Canticle of the Turning
My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
"Canticle of the Turning" is a direct engagement with the Magnificat, one of the most theologically dense passages in the New Testament. Mary's song articulates the great reversal at the heart of the Gospel: God acts on behalf of the lowly, humbles the powerful, and fulfills the ancient covenant promises. In Lutheran terms, this text moves strongly in the register of Gospel — it is a proclamation of what God has done and is doing, rooted in grace and mercy rather than human achievement. The phrase "my weakness you did not spurn" is particularly evocative of Luther's own theology of humility, in which God's grace consistently chooses what the world regards as nothing. At the same time, the text carries a prophetic edge that functions as Law in the Lutheran sense: the words "let the king beware" and "every tyrant from his throne" are a divine judgment upon human pride and the abuse of power. Lutheran theology, shaped by Luther's own reading of the Magnificat (which he expounded at length in his 1521 commentary), fully embraces this dimension. Luther understood the Magnificat as a mirror held up to all human pride and a comfort to the lowly who trust God's promise. Cooney's paraphrase captures precisely this dialectical movement between divine condemnation of arrogance and divine comfort for the humble. For ecumenical Lutheran worship planning, this hymn functions exceptionally well as a sung Magnificat at Advent Evening Prayer (Vespers), where it replaces or accompanies the canticle traditionally sung at that hour. Its Irish folk idiom makes it accessible and participatory, while its theological depth rewards repeated singing. The text also opens excellent homiletical possibilities around Advent themes of waiting, reversal, justice, and the fulfillment of covenant promises — themes that bridge the Advent readings in all three lectionary years.
History & Background
"Canticle of the Turning" was written in 1990 by Rory Cooney, a prolific American Roman Catholic hymn writer and liturgical musician associated with GIA Publications. The text is a paraphrase of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), the canticle of the Virgin Mary, cast in vivid contemporary language and set to the Irish traditional melody STAR OF COUNTY DOWN. The text was published by GIA Publications and quickly became one of the most widely sung modern Magnificat settings in English-speaking Catholic worship, prized for its narrative energy and prophetic thrust. Cooney's paraphrase departs from a strictly literal rendering in favor of a poetic and politically charged interpretation that captures the eschatological reversals at the heart of Mary's song: the mighty brought low, the hungry fed, the proud scattered. The Irish folk idiom of the tune reinforces a sense of folk wisdom and communal memory, connecting the text to a tradition of songs of resistance and hope. The refrain "the world is about to turn" has become one of the most memorable phrases in contemporary liturgical song. The hymn has achieved remarkable ecumenical spread since its publication. It appears in major hymnals across Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, and Presbyterian traditions, making it one of the few hymn texts from the post–Vatican II Catholic renewal to be embraced so broadly. In Lutheran usage it is frequently sung at Advent Evening Prayer during the Magnificat, and its prophetic, justice-oriented language resonates with Lutheran preaching on the promises of God to the lowly.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 723
- Gather 3rd Edition — 499
- Gather 4th Edition — 527
- Glory to God — 100
- Voices Together — 422
- Worship IV — 637
Bulletin Note
Text by Rory Cooney (b. 1952), © 1990, GIA Publications, Inc. Tune: STAR OF COUNTY DOWN, Irish traditional. This modern Magnificat paraphrase is drawn from Luke 1:46–55.
Preaching Connection
On any Sunday where the lectionary surfaces the Magnificat or the great reversals of God's kingdom — feeding the hungry, scattering the proud, lifting the lowly — this canticle gives the congregation a way to preach back, to sing their assent to the promises proclaimed from the pulpit. It is particularly powerful when preaching on the Visitation (Luke 1:39–56) or on the Advent themes of justice and the coming reign of God.
Themes
Magnificat Advent Justice and peace Reversal of fortunes Mercy of God Covenant faithfulness Humility and lowliness Prophetic witness Mary Kingdom of God Social justice Eschatological hope