August 15, 2009 The Assumption

Saturday August 15, 2009 The Feast of The assumption of Mary
Readings: Revelation 11: 19; 12: 1-6, 10 Psalm 45: 10-12, 16
1Corinthians 15: 20-26 Luke 1: 39-56
Psalm Response: “ The Queen stands at Your right hand, arrayed in gold!”

1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.

The feast of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of God often is a source of derision by those who demean Jesus’ mother. They assert the Bible, literally, is their guide! Yet they ignore some of the literal explanations, in the Bible, confirming her role in the event of Christ’s salvific actions and His role on her vocation as His mother. There are many passages in the Scripture asserting God is the creator of everything and that He precedes everything He created. He also knew from the beginning what His plan for mankind is and He saw to it nothing inordinate occurred.
Moses wasn’t aware of the final mercy of God. Elijah wrote of the coming of the Lord but he didn’t know how it was to come about. Yet, they were there when Jesus transfigured Himself, Assumed into heaven preceding His mother as the Church has taught since the beginning of Christian History.
If you can read the above scripture passages literally, who else is depicted, also in heaven,. But Mary, the Mother of God?


1Corinthians 15: 20-26
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruit; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. 24Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For He must rule until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Paul’s theology explains the origin of our salvation. “Adam”, the first man, through his disobedience is the cause of physical death. Christ, also a man, by His sacrifice of His Body by death, destroys not only the cause of death by the forgiveness of our sins, He, as the first fruit of the Resurrection imparts, to us the necessary seed of our tree of life. Thereby, we become the first fruits of His action on our behalf.

Luke 1: 39-56

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned ho

Imagine the discomfort of Mary, a young maiden, pregnant with the Baby Jesus by the offer of God through the angel Gabriel, traveling about 45 miles, uphill from Nazareth to Judea where Elizabeth lived to offer her services.
There the first instance of the Holy Spirit, after He overcame Mary, was at the house of Elizabeth. Her voice of welcome acknowledged the presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of John’s leaping for joy at the prospect of the presence of so Holy a messenger coming to visit his Mom.
Elizabeth recognized Mary’s Blessedness and told her so!
Mary’s reply, her Magnificat, he praise of God’s providence and favor resounds throughout Christendom when thousands of religious and lay people recite it at the evening prayer of the Liturgy of the Word.
Who would have the effrontery to deny her “favor of Grace” when the Bible clearly titles her so.
As His lowly servant, she took on the joy and the sorrow, because it was the will of God.
He highly favored her. We should too!