SATURDAY, NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Solemnity of the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Rv 11: 19; 12: 1-6, 10 Ps 45: 10- 12, 16 1 Cor 15: 20-27 Lk 1: 39-56
STRUGGLE, RESURRECTION & HOPE
In the dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council beautifully spells out the mystery we celebrate today. “…the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe…” (LG no. 59). In LG no. 68 the Council affirms that “…the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come…” The biblical readings of today help us to focus on struggle and conflicts in our daily lives, the resurrection of Christ and Christian hope.
In the pericope taken from the book of Revelation there is the vision of the struggle between the woman and the dragon. The figure of the woman represents the Church. The Church is on the one hand, glorious and triumphant. While on the other hand she is still in travail. In heaven she is already associated with the glory of her Lord, and in history she continues to live through the trials, challenges and conflicts in living our Christian life. In feasts like Assumption, Mary is both Mother of Christ and of the Church. In today’s world, as disciples, we may face trials, struggles, conflicts and she does not leave us alone. Mary accompanies us on our pilgrim journey through our joys, struggles and sustains us in our efforts to live a mature Christian life. Like Mary we are invited to be faithful to God and continually place our obedience and trust in God.
The responsorial psalm reminds us that we are united by Christ in his new covenant of love. Mary shows us how to live faithfully and joyfully in God’s grace. As members of the Church, just as Mary was, we are invited to live as Christ’s bride by being faithful to God and rejoicing in the love God graciously pours out to us.
The second reading speaks about the resurrection. St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians insists that to be a Christian means to believe that Christ is truly risen from the dead. Our whole Christian faith is based upon this fundamental truth. It is an event and not an idea. The mystery of Mary’s Assumption both body and soul into heaven is fully inscribed in the Resurrection of Christ. Pope Francis in his homily on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 15 August 2013, at Castel Gandolfo affirms that “The Mother’s humanity is attracted by the Son in his own passage from death to life. Once and for all, Jesus entered into eternal life with all the humanity he had drawn from Mary; and she, the Mother, who followed him faithfully throughout her life, followed him with her heart, and entered with him into eternal life which we also call heaven, paradise, the Father’s house.” Christ is the “first fruits” of the resurrection. Mary is the first of the redeemed i.e., our Mother, our sister, our representative. For us, Mary’s glorification is a sign of hope. Where she has gone, we are called to follow. We are invited to see Mary as our Mother and companion on our pilgrim journey till we reach our Father’s heavenly abode.
Luke, much like Paul, in the Gospel, finds hope in God’s promise, not only for Israel, but for all the nations of the world. Luke places on Mary’s lips a hymn which appears to have been composed within the Jewish-Christian community to celebrate the risen Lord. The community saw in the risen Christ the fulfilment of all God’s promises to them and to their people. The Magnificat Mary is the song of hope. For us, it is the song we sing together as God’s people on our pilgrim journey in history. It is sung by the saints, parents, catechists, missionaries, priests, religious, young people, even grandparents, parish liturgy cell meetings at evening prayer etc. Mary teaches us to glorify the Lord even in suffering and in difficult moments in our life. Her Magnificat continually reminds us that hope is a grace, a gift from God, which is given to help us keep our eyes fixed on God.
Response: On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
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