- Catholic Church: Feast of the Assumption of Mary
Tell me how Mary became the mother of Christ, if it was not by giving birth to the members of Christ? You, to whom I am speaking, are the members of Christ. Now you in your turn must draw to the font of baptism as many as you possibly can. You became children of God when you were born there yourselves, and now by bringing others to birth in the same way, you have it in your power to become the mothers of
Christ.
- St. Augustine, Sermo 25: 7-8
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RV 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB; PS 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1 COR 15:20-27
LK 1:39-56
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and 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.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."
And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever."
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
Reflection on the Scriptures |
The readings for today reflect the honored position of Mary as the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ and his central role in salvation history. Unlike Adam, whose sin would confer death upon all mankind, Christ as the New Adam confers redemption and eternal life instead. My family and I like to listen to the music of Hildegard von Bingen, a twelfth-century saint whose music has
been preserved and reinterpreted in our modern age. One of her songs recounts the contrast with Adam. Although beautiful in Latin, the translation is also stunning in its clarity: “Hail, hail! From your womb came another life of which Adam had stripped his sons.” Adam’s sin stands in contrast to the faithful yes of Mary.
Today’s gospel reading picks up after Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, who announced the good news that she would bear a son. Mary journeys in haste to the house of her relatives, where she greets her pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth prophesies these familiar words to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth also stated,
“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Mary’s response reflects a mature disposition. She does not falsely deny that something significant was happening and she did not dismiss baby John’s movement in Elizabeth’s womb as mere coincidence. Mary instead responds with faith and joyfulness, affirming the significance of God’s works and pointing attention not to herself, but to the greatness, goodness, and mercy of
God.
- by Edward Morse
Revelations of Divine Love
- by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 62
“God is Very Father and Very Mother of Nature: and all natures that He hath made to flow out of Him to work His will shall be restored and brought again into Him by the salvation of Mankind through the working of Grace”
FOR in that time He shewed our frailty and our fallings, our afflictings and our settings at nought, our despites and our outcastings, and all our woe so far forth as methought it might befall in this life. And therewith He shewed His blessed Might, His blessed Wisdom, His blessed Love: that He keepeth us in this time as tenderly and as sweetly to His worship, and as surely to our salvation, as He doeth
when we are in most solace and comfort. And thereto He raiseth us spiritually and highly in heaven, and turneth it all to His worship and to our joy, without end. For His love suffereth us never to lose time.
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