On August 15, the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin. Mary, the mother of Christ, has been celebrated since the earliest days of the Christian church. The Gospel of Luke contains a “Song of Praise” that was sung by Mary when her cousin Elizabeth recognized her as the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:43). Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist when her cousin Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, came to see her: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy’” (Luke 1:41-44).“Mary’s Song of Praise” is also called “The Magnificat” because its opening line in Latin is: “Magnificat anima mea Dominum,” “My soul magnifies the Lord.”