20210815 ULTIMATE VICTORY IN CHRIST
15 August, 2021, Sunday, 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.
ULTIMATE VICTORY IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 11:19; 12:1-6.10; 1 COR 15:20-26; LUKE 1:39-56]
In the first reading, we read of the confrontation and battle fought between the Woman and the huge red dragon. The woman represents Mary and the Church, the New Israel, for she had twelve stars on her head for a crown. The Twelve stars symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel. The Dragon symbolizes the serpent, the Evil One who is very powerful in knowledge and power as seen in his “seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet.” So powerful was this dragon that 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.” This refers to Satan and the fallen angels. They are out to destroy the New Israel, the Church, by destroying the Messiah, but Jesus was saved from death and ascended into heaven. “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.”
Until the final judgment, the Church continues to fight with the Evil One. Since the beginning of time and of our Lord, the Church has been warned that the journey before her is one of persecution and opposition. There is this constant battle between truth and falsehood, love and selfishness. But today, this battle has become more daunting than in the olden days when good and evil were clearly demarcated. But today, because of relativism, falsehood and selfishness are often masqueraded as truth and love. The only absolute proclaimed today is that there is no truth because everything is relative and subjective. The way to live our life is to be pragmatic and dance according to the demands of the time. The love that the world is proclaiming is love of oneself at the expense of others, society and humanity. “Me” or a narrow nationalism comes first before everyone else. Everything and everyone exist to serve me. This over emphasis on the rights of the individual is so over exaggerated today that the freedom of personal rights and preferences takes precedence over the common good.
Indeed, the dragon comes in the form of destruction of life by advocating abortion, destruction of embryos in the name of science and advancement simply because either we do not want the baby which we conceived, or we demand to have a baby which we cannot conceive. We say it is our right to protect our bodies, or have a baby at all costs, never mind if other embryos are destroyed in the process. The dragon comes in the form of social destruction, when marriage and family life are destroyed. Once the family and strong marriages, the bedrock of society is shaken, society collapses and becomes dysfunctional. The dragon also appears in the name of freedom of expression. Today, free speech is advocated even when they are half-truths and lies, manipulated and distorted facts, engineered publicity, sowing seeds of division, disunity and confusion leading to civil unrest, social and political revolution, rupture of relationship between countries leading to war championed by those who want to hold on to power over others.
Most of all, the dragon appears by leading all of humanity into annihilation and death. This, as St Paul says, is the last of all the enemies to be destroyed. What Satan wants is to destroy us all, first by leading us to hopelessness, meaninglessness, and utter selfishness so that we have no more purpose to live in this life as there is neither hope in this world or in the next. When that moment arrives, humanity will destroy itself, seeing no necessity to procreate, to save the planet because all will be destroyed with death. In truth, we are living in hell already.
If we feel so overwhelmed by the narcissistic trends of history, and the destruction of humanity either by science, technology, arms and threat of nuclear war, or the breakdown of all relationships beginning with the family and marriage, then we must keep our eyes focused on the future with Mary. The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is a celebration of ultimate victory over evil, sin and death. In Mary, we see the hope given to us by Christ fulfilled in one of us. Mary’s assumption is a corollary of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. It is the fulfilment of the promise made right at the beginning of creation 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.” (Gen 3:15) Mary and the Church is that woman whom God “had made a place of safety ready.” Mary was immaculately conceived while the Church obtains forgiveness of sins from the Sacrament of baptism. The Church following Mary is liberated from the grasp of Satan.
But that is not all. Mary and the Church will also share Christ’s victory over the last of all our enemies, namely, eternal death. Because Mary has won victory over sin at the very beginning of her conception and throughout her life, the Church, meditating on her role in Christ’s salvific work, came to conclude that it was fitting that after Christ, she should be the first fruits to share in His resurrection. St Paul wrote: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. 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.” As for the rest of us, we will share in the resurrection of Christ at the end of time for we all have sinned and the consequences of our sin have yet to be worked out.
Indeed, such is our certain hope as Christians. We do not have to fall into the pessimism in this world. Notwithstanding the adversities and sufferings of this life, we are certain that after our exile on this world, we will share eternal life with our Lord and our Blessed Mother in heaven. We are confident of our final destiny. This is what keeps us going each day, doing what we can on this earth to live out the kingdom life so that we can give hope to those who are suffering, those living an aimless and meaningless life, reduced to a purely epicurean life. It is because we are certain that we are called to share in God’s life of love and giving that we prepare ourselves and make our hearts and minds aligned with God’s love and truth. So we are not simply waiting for a pie in the sky when we die; we have meaning and purpose in life even now when we have to suffer either for the good of humanity or for God. We continue to fight against sin and evil because we know life will triumph over death, good over evil, truth over falsehood.
But like Mary, we know that it will not be our strength alone but it will be the power of God at work in us, provided we are humble, docile and receptive to His Word. This is what the gospel is inviting us. Elizabeth told Mary, “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.” Indeed, Mary believed in the Word of God and obeyed it without reservation. For this reason, God could work wonders through her and make her the Mother of the Saviour. Hence, Mary in the Magnificat sang, “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.” God will work in us, and manifest His mercy provided we fear Him, walk in His ways and be humble like Mary. “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.” Yes, God wants to show us His mercy and power, but we need to surrender our lives completely to the Lord like Mary, sharing in Christ’s salvific mission.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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