourself. The magnitude of mercy is illustrated by the following example: A mother and a teenage son made an appointment in front of a shopping center. They were supposed to go see the new cell phones for Mom together. But Mom was a quarter of an hour late. When she arrived, the gloomy son growled: „ I’ve been waiting for you here for fifteen minutes!“ Mom hugged him, apologized, looked him in the eye with love, and said with a smile: „ My boy, I’ve been waiting for you for nine wonderful months.“
Of course, she should have been accurate, and come on time. However, life presents situations in which we sometimes wait for others, and at other times, they wait for us. A boy will be an adult only when he figures out for himself: What is fifteen minutes against nine months? Only then does the Magnificat gush out of his heart. May we manage to experience gratitude towards God for the gift of existence and for the future that shines through the individual layers of life.
