Magnifies (Part 5): Made to Reflect
“My soul magnifies the Lord.” —Luke 1:46
This five-part series is a slow, prayerful look at a single line of Scripture. Mary’s words in the Magnificat aren’t just a poetic moment—they reveal something essential about her and about what our own souls are meant to do.
Mary’s words suggest something profound: that souls are meant to be transparent. Not in a literal or physical sense, of course—but in a deeply spiritual one.
Souls are a kind of window, or mirror—not for self-reflection, but for divine revelation. Here’s what I mean:
The saints weren’t admired because they were dazzling in themselves. They were admired because they reflected God. The holier the soul, the more clearly He shines through.
But in our culture, we often do the opposite. We take what was meant to magnify God and turn it around to magnify ourselves. We rig the Hubble telescope to function like a pocket mirror. We obsess over how we appear, how we’re perceived, how we’re performing.
But here’s the thing: no one looks at a mirror and says, “What a beautiful mirror.” A mirror is beautiful only when it disappears—when it reveals something greater. Its value lies in what it reflects.
So it is with the soul.
A soul that magnifies the Lord doesn't draw attention to itself. It doesn’t ask to be praised. It’s not the object—it’s the instrument. The clearer the mirror, the brighter the reflection. The less we focus on ourselves, the more space there is for God to be seen in us.
Let that be our prayer:
Lord, make my soul a clear reflection of You. Not polished for my sake, but so that Your glory may shine through. Let me disappear, so You may be seen. Let my soul magnify You.