20180815
ASSUMPTION IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST’S
RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION
15 AUGUST, 2018, Wednesday, The
Assumption of the B.V. Mary
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First reading
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Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 ©
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A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman adorned with the sun
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The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant
could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and
an earthquake, and violent hail.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned
with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a
crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of
childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had
seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet.
Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the
earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the
child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman
brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations
with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his
throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of
safety ready, for her to be looked after in the twelve hundred and sixty days.
Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and
power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his
Christ, now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before
our God, has been brought down.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 44(45):10-12,16 ©
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On your right stands the queen, in garments of
gold.
The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
forget your own people and your father’s house.
On your right stands the queen, in garments of
gold.
So will the king desire your beauty:
He is your lord, pay homage to him.
They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
they pass within the palace of the king.
On your right stands the queen, in garments of
gold.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 15:20-26 ©
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Christ will be brought to life as the first-fruits and then
those who belong to him
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Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who
have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the
resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam,
so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper
order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those
who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom
to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and
power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and
the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put
under his feet.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Mary has been taken up to heaven;
all the choirs of angels are rejoicing.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:39-56 ©
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The Almighty has done great things for me
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Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the
hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of
all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why
should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment
your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed
is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
And Mary
said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the
lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty
away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his
mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back
home.
ASSUMPTION IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 11:19; 12:1-6.10; 1 COR 15:20-26; LK 1:39-56
]
What is the
visual image we have when we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of our
Blessed Virgin Mary? Most of us are probably influenced by the holy pictures we see
portraying Mary being carried into the clouds at the end of her life to be with
God forever. Such an image of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven,
that is, her body being carried into the realm of heaven, does not do
justification to the real meaning of the dogma of the Assumption of our Blessed
Virgin. To understand the Dogma of the Assumption, we must first understand the
meaning of Christ’s resurrection and His ascension because the Assumption of
Mary is analogous and a corollary to it.
What do we
mean when we say that the Lord has risen? What kind of body did the Risen Lord
have? In the gospel, we note from the accounts of the apparitions of the
Risen Lord that He was not seen by all but only by those who had faith.
And even then, it took some time for the disciples to assume that He was the
Risen Lord because His body was so transformed that He looked different, even
though the Risen Body was in continuity with the Jesus of Nazareth.
Indeed, the Risen body of our Lord was not a resuscitated earthly body but a
totally transfigured and transformed body such that it could go through closed
doors, appear and vanish as He so wished.
Similarly,
when we consider Mary’s assumption, we must not presume that her incorruptible
body remained the natural body that she had when she was on earth. On the contrary, like Jesus,
her body was also transformed and transfigured. She had a resurrected
body like our Lord. This was the grace of God given to her to share in
her Son’s glorification as St Paul wrote, “Christ has been raised from the
dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one
man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man.
Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but
all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after
the coming of Christ, those who belong to him.”
More
importantly, what is the meaning of the resurrection? It simply means that
Jesus is now totally with God and in God. The glory of God so fills Him
that He is permeated with God’s love, life, joy and peace. In the
resurrection, Jesus was glorified and shared the glory of God that was His
before the foundation of the world. Because of the resurrection, the Risen
Lord is no longer limited by time, space or situation. So too for Mary.
Our celebration of her assumption is more than just saying that her body is
glorified. We are saying that she is now filled with the glory of God and
shares the life of God intensely. Her life is now in God and with
God. She is in complete union with God upon the end of her life on earth.
Mary’s
assumption is also analogous to that of Christ’s ascension. In the resurrection
of Christ, His body was transformed and glorified. What then does the
ascension celebrate if Christ is already glorified in His body and already with
God? The ascension of our Lord celebrates His kingship over the whole of
creation. It speaks of His Lordship and that is why we confess in the Creed
that after His ascension, He was seated at the right hand of the Father.
In other words, He was given a share of the glory and power of the heavenly
Father. In heaven, He continues to rule the world and judge humanity
until His Kingdom is finally established.
