We all love a good story. And stories do not come much better than the story of Christmas.

It many ways it all begins with what is known as “The Magnificat” or “Mary’s Song of Praise”.

This is a special passage as a young inauspicious maiden bursts into a joyous song to celebrate that she is with child.

But this is no ordinary pregenancy… and this is no ordinary song!

Mary is to give birth to Jesus the “Son of the Most High”. Mary is to bear the Son of God… the saviour of the world! And the song she sings is one that verges on the revolutionary.

For the proud will be “scattered” and the powerful will be “brought down”. The lowly will be “lifted up”, the hungry will be “filled with good things” and the rich will be “send away empty”.

As we prepare for Christmas, Mary’s Song of Praise remains us that something incredibly important is happening.

The world is about to be turned upside down!

A humble maiden from the Palestinian backblocks is about to give birth to the One upon whom the hope of the entire creation rests.

Many, a teenage virgin betrothed to Joseph the carpenter, is announcing the inauguration of a new order that challenges the status-quo.

This is an order where the humble, the lowly and the deprieved will be acknowledged while powerful and the privileged will be stood aside.

Here, a mother’s joy bears witness to a new way of being and to a new way of living.

So, do spend some time and reflet on Mary’s Song of Praise (Luke 1:46-55). This joyous mother has much to say as we prepare for Christmas!