One year ago today, I sang the first of a week of choral evensongs at Canterbury Cathedral. At this hour, our group was rehearsing in the cathedral before the service. Do I wish I were having a similar experience this year? Yes. But the stream of life has moved on in unexpected ways -- for now.
It got me thinking about the Magnificat, however, the canticle which is, with the Nunc Dimittis, the centerpiece of choral evensong. The words are, of course, those of Mary as chronicled in Luke, words which she is supposed to have said when she visited her cousin Elizabeth. Both young women are pregnant. I love the opening lines, and find it possible that a deeply spiritual - what? - fourteen year old girl could say them:
My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded:
The lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth:
All generations shall call me blessed...
I have always found the middle part of the canticle a bit more jarring, however, and a little less believable as coming from the same young girl. Basically, it tells of the terrible things God has done, and will do, to the powerful, the proud, and the rich. I'm not a theologian, and no doubt entire dissertations have analyzed the meaning of these words in this context. It is interesting to see Mary in a different light, however, speaking powerfully and possibly giving the world a preview of her son's subsequent messages. No serene blue-robed china statue here. And some of the musical settings take this section and run with it, with music fierce and even martial.
I spend most of my life re-framing everything into language that is less dualistic, language that works for me (no wonder I am so exhausted!) and back in November, I re-wrote the Magnificat. I hand-wrote it in my journal, and I am going to share it with you as the spirit moved me to write it, essentially a draft. I just want to be clear that I did absolutely no research beforehand, and any similarities with any other re-writings or translations are totally coincidental. However, the traditional words are rooted in my heart; I credit them completely and hope that I was inspired by their spirit.
My soul honors the all-encompassing stream of Love
And my spirit has rejoiced that I am fully a part of that stream.
For it embraces me, even when I appear to be its imperfect and incomplete expression.
For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
The exuberance of Divine Love magnifies me, and Holy is its name.
This stream of Love will carry us if we but let it, through all eternity.
This stream is powerful and brings about a reconfiguration of those whose hearts are soft enough to transform. The proud may be scattered, the mighty brought down or presented new challenges, the weak, strengthened. The hungry may be filled with good things, and the rich inspired to give everything away.
The stream of Love compassionately remembers every being that has ever flowed in it, past, present and future.
Glory be to every facet and expression of Divine Love, Mother, Father, Child, soul and holy spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
If I had my 'druthers, I would still live in England and attend choral evensong at least three afternoons a week, at cathedrals, abbeys and college chapels all over the country. I would spend the rest of my life hearing (and occasionally singing) hundreds of settings of the Magnificat, from the Stanford in G, to the Murrill in E, and, of course, the many Howells settings, especially the incomparable Collegium Regale. Would I ever want to walk into a cathedral and hear my wording? No. But it helps to have articulated what is in my heart.
