SOMETHING ABOUT MARY “Behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” – Luke 1:48 I’m sorry but I really can’t understand those who criticize us Catholics for loving and specially honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. (And for the nth time, we do not worship her.) She herself said in the Bible that “all ages will call me blessed.” If you read the whole of the Canticle of Mary, it is the greatness of the Lord that she proclaims. She declares she is a “lowly handmaid” who will be called blessed because the “Mighty One has done great things for her.” Why, even the Angel Gabriel greeted her, “Hail, favored one. The Lord is with you.” And her cousin Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’” But importantly, take note that Mary, and those who call her blessed, point to God. So if there’s really something about Mary, it’s how she leads us more to her Son, Jesus. So we take those cues and especially honor her, and proclaim the Mighty One who did great things for her. AlvinBarcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo) Reflection: The Blessed Virgin Mary always points to her Son. See if your devotion to Mama Mary indeed leads you more to Jesus. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you…” St. Alipius, pray for us. 1ST READING The declaration of the Assumption of Mary came, at least partially, as a result of a petition signed by bishops, priests and lay people that asked the Pope to teach dogmatically that Mary was assumed into heaven on her death. This is part of the work of what the Church calls the Sensus Fidelium, or the “sense of the faithful,” which provides the means for the lay faithful to speak into the making of Church Doctrine. Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 19 God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. 12: 1 A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. 6 The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.” P S A L M Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16 R: The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold. 9 [10] The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir. (R) 10 [11] Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father’s house. (R) 11 [12] So shall the king desire your beauty; for he is your Lord. (R) 15 [16] They are borne in with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the king. (R) 2ND READING Mary’s assumption into heaven is something we all long for. None of us will receive this gift in quite the way Mary has — we will “wait” for the Day of Judgment first — but it is an essential part of our faith journey. The reason we believe why Mary received this gift immediately on her death is her lack of sin and the appropriateness of it, given that she is the Mother of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 20 Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, 23 but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; 24 then comes the end, when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, 27 for “he subjected everything under his feet.” GOSPEL Mary plays a special role in the work of salvation. I do not need to go into details here, other than to encourage us to reflect upon her obedience as the essence of her call. In the Gospel narratives, Jesus often reminds us that it is those who do the will of God (are obedient to His call) who are His mother, brothers and sisters. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Mary is taken up to heaven; a chorus of angels exults. Luke 1:39-56 39 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 46 And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 48 For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: 49 the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. 50 He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. 51 He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. 52 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, 55 the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” 56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. think: Mary’s assumption into heaven is something we all long for. T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: __________________ ____________________________________ God’s special verse/thought for me today_ _____________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Isaiah 1-4 SABBATH THE DASH MATTERS We celebrate today the greatest feast the Catholic Church had given to one of its daughters, the Blessed Virgin Mary — the Feast of her Assumption into heaven. On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared and defined the doctrine that “the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus, 1950). It is a celebration of the life and faith of the Mother of God. Having lived a life in accordance with the will of God, she was crowned in glory. We only need to go back to her life as accounted by the Gospel writers to see and believe in the truth of this feast. From her immaculate birth, submission to God’s will to be the Mother of God, enduring the sorrows of accompanying her Son, to her being with the Apostles of Jesus after He resurrected — all these witness to this crowning glory of the Assumption. No doubt God bestowed on her a lot of gifts and privileges. But how she merited this honor and bliss is something we must never overlook, for they serve as the footprints we can follow in order to share in the glory that God had gifted her. The Assumption is not just the body and soul of our Blessed Virgin Mary assumed into heaven. We marvel at that final event because we knew how she lived. God gave her that gift because she spent her life in God’s favor. On a tombstone, we write the name of the dead person and the dates of birth and death. But the small line — the dash — between those two dates is almost unnoticed. In reality, life lived during those “dash” years is the most important. That dash defines the life of that person. That dash evaluates that person. For a Christian, that dash will be his pass to eternal life. That dash will be God’s basis for judging if he lived well as a Christian. Mary’s Assumption was because of that dash. Ours will be the same. (Fr. Benny Tuazon) REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you honestly believe that the “dash” of your life will merit you a pass to eternal life? If not, why not mind your dash now? Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us Mama Mary’s life as an example of true discipleship. Grant that I may I follow in her steps.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 05:10:48 +0000
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