Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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 babe 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 in 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 babe 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 forever. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I renew here in your presence my faith in eternal life. I know through faith that you made me to be happy forever with you in heaven. And I trust in the power of your grace to help me take each day a step closer to eternal happiness with you, Mary and all the saints. I want to love you today as I ought, and for that love to give eternal value to every act of my day. I thank you and I praise you for your gifts.
Petition: Lord, increase my love, for without love nothing I do has value for souls or merit eternal life. Let me learn once again from Mary’s dispositions the path to life with you in heaven.
1. "Blessed is she who believed." This is Mary’s extraordinary example. She believed in God’s promises to his people, in his messenger the archangel Gabriel, she overcame her fears regarding the message she was given, and her faith grew without ever faltering throughout Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the founding of the Church. She is the “faithful virgin”. She believed in the angel when there were no external proofs or miracles to persuade her. She believed and stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross in Jesus’ darkest hour, when others had run away. It is important to enter into Mary’s heart and contemplate the depth, heroism and robustness of her faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us how necessary faith is; Since without faith it is impossible to please God, and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life but he who endures to the end. (CCC 161).
2. "He has regarded the low estate of his handmaid." Mary was humble. She was not humble despite being full of grace, she was humble precisely because she was full of grace. She had no illusions about herself, she knew everything she had came from God, she knew she was powerless on her own. Her greater closeness to God allowed her to see more clearly than us the great distance between her as a creature and God her creator, and allowed her to marvel more sincerely at God’s kindness in bending toward her and choosing her. As she came to realize the true nature of her calling, she was even more aware of what a special grace it was, and just how gratuitous that grace was. This humility translated into docility to God’s action. God’s call was not a burden for Mary, even though it did mean standing by the cross of Christ and suffering with him. Our pride is what makes our following of Christ burdensome. “The rich he has sent empty away, he has scattered the proud…”
3. "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Grateful love. Mary’s humility allowed her to love, to accept God and his ways on his conditions, without reservations, and knowing that he only sought her good. Mary’s heart was undivided. We cannot love if we are proud, because love is giving ourselves to God while pride is keeping ourselves and our interests at the center. It cannot be. Mary’s eyes were only for God. We could tend to measure Mary’s love by the great moments in her life: the Annunciation, the Cross, Pentecost, the Assumption and her Crowning in heaven… But it is worth our while trying to enter into her heart and contemplating how she lived that love in the small details of her life: how she treated Christ, how she welcomed the apostles, how she lived among the first Christians after Pentecost. And even now that she has been assumed into heaven, let us contemplate how she lives her love for the Father, for Christ and his Mystical Body, her love for each one of us, her children.
Conversation: Let us talk with Mary about each one of these three dispositions, and ask her help in our effort to acquire and practice them in our own spiritual life.
Questionnaire:
1. How much does my faith guide my choices and actions?
2. How would I rate my humility, what rights and recognition do I give God?
3. Do I take advantage of Mary’s love for me and for souls?