REVELATION 11:19; 12:1-6, 10Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of thecovenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning,peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail. Now a great signappeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon,and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and inlabour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second signappeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads andten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Itstail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to theground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at thepoint of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as itwas born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to ruleall the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straightup to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert,where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelvehundred and sixty days. Then I heard a voice shout from heaven,'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, andall authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused ourbrothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:20-26In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that deathcame, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Justas all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but allof them in their proper order: Christ the first-fruits, and next, athis coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end,when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolishedevery principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be kinguntil he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of theenemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things underhis feet.
LUKE 1:39-56Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into thehill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah's house andgreeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heardMary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filledwith the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women youare the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Whyshould I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look,the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leaptfor joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her bythe Lord would be fulfilled.' And Mary said: My soul proclaims thegreatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, fromnow onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty hasdone great things for me. Holy is his name, and his faithful loveextends age after age to those who fear him. He has used the power ofhis arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled downprinces from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filledthe starving with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has cometo the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love -according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy toAbraham and to his descendants for ever. Mary stayed with her somethree months and then went home.
REFLECTIONToday we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary's Assumption, that Mary didnot suffer physical corruption after her death. She was taken body andsoul upon her death into heaven. What is the significance of thisfeast?
The first thing we find in Mary's life is suffering. Mary's sufferingbegan when she was asked to bear a son before being married to Joseph.The anxieties in her heart, - would Joseph still accept her? If thepublic finds out, will she be stoned to death in public? Later, whenshe and Joseph took the child Jesus to the Temple. There, the holy manSimeon said of Jesus: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall andthe rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will becontradicted." Turning to Mary he said, "And sorrow, like a sharpsword, will pierce your own heart." Suffering continued in Mary's life when in later years she saw theopposition grow against Jesus. Her suffering reached its peak when shestood beneath the crucified body of her Son. Mary bore her sufferingwith courage and with patience. And that's where she inspires us tobear our suffering as courageously and patiently as she did.
The second thing that we find in Mary's life is the spirit of serviceto others. The spirit manifested itself when the angel Gabrielannounced that she was to be the mother of the Son of God. Her answerwas short and to the point: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.May it be done to me according to your word." Mary's spirit of servicecontinued to manifest itself when she learned of Elizabeth's pregnancyand went to help. Finally, that spirit of service continued tomanifest itself when Mary asked help from Jesus for the young marriedcouple at Cana.
The third thing that we find in Mary's life is a spirit of profoundprayerfulness. This spirit of prayerfulness is seen in her prayer ofpraise to God. Mary offered this prayer called the Magnificat rightafter learning that Elizabeth's child leaped in the womb when sheapproached Elizabeth with Jesus in her womb. Mary's spirit ofprayerfulness continued at the birth of Jesus, when the Gospel tellsus that Mary "kept all these things [connected with Jesus' birth]reflecting on them in her heart." And it reached a special peak whenthe Acts of the Apostles relates that she "devoted" herself "toprayer" with the Apostles in preparation for the coming of the HolySpirit. Because of her prayerfulness, she was always ready to do thewill of God. That's why she was sinless, that's why she was taken bodyand soul to heaven upon her death to be with God forever.
Mary inspires us to want to carry our cross patiently as she carriedhers. She inspires us to want to serve others generously and joyfully,as she served them. Finally, she inspires us to pray regularly as shedid. Who can be a better Advocate than Mary our Mother?
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