Solemnity
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 622
Reading 1
God’s
temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
A
great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with
the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
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.
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.
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.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
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.”
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Reading II
Brothers
and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
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.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Mary is taken up to heaven;
a chorus of angels exults.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mary
set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And
Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary
remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we celebrate a very special Feast Day within the Church. A Feast Day is a time when a particular saint or event is recognized. A Solemnity is a very high feast day. Today, Thursday August 15th, happens to be The Assumption of Mary. Today we celebrate the fact that The Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into Heaven with full body and soul, just as Jesus ascended into Heaven. This story has been spoken about for over two thousand years and documented in many historical writings throughout the world. It is there that Mary remains with her beloved Son and our savior Jesus Christ.
We are given a vision of Mary’s majesty in the Book of Revelation where she is
“clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
Behind her is Heaven while under her is all of God’s creation. The twelve stars of her crown can represent many things including the Twelve Apostles and The Twelve Tribes of Israel. Them being in the form of a crown gives her a special place in Heaven as well as in our Salvation Story, her being The Mother of God. She thus becomes the mother of us all, since we are indeed Children of God.
We are reminded in the Gospel Reading today that Mary is blessed among women, being put above anyone in God’s creation that came before and that will come afterwards. The words of the Angel Gabriel in his greeting to her, “Hail favored one, the Lord is with you,” elevates Mary even higher This type of greeting is only given from someone who is of a lesser state to a person of a greater title, thus Mary is further raised to a position above the angels. She is also without sin, for she is already with God and has been prepared to be the vessel for The Incarnation, the Word becoming Flesh.
So, what does this all mean in relation to us? To have our faith have an impact on our lives, we must understand our faith. It is through this understanding that our relationship with God can deepen. Then we can be open to His love for us and for the influence He can have in our lives. One of the ways of getting to Know God is through the relationship He has with His Son, and Jesus’s Mother. This is the type of relationship God wants with us: pure love and pure knowing. Neither can be achieved without the other.
Recognizing Mary as our mother and asking for her help and prayers, gives us a powerful intercessor. She can speak to her Son on our behalf, and it is through the love that Jesus has for her that our love for Him can be strengthened. Just like in life, strength in numbers is a good thing. When it comes to spirituality, the more prayers the better. We need to use all of our relationships if we are to live a joyous life. This includes our spiritual ones. Asking the Mother of God to pray for us can lead only to good things. She is there with Jesus, loving us and watching over us.
Deacon Tom
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