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“Assumption of the Virgin”
by Balthasar Beschey c.1752 |
Background on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Readings for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [3]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [4]
Readings and Commentary: [5]
Reading 1: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
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.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
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.
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.
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.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
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.”
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Commentary on Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
John’s Book of Revelation provides an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is Queen of Heaven. In the passage, the eschatological symbolism shows Mary giving birth to her son, Jesus. It also depicts Satan, who, knowing the nature of the Lord, puts forces in motion to destroy the child. This portrayal, with images taken from Genesis, and symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel, shows the Christ being born of Mary, and recalls her flight to Egypt. The dragon (which is the first symbol to be depicted) represents the secular governments at the time, Herod and Rome. The final verse of the passage proclaims Jesus as the Christ, “his Anointed.”
CCC: Rv 12 1138
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
R. (10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your Lord.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
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Commentary on Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16
Psalm 45 is a royal psalm, originally sung in honor of the king’s marriage to a queen (of foreign extraction). The queen identified in this passage is Jerusalem, central to the Jewish faith. Offered here, we see her (Jerusalem) as an analog to Mary who brought forth the Christ.
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
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.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”
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Commentary on 1 Cor 15:20-27
St. Paul is reminding us that Christ is the King in heaven and on earth, and that all things (including his mother, who will be Queen of Heaven) are subject to him. He begins speaking of Jesus as “firstfruits,” which, in the culture of the time, was that offering from the harvest which consecrated the entire harvest. In this case, Jesus' own sacrifice is the salvation of all those who have suffered death in his name. Death entered the world through Adam, and through his sin, the gates of heaven slammed shut. Through Jesus' own resurrection, he was victorious over the final enemy, death itself, and once more flung open the heavenly gates. Hence, we believe he has sovereignty over the living and the dead.
CCC: 1 Cor 15:20-22 655; 1 Cor 15:20 632, 991; 1 Cor 15:21-22 411; 1 Cor 15:24-28 2855; 1 Cor 15:24 668; 1 Cor 15:26 1008; 1 Cor 15:27-28 668
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Gospel: Luke 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.
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Commentary on Lk 1:39-56
The Gospel selection from St. Luke gives us the story of Mary’s journey from Nazareth over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to visit her cousin St. Elizabeth, who was also with child. St. Elizabeth’s greeting gives us substance for the “Hail Mary,” and Mary’s response is the great Canticle of Mary, which exemplifies her faith and faithfulness appropriate for the mother of Jesus, who is the Christ.
Mary’s meeting with Elizabeth follows the annunciation by Gabriel that she would carry the Son of God, which proclaims the coming of the Lord, and the faith of Mary before the nativity event. We note that Elizabeth is first to identify Jesus as Lord as she says: “how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” She not only professes the identity of the infant, but foreshadows Mary’s leadership standing, elevating the stature of her much younger cousin with reverence. Elizabeth continues her praise of Mary by establishing that her (Mary’s) faith had allowed her to accept even the incredible role God had offered her.
In response we hear Mary’s humility as she gives us the Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” This opening phrase establishes that the Blessed Mother gives herself to God eternally (her eternal self or soul) and completely (the very core of her being or spirit). What follows in her great song is an abject expression of faith in the Father’s omnipotence, and her own humility and awe in the face of his request of her to carry God’s only Son.
CCC: Lk 1:41 523, 717, 2676; Lk 1:43 448, 495, 2677; Lk 1:45 148, 2676; Lk 1:46-55 722, 2619, 2675; Lk 1:46-49 2097; Lk 1:48 148, 971, 2676, 2676; Lk 1:49 273, 2599, 2807, 2827; Lk 1:50 2465; Lk 1:54-55 706; Lk 1:55 422
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Reflection:
As disciples of Christ, we take this day to reflect on the singular honor bestowed on the Mother of God, Mary. We believe, as an article of our faith, that because of her pure faith that accepted God’s will so lovingly, she was taken bodily to heaven. There she assumes a place of honor above all the saints as Queen of Heaven.
This understanding of our faith is arrived at through deduction and tradition, rather than Holy Scripture. Yes, we see today the holiness of the Mother of God. We see how she humbly accepts the servant role with which she is honored by God. We hear the imagery with which St. John paints her as Queen in Heaven, and we can see in the psalms, much as we see signs of Christ, portents of St. Mary’s role.
While we see all the signs in Holy Scripture of Mary’s special stature and reward, there is nothing explicit about her dormition (but then there is nothing explicit explaining the Trinity either; our understanding of the Triune God was also deduced by prayer and revelation in the early Church). There are written works that speak of the event we celebrate. Two excellent resources are The Assumption of Mary from the Apocrypha and Cyril of Jerusalem, Homily on the Dormition.
What is important for us on this holy day is to remember that Mary, in her life, gave us an example of the servant’s role, surpassed only by her son, who is the Son of God. She accepted the potential humiliation and death possible for an unwed mother of her time. She did not look for a place of honor and showed us that her greatest honor was also her greatest sorrow as she stood at the foot of the cross.
We hear in her song today all the reasons she was accorded the singular honor of being taken bodily to heaven as tradition holds. The truly important part of this celebration is for us to see her example of faith in God, and faith in her son, Jesus, and, to attempt to follow that example (O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary).
Pax
In other years: Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The vigil of the Mass of the Assumption may be celebrated either before or after Evening Prayer I of the Solemnity. Since the USCCB did not offer readings for the vigil in 2022, we assume it is secondary to the Sunday Solemnity when not transferred and would not be offered.
[3] The picture is “Assumption of the Virgin” by Balthasar Beschey c.1752.
[4] S.S. Commemoratio[5] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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