THE EXALTATION OF THE LOWLY MAIDEN


THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Rev 11:19,12:1-6,10; Ps 45:10-12,16; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56

He has pulled down princes and exalted the Lowly

We celebrate the Solemn Feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today. The theme of our reflection is taken from the Magnificat and summarises the main reason for our celebration. It is the celebration of grace; that the Woman, whom God made full of grace, was exalted to the height of heavens after her life here on earth. God showed John the vision he describes symbolically in the first reading from Revelation. “The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it.” Mary is the true ark of the covenant that contained Jesus Christ, our covenant with the Father. The ark of the covenant constructed by Moses was what God showed him on the mountain. Its contents were the Tablet of the Commandment and Manna preserved in a container. The two are symbols of Jesus Christ. Hence, the passage that followed the short vision of the heavenly sanctuary takes up the mystery of the Woman giving birth to the Son, who will rule the whole creation by God’s power and decree. Of course, this is the ancient Sign of salvation in Genesis as the Proto-Evangelium (the first Gospel). John referred to the vision as a great sign to remind us of the Sign of salvation.

The red dragon confirms its connection to the passage in Genesis. The dragon appeared to play out what the word of God had given from the beginning. That is, the enmity God created between the Woman and the evil one, between her Offspring and its offspring. The offspring of the evil one is sin, symbolised by the seven horns with coronets, representing the capital sins that give birth to all the other sins men commit. The Woman and her Seed are the total enemies of the evil one. This implies that the Woman and her Son have no dealing with the evil one and no contact with sin. It is not by her doing but by God’s will. If they have no dealing with sin, then they are incorruptible. Sin is the cause of corruption. What contribution did the Woman make to her possession of this exalted state? Nothing but her faith in God alone. For this, Elizabeth praised her and what she received from the Lord by her faith. “Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” That is a rhetorical question, but we need to think of the answer to the question.

Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? The answer to the question reveals the mystery and working of the grace of God. It is because the fullness of grace she received from God is for all of us. She is the Ark of the Covenant, but the covenant is between us and God, mediated by Jesus Christ our Lord. The humility of the mother of our Saviour represents all humble and lowly souls who will become her children by their assent of faith in the word of God. We will all be blessed in her, as we believe with her that what the Lord has spoken will be fulfilled in us. That is the covenant she contained for us. Our sins are forgiven through his death on the cross by this covenant. According to St. Paul, we will share immortality with Jesus Christ because he shared our life. Jesus Christ needed not to die because no sin was in him. But he died so that we may enjoy his eternal life by the forgiveness of our sins. Hence, we obey the word of God through our physical death and enjoy the fullness of life by believing the promise of God in his Son, Jesus Christ. We celebrate our resurrection from death in this solemnity of Assumption. May God grant us the grace to continue to believe his word as our mother Mary.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory, grant, we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory.   

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