Mary’s
assumption also means that beyond her union with God in body and soul, she is
so filled with God’s life and love that she continues to carry out her maternal
role as she did when she was on earth. This explains why a week later, the Church celebrates her
Queenship. Now with Jesus in heaven, Mary continues to exercise her
maternal love for the Church through the power of intercession. Indeed,
in the book of Revelation Mary was presented as the Mother of God and therefore
also as Mother of the Church. “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a
woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on
her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the
pangs of childbirth.” The woman refers of course to Mary who gave birth
to the Messiah. Like Jesus, Mary therefore continues to exercise her
royal priesthood by interceding for the Church.
What is the
basis for our claim to such privileges for Mary? Although the Dogma of the
Assumption is not found explicitly in the Scriptures, there are many implicit
texts that suggest Mary shares perfectly in the victory of Christ over sin and
death.
Firstly,
right from the early Church Mary was compared to the Ark of the Covenant. She was the One who carried
Jesus in her womb. As St Augustine said, before she conceived Jesus in
her womb, she conceived Jesus in her heart. St John wrote, “The sanctuary
of God in heaven opened, and the Ark of the Covenant could be seen inside
it.” Mary throughout her life presented herself as being one with the
Lord in everything. Unlike Eve, she, as the New Eve, obeyed the will of
God. She shared Jesus’ mission, supporting Him quietly in the
background. Most of all, she suffered with Jesus at Calvary, carrying the
pain, humiliation, injustices and pain when He was suffering on the
cross. She forgave her enemies in union with her Son, uttering, “Father
forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” The Church gave her
the title “Co-redemptrix” because of her association with Christ’s saving work
for humanity.
Secondly, she
exudes the presence of God in her life. She kept herself sinless through the
grace of God. She visited Elizabeth in her old age when she was
expecting. When she met Elizabeth, the baby leapt in the womb of Elizabeth.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth said, “Of all women you are the most
blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Yes, blessed is she who
believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” She
demonstrated her utter faith in God by saying “yes” to God’s election.
She was at the Wedding in Cana, looking out for the needs of the wedding couple
and their guests. She exercised her maternal role after the death of her
Son by being with the disciples at prayer whilst waiting for the bestowal of
the Holy Spirit. Mary’s presence was that of the presence of God by her
love, charity and her faith.
Thirdly, Mary
relied on the grace of God alone. She knew her preservation from sin and the
inclination to sin, and her life lived in union with God, was through His grace
alone. The magnificat expresses Mary’s gratitude in life to God for all
that she was. She knew that she earned nothing for herself. All
that she was, all the privileges she received was through the sheer mercy of God’s
grace. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults
in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from
this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has
done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to
age for those who fear him.”
Consequently,
in celebrating the Assumption of Mary, the Church wants to give us hope that we
too can share in the glory of Mary. The privilege of having her
body glorified and now with the Lord, completely guarantees our journey as
well. She is the apex of the holiness of the Church. Just as she
has arrived at her final destiny, we who follow her too will share in that
glory. Mary’s assumption is a gift given by God to all of us who, like
Mary, will share in the same glory at the end of our lives. In the
meantime, we can be assured of Mary’s intercession for us. She is in
heaven praying for our salvation and extending her maternal care for all of
us. She continues to exert her influence over the Church through her
prayers and example. We are not alone on this journey because Mary is
with us until we arrive in heaven. We do not travel alone, but Mary helps
us along through her prayers.
On our part,
it means that, like Mary when she was on earth, we must live a life that
glorifies God by doing His will, by living a life of charity and humble
service.
We too must become the presence of God in our lives. We must carry Jesus
with us wherever we are. Only when we glorify God with our lives on earth
by serving Him and our fellowmen, can we share in Mary’s glorification at the
end of our lives. Like Mary, we must conquer sins in our lives with the
help of Christ’s grace given to us at His passion, death and resurrection.
With Christ, and with the intercession of our Blessed Mother, we too can share
in the victory over sin and death, for as St John says in the first reading, “I
heard a voice shout from heaven, Victory and power and empire for ever have
been won by our God and all authority for his Christ.” This is what it
means to be like Mary, living in the grace of God and by His grace alone.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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