The Assumption of Mary into Heaven - Thursday, 15 August 2013
First reading: The Book of the Apocalpyse (Revelations) 11:19a.12:1-6a.10ab.
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark
of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning,
rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.
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, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.
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. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night.
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, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.
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. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night.
Ps 45(44):10.11.12.16.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold
of Ophir.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
Forget your people and your father's house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
For he is your lord.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
They enter the palace of the king.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
Forget your people and your father's house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
For he is your lord.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
They enter the palace of the king.
1 Cor. 15:20-27.
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from
the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being.
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."
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being.
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."
Gospel of St.
Luke 1:39-56.
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, "Most 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 upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
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, "Most 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 upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Commentary of the day:
There is an old story about a workman on a scaffolding high above the nave of a cathedral who looked down and saw a woman praying before a statue of Mary. As a joke, the workman whispered, "Woman, this is Jesus." The woman ignored him. The workman whispered again, more loudly: "Woman, this is Jesus." Again, the woman ignored him. Finally, he said aloud, "Woman, don't you hear me? This is Jesus." At this point the woman looked up at the crucifix and said, "Be still now, Jesus, I'm talking to your mother."
Why do Catholics treasure Marian devotions and doctrines that their non-Catholic brothers and sisters do not? It is because, I think, the Catholic Church is trying to tell the full story, to proclaim the full gospel.
Jesus was born of a woman. That’s a fact. Jesus was a good Jew and He loved His mother and honoured her as He was bound to by the Fourth Commandment. But He was a human too and He naturally loved Mary who cared for Him, fed Him and probably taught Him a lot about life. Would you, if you were Jesus allow the mother who had to experience death, after loving you and caring for you all your life, would you let her body rot in the grave or take her to Heaven to be with you eternally. Easy answer! So that’s what we believe Jesus did. No, it’s not in the Bible. Neither is the fact He probably had roast dinners and went to the toilet. Jesus never told His apostles to “write it down”. They only recorded the events they believed people would dispute or necessarily NEED to know.
Mary’s assumption was part of Catholic tradition since, forever… And every version of Christianity comes from Catholicism and is based on OUR Bible versions. So Catholics believe not just everything in the Bible but in our Sacred Tradition. They are described as being the two pillars on which our faith is based.
But isn't the gospel all about Christ and what he did and taught? Yes and no. The gospel is about Christ in the same way that the story of the Fall is about Adam. "For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:22). That is why we call Christ the new Adam. But as soon as we say that, we become aware of a missing link. The story of the Fall is not only the story of Adam but the story of Adam and Eve. If Jesus is the new Adam, who then is the new Eve? Mary is the new Eve. Just as the full story of our Fall cannot be told without Eve, so also the full story of our Redemption cannot be told without Mary. There are many revealing parallels between the old Adam and Eve on the one hand and the new Adam and Eve, Jesus and Mary, on the other. Here are some of them.
·
In the old order, the woman
(Eve) came from the body of the man (Adam), but in the new order the man
(Jesus) comes from the body of the woman (Mary).
·
In the old order, the woman
(Eve) first disobeyed God and led the man (Adam) to do the same, in the new
order the woman (Mary) first said "Yes" to God (Luke 1:38) and raised
her son Jesus to do likewise.
·
Adam and Eve had a good time
together disobeying God, Jesus and Mary suffered together doing God's will. The
sword of sorrow pierced their hearts equally (John 19:34; Luke 2:35b).
·
In the old order Adam and Eve
shared immediately in the resulting consequences and punishments of the Fall.
In the new order, similarly, both Jesus and Mary share immediately in the
resulting consequences and blessings of the Redemption, the fullness of life
with God; Jesus through the Ascension and Mary through the Assumption.
The doctrine of the Assumption teaches that at the end of her earthly existence, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up (assumed), body and soul, into heaven. That means, therefore, that there are two human bodies we know to be in heaven with God at this time: the human body of Jesus and that of Mary. In this doctrine we see the collaboration of man and woman in the work of our salvation all the way from the Fall to the Redemption to sharing in the fruit of Redemption in heaven. Without the Assumption to balance the Ascension, the man Jesus alone without the woman Mary would be enjoying the fullness of salvation with God and we would be telling only a part of the story. The Assumption is the ultimate proof of the equality of man and woman before God. It also shows the sacredness and eternal destiny of the human body, including the woman’s body which is desecrated by pornography and the sex trade. The Assumption enables us to tell the full story, the full gospel that salvation is for all Men, male and female, and for the whole Man, body and soul.
Marian doctrine and devotion, properly understood and practised, does not lead believers away from, but rather more deeply into, the mystery of Christ. The woman in prayer who thinks that Jesus should keep still because she is talking with his mother has lost sight of the perfect harmony of wills and hearts between Mary and Jesus which we see most clearly in the Wedding Feast at Cana where Mary commands us: "Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you" (John 2:5).
Vatican Council II
Constitution on the Church « Lumen gentium », § 68-69
Mary, sign of certain hope and consolation for the
Pilgrim People of God
The
immaculate Virgin Mary, preserved from all stain of original sin, was raised up
to the glory of heaven, body and soul, at the close of her life on earth and
was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe so that she might resemble her
Son, the Lord of Lords and Victor over sin and death, more perfectly,...Just as
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 (2Pt 3,10),
as a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on
earth.It gives great joy and comfort to this holy and general Synod that even
among the separated brethren there are some who give due honor to the Mother of
our Lord and Savior, especially among the Orientals, who with devout mind and
fervent impulse give honor to the Mother of God, ever virgin. The entire body
of the faithful pours forth instant supplications to the Mother of God and Mother
of men that she, who aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers (Acts
1,14), may now, exalted as she is above all the angels and saints, intercede
before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints, until all families of
people, whether they are honored with the title of Christian or whether they
still do not know the Savior, may be happily gathered together in peace and
harmony into one people of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided
Trinity.
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