My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Worship and veneration
The distinction matters. Worship is adoration offered to God alone. Veneration is reverent honor given to the saints because God’s grace is visible in them. St. Mary receives the highest honor among the saints because she bore God the Word incarnate, but she remains a creature saved by God.
Coptic hymns can sound very exalted because the Church loves St. Mary deeply. That love should be read through the Incarnation. The honor given to her points to the greatness of the One she bore.
Why the Church asks her prayers
The Church asks St. Mary to intercede because she is alive with Christ and because Scripture itself says all generations will call her blessed. Asking her prayers is the same family logic by which Christians ask one another to pray, raised into the communion of saints.
The Christ-centered meaning
True devotion to St. Mary leads to Christ. Her words remain the pattern: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” When her honor is understood rightly, it enlarges the confession of Christ’s Incarnation, mercy, and saving work.