20190815
MARY
THE FIRST FRUIT OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
15 AUGUST, 2019,
Thursday, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin 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.
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.
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.’
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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.
MARY, THE
FIRST-FRUIT OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 11:19; 12:1-6.10; 1 COR 15:20-26; LUKE 1:39-56 ]
Death is the greatest
enemy of men. What man fears most is death. That is why it is
also the last of the enemies as well. In the second reading, St
Paul says, “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.” Indeed, for those who do not believe in God, they
have no hope beyond this earthly life. Without faith in God, they think
that life ends at death. If that were the case, they have only one life
to live. Man must therefore enjoy as much as he can. Life is about
experimenting every adventure and every pleasure. It is about me
enjoying this one and only life that I have. It is about grabbing and
making full use of our resources to satisfy our desires, comfort, excitement
and fun. Work and ambition are means to attain money and
power. So much so, those who cannot use honest means to acquire what they
want will use immoral and unscrupulous means to become rich and powerful.
They lie, cheat, slander, manipulate, destroy and even kill to obtain what they
want.
Furthermore, this life
is short, especially when we live in a fast-moving world. Time passes so quickly that we grow
old without realizing it. Aging is therefore something that we also fear
as well because it means the loss of independence, mobility and the ability to
enjoy life. That is why many of us are obsessed with our health.
Medical expenses are rising higher and higher each year. With a
declining and aging population, the time has already come when the elderly
would have to look after themselves. Life has no meaning when we become
old and are just waiting for death. Hence, the world is also advocating
euthanasia so that we no longer have to suffer when we are old. Since
there is only one life to live and after that it is over; better to end this
life earlier if we are alone and in very poor health.
Thanks to our Lord Jesus
Christ, we know that death is not the end of this life. But more than just believing
that there is life after death, we believe in the resurrection of the body as
well. There are other religions that offer hope in life after death in
the form of transmigration of souls and reincarnation. But for us, we
believe that after death, we will live on in our souls and on the last day, we
will resurrect, complete with our bodies, with the rest of humanity. St
Paul says, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who
have fallen asleep.” The resurrection of the body is the basis of
Christian Hope. As Christians, we do not therefore live only for
this world. We live for the world that is to come. But our hope in
the next world does not distract us from living for this in world. On the
contrary, knowing that there is a continuity of life after death in an even
more radical manner, we want to live in such a way that we will bring our
virtues over to the next life.
The Feast of the Assumption
speaks of Mary who lived the life of Christ so intimately in her life that such
a Christ-centered life cannot but also have a share in His resurrection. The Assumption means that Mary
shares in the glorified body of the Risen Lord, which did not suffer
decay. Mary’s life was one of holiness from the moment of her
conception. She was obedient to the Lord in responding to her vocation in
life as Christ’s mother. Holiness, in the final analysis, is to
live in a loving relationship with God in obedience to His will, because of an
intimate union with the mind and heart of God. In her relationship with
Christ, she was always doing His will, as she told the servants at Cana in
Galilee, “Do whatever He tells you!” Indeed, such was the union of Mary
with her Son, a union in doing the Father’s will, even to accepting the death
of her Son on the cross. Hence, the Church considers it fitting that
since Mary carried Jesus in her womb and shared a common life with Jesus, not
just in biological relationship but in mind and spirit, it is fitting that she
also shares in Christ’s resurrection and glorification at the end of her
sojourn on earth. As they were united in body on earth and mind and
heart, so too, it is fitting that upon death, she would be fully united with
the Lord in soul and body as well.
In the Assumption of
Mary, the Church wants to give a greater foundation to this hope of the
resurrection. She was not just
the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ but she is also the mother of the
Church. In today’s reading from the book of Revelation, the “Woman”
mentioned refers to Mary and the Church. The first sign that John spoke
about was this, “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.” This is in reference to Mary
giving birth to our Lord and also the Church that was born with the death,
resurrection and ascension of our Lord. We also read that Mary, her Son
and the Church were being attacked by the dragon, that ancient serpent
mentioned in the book of Genesis. The Devil and his angels who rebelled
against the authority of God were expelled from heaven to the earth. They
continue to wage war against God, especially against Mary, her Son and His
people.
Yet, we are told that
God protected Mary and her Son from all harm. “The woman brought a male child into the world,
the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, 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.” Indeed, this is the
fulfilment of the Messianic Promise made to Adam and Eve after the Fall.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gn 3:15) Christ has overcome the snare
of the Evil One who uses death to frighten us into committing sins against our
fellowmen because we fear that they will take away our happiness, our wealth,
our power and our freedom.
On this basis, the
Church believes that because Mary was protected by God from being wounded by
the Evil One, she was free from original sin. Otherwise, Satan would have triumphed over
her and one would not be able to say that the victory is complete. This
revelation given to the Church is also based on her life on earth, which was
one of purity, total devotion and commitment to the gospel life as we read in
the gospel. She was a lady of deep faith and therefore truly blessed by
God as Elizabeth praised her, “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.”
And this was because,
unlike Satan and his angels who rebelled against God out of pride, Mary was
humble in serving God and His holy will, and was grateful for His love and
mercy. She says, “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.”
Having won victory over
sin with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church therefore believes that
since sin had no power over her, death had no power either. Hence, it is fitting that she shares in
the glorious resurrection of our Lord in anticipation before His Second Coming. Her
glorification, which we call her Assumption into Heaven, celebrates God’s
fidelity and gift to Mary, the mother of His Son and our blessed Mother.
She is the hope of the Church that if we are faithful to Christ and live His
resurrected life, in love and faith, we, too, will one day share in her
glorification as well. Consequently, believing that this is also our
destiny, we are now called to continue to battle against Satan with the grace
of our Lord given to us at our baptism. It will not be with our might
alone that we win the battle against Satan, but with His grace won for us at
His death and resurrection.
So with Mary, we must
submit ourselves to God’s holy will and live a life of Christ, dying with Him
to our sins and rising with Him to eternal life. We can call upon Mary who reigns in
heaven to intercede for us so that we, too, can share our life with her fully
at the end of our lives. We must never give up hope, regardless how
difficult the struggles may be. Mary had won that victory in Christ.
We, too, must struggle against sin.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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