20200815 MARY OUR HOPE OF LIFE
15 August, 2020, Saturday, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
First reading |
Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 © |
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman adorned with the sun
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 44(45):10-12,16 © |
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.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:20-26 © |
Christ will be brought to life as the first-fruits and then those who belong to him
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.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Mary has been taken up to heaven;
all the choirs of angels are rejoicing.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:39-56 © |
The Almighty has done great things for me
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 OUR HOPE OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 11:19; 12:1-6.10; 1 COR 15:20-26; LK 1:39-56 ]
In the beautiful devotional hymn to our Lady, we sing, “O Come to the throne of grace. O Come to the heart most pure. To Mary our hope of life, in whom salvation is sure.” For us who are Catholic, we sing this hymn with great joy and hope. For others, such lofty words and honorific titles for our Lady may sound heretical, because it seems like we have elevated Mary into a goddess. On the contrary, the words reflect what the bible explicitly declares – Jesus as the throne of grace. “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) Jesus is clearly “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (Jn 14:6) Consequently, Peter, speaking before the Sanhedrin, filled with the Holy Spirit declared, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Yet this Solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady does not deny the preeminent and sole mediatorship of Christ for our salvation. On the contrary it reiterates His position as our Saviour. Without doubt, the Church affirms, “there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.’ (1 Tim 2:6) The celebration of this Feast of the Assumption thus does not compromise the position of Christ as our unique savior but enhances and strengthens our faith in Christ as our Throne of Grace, our Hope of life and the Way to salvation.
Indeed, the scripture readings all affirm the centrality of Christ for our salvation. From the book of Apocalypse, St John narrates the battle fought between Christ and the Dragon. Jesus, born of a woman, born of the Jewish People, was the one destined “to rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” In this battle, Jesus showed Himself to be the victor and conqueror over the Evil One, thus fulfilling the prophecy in Genesis, “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) John heard a voice shouting from heaven, “Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God and all authority for his Christ.” Even the Dragon, that ancient serpent with “seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet” so powerful that with “its tail (it) dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth”, could not overcome Jesus. The Devil might be powerful and could even cause a third of the angels to fall from heaven, but he was powerless when it came to Jesus.
Again, in the letter of St Paul, we read of Christ’s victory over sin and death won by His cross and resurrection. “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.” Jesus therefore is the first fruits of the harvest. As God and man, Jesus leads the way for us to be reconciled with His Father, by overcoming the fear of death, which is the price of sin. With death overcome, sin has no power over us. We no longer have to live for ourselves but we can now live for God and for others. For we know that there is life beyond this earth, unlike those who have no faith in God. The reason why some only live for this life and seek to protect this earthly life at all costs is because they have no hope of life eternal. These people live in despair and hopelessness because they know that in spite of what they do, death is inevitable. So today man only fears death since they do not believe in God.
Now what we said for our Lord in His victory over sin and death, we immediately think also of Mary, His mother. Elizabeth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit made it clear that Mary is the mother of our Lord. “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?” As the mother of Christ who is truly God and truly man, Mary enjoys a very special position in the order of salvation. As St Paul rightly said, “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.” The Church therefore is not going against the scriptures by proclaiming Mary as the second fruit in the order of salvation. Rather, we are effecting what Christ has achieved for us all at His death and resurrection. Because we belong to Christ, we who are members of His body will share the fruits of His resurrection.
If that is so for the rest of the Church, how much more it will be for Mary who is closely associated with our Lord in His saving work. She was the one who gave birth to our Lord. She raised Him up according to the tradition of her ancestors. Jesus grew in age, wisdom and maturity under her tutelage. She was the one who in faith responded to God’s will at every stage in her life. She was the one who had complete faith in God’s word and providence. Elizabeth said of her, “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” She was obedient to the Word of God as vouched by the scriptures. She was counted among the blessed of the beatitudes; firstly by Elizabeth in her greeting, and secondly, by the woman in the crowd who exclaimed, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Lk 11:27f) Mary followed Jesus to the cross, uniting her suffering of the loss of her only Son with our Lord. Whilst practically all abandoned the Lord, she stood at the foot of the cross. (Jn 19:25-27) She was of course with the apostles at Pentecost when the Church was born. (Acts 1:14)
Consequently, we can appreciate why Mary is so identified with the Church, symbolized by the woman mentioned in the book of Apocalypse and in the gospel of John. In both instances, Mary is called “woman” which is the symbol of the individual person, Mary as the mother of Christ, and collectively, as the Church, because “woman” refers to Israel and the People of God. She was that woman who gave birth to our Lord and fought with Him against Satan and his angels. She was that “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.” Therefore, when our Lord entrusted Mary to the care of St John, He was giving Mary that special role of being the Mother of the Church.
As the mother of the Church, we would think that in the order of salvation, Mary would be the first. This also explains why the Church also declared Mary to be immaculately conceived, free from sin by exemption through the anticipated grace that comes from the death of our Lord. Indeed, she was that woman who “escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready.” Freed from sin, it is therefore appropriate to consider her to have shared in Christ’s death and resurrection upon arriving at the end of her life. It is not so for us because we have not fully overcome sin as Mary did. Again, this is affirmed by St Paul, “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 – though when it is said that everything is subjected.” For us, the battle is still on and even upon death, the full effects of our sins are not yet reckoned with until the end of time. In the case of Mary, she did not need to wait like the rest of creation because she was sinless and was perfectly identified with our Lord in her life. She had already conquered sin and death.
Today, when we celebrate this feast of the Assumption, we all can find certain hope that where Mary is in heaven sharing in Christ’s resurrection, taken into the heart and love of God, fullness of life and joy, we too will share in her glory on the last day. So if we address Mary as our hope of life and a sure way to salvation, it is because Mary already enjoys what Christ has promised us. This grace is given to her because of God’s grace and mercy, not as a merit. As she 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.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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