We all have a story, and how we decide to tell our story matters. Sometimes we narrate our lives in self-serving ways that prevent us from reconciling with those we’ve hurt or seeing our own flaws clearly. But we can also tell our story in a way that opens our eyes to the movements of the Holy Spirit in our lives and turns our hearts toward the transforming love of Christ.

In today’s Gospel reading, we get to hear Mary tell her story in her own words. During a visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, Mary sings a canticle about God’s blessing upon her. Because of her role in God’s plan, she exclaims that “all generations will call me blessed.” The church continues to honor Mary by praying this canticle as part of the daily vespers services observed by families and monastic communities around the world.

In addition to reminding us of Mary’s unique role in salvation history, this canticle gives us a model for how to tell our own stories. Mary only briefly mentions her own role and the glory it will bring her. From there, her song takes a turn toward a description of God’s work “in every generation.” Even while living a story that is unique among all human beings, Mary recognizes that she is part of a broader story—that of the covenant between God and Israel, but also that of God’s promises to the lowly and the hungry.

God gives each of us a unique call to irreplaceable personality. In our individualistic culture, however, it can be tempting to emphasize our uniqueness at the expense of our interconnectedness with our communities, our church, and the broader human family. Mary recognizes that although her story is unlike any other, it is also inseparable from the story of the love between God and humanity. Our own stories are important not for their own sake, but because they ultimately lead to God’s plan for the redemption of the world.

We can follow Mary’s example. When you step back and think about your life, do you recognize that your story is one fragment of a much larger one? In telling and living your own story, how are you a witness to God’s steadfast and liberating presence among the lowly and hungry in the world today?