THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – YEAR B Theme: The Lord Did Great Things In Her Life
Date: 16 Aug 2015
First Reading
FIRST READING Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6,10
“A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet.”
A reading from the Book of Revelation
God’s temple in heaven was opened. And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.”
The word of the Lord
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. Mary has been taken up into heaven; the host of angels rejoices. Alleluia.
Responsorial Psalm
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 45:10-12.16
RESPONSE: On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir
The daughters of kings are those whom you favor.
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir. R
Listen, O daughter; pay heed and give ear:
forget your own people and your father’s house. R
Response: On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir
So will the king desire your beauty.
He is your lord, pay homage to him. R
They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
they pass within the palace of the king R
Second Reading
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
“Christ the first fruits, then those who belong to Christ.”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
Brethren: Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. “For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”
The word of the Lord
Gospel
GOSPEL Luke 1:39-56
“He who is mighty has done great things for me; he has exalted those of low degree.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
REFLECTION
The solemnity of the Assumption celebrates the completion of God’s triumph in Mary. The one who had been chosen in a special way to be the Mother of the Lord and of the Church, the one who had been filled with the Holy Spirit at the annunciation and Pentecost, the one who is full of grace, now lives in the glory of heaven, in body and soul, sharing in the resurrection of Christ. Pope Pius XII declared the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven as a dogma of the Church in 1950.
The world is a battlefield where the forces of death and the forces of life battle each other. It is easy to see that the forces of death appear, in many cases, to have the upper hand; hatred, solitude, betrayals, social and economic injustice, fear, disease: these are all points scored in favor of the forces of death. There is however a particular moment when death manifests its overwhelming power: when it ends our days on earth. What does God, who created us for life, do? Does he just look on unmoved at our defeat? Mary, who celebrates today the triumph of life over death, gives us the appropriate reply to these distressing questions.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us with your very own presence and life-giving word. You are the bread of life - the heavenly food that sustains us now and that produces everlasting life within us. May I always hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone."
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