The Gospel for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is taken from Luke 1, chapter 3956 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 leapt 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 leapt 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 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 servants, 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. I want to talk about the Feast of the Assumption. Mary did not die a physical death, but she was fully human.
And her destiny was to one day be with God in heaven. A feminine figure standing next to Jesus and God. And between them is flowing the love of the Holy Spirit. And what she does over and over again is breaks into our imaginations, into our world, with message after message that flows from her heart. She cares, she worries about us, she encourages us. She’s always there to help.
What a gift. What a beautiful way for the one who brought God into the world that she now stands with Him. Please reflect on the meaning of these readings and I’ll close with a prayer. Closing Prayer Father, bless us with the awareness of the fullness of all that we are taught about who you are and how the world works. To have one of our own, one human being in heaven, working for us, loving us, teaching us, is such a gift. Help us never to lose sight of it.
And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.