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Magnificat

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

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Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Magnificat
Dictionaries
American Church Dictionary
• Magnificat
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Magnificat
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Magnificat
Hastings' NT Dictionary
• Magnificat
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Magnificat, the
Webster Dictionary
• Magnificat
Encyclopedias
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Magnificat
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Magnificat
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Magnificat

The Latin title, meaning "doth magnify," of the hymn sung after the First Lesson at Daily Evening Prayer. It is found in the Gospel of St. Luke I:46-56, and is the song of praise which the Blessed Virgin Mary gave utterance to "at the very season when the Divine overshadowing brought about the Incarnation of the Word." This beautiful hymn is used at the evening service as the daily commemoration of the Incarnation. This use of the Magnificat can be traced as far back as the Fifth Century and it has been used in the English Church at Vespers for over 800 years. For some reason the Magnificat was omitted from the first American Prayer Book set forth in 1789, but at the last revision in 1892 it was restored.