The Holy Father explained how Elizabeth's words "awoke in Mary's soul a hymn of praise which is a real and profound 'theological' reading of history: a reading that we must learn continually from the Woman whose faith was unshadowed and unbroken. 'My soul magnifies the Lord'. Mary recognized God's greatness. This is the first and indispensable sentiment of the faith, the sentient that gives human beings security and frees them from fear, despite the storms of history."
"Her faith enabled her to see that the thrones of the powerful of this world are all transitory, while the throne of God is the only rock that does not change and does not fall. After centuries and millennia, her Magnificat remains the truest and most profound interpretation of history, while the theories of so many wise men of this world have been disproved by the facts over the course of the centuries."
"Let us return home with the Magnificat in our hearts", Benedict XVI concluded. "Let us carry Mary's same feelings of praise and gratitude towards the Lord, her faith and her hope, her meek abandonment in the hands of Divine Providence. Let us imitate her example of readiness and generosity in serving our fellow man. Indeed, only by welcoming God's love and making our existence a form of disinterested and generous service to others, will we be able to raise a joyful hymn of praise to the Lord. May we receive this grace through the Blessed Virgin, who this evening invites us to find refuge in her Immaculate Heart."