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R1: Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
R2: 1 Corinthians 15: 20-27
R3: Lk: 1:39-53
The immaculate mother of God, the always virgin Mary, was taken in body and soul to the heavenly glory after having completed her life on earth. “This was proclaimed officially by Pope Pius XII on first Nov 1950. Is there any evidence of the assumption of Mary? Nothing direct. The declaration of the Pope means that Mary enjoys eternal life with her son in the fullest measure, it reminds us that what God did to Mary, He will do to each one of us eventually. This extraordinary power of God and act of love we celebrate today.
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Assuumption means that God who planned the very first moment of Mary’s life with such extraordinary care also planned her very last moment just as carefully. At the first moment of her life, by a very special privilege of God, Mary was preserved free from the stain of sin. At the last moment, by another very special privilege she was preserved free from the corruption of the grave. At the end of her life Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven.
Mary’s name is mostly mentioned at the beginning of the Gospel: annunciation, visitation, birth of Christ, flight to Egypt, presentation in the temple, wedding at Canna, Later on her name is rarely mentioned’ once during the public ministry of Jesus, then standing under the cross and at the Pentecost. As Jesus Grows in stature, Mary seems to step back to the background. That is typical of mothers. A mother offers her time, energy, her whole self, for the children. Their growth is her concern. As they grow in importance and attain maturity, the importance of the mother gets eclipsed. The same tendency we see also in the Bible, Jesus should be the centre of the scripture; he must grow.
Mary’s greatness lies in the fact that she was humble before God and surrendered herself to god. Her words to the angel at the time of annunciation are words that we need to meditate on the great deal, let it be done according to your word (Lk 1:38). Because she surrendered herself so much to god, God filled her with his presence just as god fills us when we surrender ourselves to god. Mary’s sinlessness and being full of grace led naturally to her assumption, body and soul into heaven at the end of her life. Whatever be the history behind it, it is our Christian faith that Mary, Mother of God’s Son, was taken up body and soul to heaven to the glory of god, Mary once a lowly Anawim of God, faithful handmaid, now enters heaven to share in the greatness of divinity that she once bore in her womb to fulfil god’s plan of salvation of sinful humanity. Humanity in history had lost the dignity, dimmed the splendour of God in human face, humans had drifted away from the holiness of God.
Today Mary becomes a sign of hope for all of us her children, to resist evil and foster good in the world, to become strong and courageous with the strength of God, like Mary, and to give birth to the values hidden in god’s word, because we are called to be like Mary Church is called to be a mother and virgin, like Mary, by our proclamation of the kingdom of God’s work, to keep faith intact, hope firm, and charity sincere. For Mary, the Assumption was God’s recognition of her faithfulness and commitment. It is Mary’s glorification which gives meaning to our death as human beings. It is a sign of future glorification of you and me as a Christian of fullness of life, newness of life and transformation of life, the future truth of our resurrection.
Assumption of Mary signifies human being’s communion with God, and with saints which is total. When she was on earth she was close to a few people but now she is crowned queen of heaven and a mother to each one of us because Jesus gave to us Mary as mother of Church and mother of all human beings. Thus she becomes mother of whole humanity. True love is the beauty of the heart. Mother Mary is thus the embodiment of such beauty, such great love. She got her beauty from the love of god. Today she is inviting us to make our life sublime to God’s word. We have received a beautiful git from our Lord, a mother more sensitive, more loving and more holy than all others, who intercedes for us so that her children should not drift away from the path of God but follow God in faith, holiness and charity. Let us pray through the intercession of Mary for help and strength to grow in love and holiness of God and thus one day reach the fullness of our life. Amen.
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