Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary            

“The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” – Luke 1:49

       Have you ever done something that you weren’t prepared for? In the Bible there are many men and women who weren’t ready when God called them. One of the best examples of this would be Mary. God called her to be the Mother of Jesus. At 15, without any relations with a man, this was a shocker. She definitely wasn’t ready. But what was more shocking was her response. “Be it done to me according to Your word.” In other words, “Yes, Lord, I trust You.”

       Friend, God may be calling you to do something greater that you feel you’re not ready for. God’s message for you is that He doesn’t need you to feel ready. He just wants you to follow and obey.

       Blessing is God’s department, obedience is ours. Even if you’re not ready, God is saying you can get ready on the way, because He is ready. He is ready to empower you and provide for you.

       So today I encourage you to say yes and trust God for the greater things He has envisioned for you. Mike Viñas (mikemichaelfcv@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Interestingly, Mary pronounces the verse above even before she did what she was called to do. In faith, she was already trusting God for the greater things that will arise in her life because of her obedience.

St. Alipius, pray for us.

Mary is the Mother of the Redeemer, the one who brought salvation to the world. It is right that we honor Mary and her role in salvation history. Do these texts in Revelation tell us much about Mary that we do not already know? They are a particular form of writing (apocalyptic) that was designed so that it would convey basic truths in a way that would not necessarily be easy for a nonbeliever to understand.

19 God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. 12: 1 A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. 6 The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”

R: The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

9 [10] The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir. (R) 10 [11] Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father’s house. (R) 11 [12] So shall the king desire your beauty; for he is your Lord. (R) 15 [16] They are borne in with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the king. (R)

The resurrection is an essential aspect of our faith. Without it, Christianity is meaningless. When we talk about Mary having been assumed into heaven, we are speaking about a grace for which we will have to wait until the second coming of Jesus, that has already been applied to Mary in full. This is highly appropriate as she was first conceived without any sin and is the Mother of the Son of God. Her proper place is to be with her Son in heaven from the moment of her death.

20 Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, 23 but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; 24 then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, 27 for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

This text that is so often used to honor Mary in the context of the Liturgy of the Word is full of ideas which we could meditate on. Take, for example, her selflessness. What better example of service could there be than her willingness to assist her cousin Elizabeth in her pregnancy? She knows Elizabeth is old and needs help and she is willing to provide that assistance.

Mary is taken up to heaven; a chorus of angels exults.

39 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 46 And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior. 48 For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed. 49 The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. 51 He has shown strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. 52 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, 55 the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” 56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

think: What better example of service could there be than Mary’s willingness to assist her cousin Elizabeth in her pregnancy?

THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY

We celebrate today the Assumption of Mary into heaven. She does not receive anything more than we all hope to receive — she just gets it as soon as she dies — while we have to be purified in purgatory as we await the Second Coming of Jesus for the fullness of our redemption. This privilege given to Mary is because she is conceived without sin in order to prepare a holy womb for the birth of the Son of God. Any privilege or blessing that Mary receives is focused not upon her but on her Son, Jesus. It is also as a result of His holiness and a fruit of His passion, death and resurrection.

       As we reflect upon this gift bestowed on Mary, let us look at her response to the angel’s request that she become the Mother of our Lord. She surrenders everything to the will of God and opens her heart to whatever may be His plan for her life. It was not easy for her, as we see her about to give birth and being rejected in all the places she and Joseph went to. How much harder it must have been to stand by and watch her Son die on the cross, yet this is the calling she embraced with full faith.

       We also must surrender to God’s will if we want to achieve the same great faith that Mary had. This challenge will occupy us for the rest of our lives as we grow as disciples of Jesus and do our best to proclaim God’s Kingdom at every opportunity we get.

       Let us all pray that we will be faithful to this calling just as Mary was faithful to hers. Then we, too, will eventually receive the gift of the assumption of our bodies as we are made one with God, Mary and all the saints in heaven. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you made a firm commitment to God to follow Him with all your heart, mind and soul?

Jesus, help me to keep my mind and heart open to Your will in my life. I want to do what You want me to do so that my salvation will be assured.