Two nights ago my wife and I were praying the evening prayer in the Glenstal prayerbook which incorporates the Magnificat into the litany.  Then this morning, as I read from the Scriptures, I had made it to the Beatitudes as I read through Luke and the perverbial light bulb went off.

The Magnificat Mary sings before Christ's birth and the Beatitudes Christ later preaches are awfully similar.

On Poverty

Mary sings unto the Lord: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble... [He] has sent the rich away empty."

Christ teaches: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

On Hunger

Mary sings unto the Lord: "He has filled the hungry with good things."

Christ teaches: "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied."

On The Powerless

Mary sings unto the Lord: "he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant...He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,  just as he promised our ancestors."

Christ teaches: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you,
       when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. "

Woe to the Powerful and Wealthy

Mary sings unto the Lord: "He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble."

Christ teaches: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."

Where do we think Christ got this stuff?  Most people point to his baptism, his time in the wilderness, his elongated Passover stay as a child in the temple as turning points in Christ's spiritual transformation from child to adult.  Others just assume that he had training in the Scriptures in the synagogue.  Certainly most of this happened in the life of Christ and I am sure it helped in his spiritual formation, but why does no one bring up Mary as his teacher and spiritual mentor? (I realize that as a Protestant I might simply be naive in this area).  Mary was indeed worthy to instruct Christ, she was a prophetess and the chosen Woman of God to birth the Messiah and King into the world. 

Mary taught Jesus a narrative of subversive, all-encompasing redemption: a salvation that is already, not yet, material, and immaterial.  And Jesus grew up hearing his mother's thoughts, prophecy, compassion, and courage, and it certainly formed his thought and teaching, as this comparison attests.