Reflection for MONDAY, Assumption of the BVM.

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar

Today's gospel verses 

Luke 1:46-56  

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty *One has done great things for me

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

 He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. 

     

Today's  Reflection 

Days of obligation for solemnities like Ascension, All Saints, Christmas and the Assumption of Mary have a teaching about an important aspect of our faith.

To begin with, the Assumption of Mary into heaven was proclaimed as a dogma of faith in 1950.

A dogma is defined as a divinely revealed truth, proclaimed as such by the infallible teaching authority of the Church, and hence binding now and forever on all the faithful. 

It means to say that though the Scriptures do not explicitly say that Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul, the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit defined the truth of this age-old belief.

It is through the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, Mary entered heaven, body and soul.

So where Mary had gone, there too is our destiny

That is what we are celebrating and thanking God for.

That our bodies, like Mary’s, are the temples of the Holy Spirit,

And though our bodies may be apparently destroyed by death but yet we are destined to rise again.

That brings us to reflect on the dignity of the human body.

In today’s world, the human body has lost much of its dignity through sexual exploitation, genocide, starvation and terrorist attacks on the innocent.

Faced with so much distress and despair, we are called to face this injustice to humanity with the faith of Mary.

Mary’s hymn of the Magnificat proclaims that God will come to the help of His people.

That God will even do great things for us and through us.

This Mass is not about a commemoration of a proclamation of a dogma.

Rather it is a celebration of faith, faith in our eternal destiny.

We celebrate our faith in the promises that God made to Mary and to us.

And blessed too are we who believe that these promises will be fulfilled.

GOD BLESS YOU.

HAPPY FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION 

OUR BLESSED MOTHER BLESS YOU