Blessed is she who believed

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Collect

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. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 12:1-6a, 10ab

A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet.

A reading from the Book of Revelation

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
   with the moon under her feet,
   and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
   it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
   and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
   and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
   to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
   destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
   where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
   “Now have salvation and power come,
   and the kingdom of our God
   and the authority of his Anointed One.”

The word of the Lord.

Ps 45: 10, 11, 12, 16

R. :

℟. (10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
   forget your people and your father’s house.

℟. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

So shall the king desire your beauty;
   for he is your lord.

℟. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

They are borne in with gladness and joy;
   they enter the palace of the king.

℟. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

1 Cor 15:20-27

Christ, the firstfruits, then those who belong to him.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
   the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
   the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
   so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
   but each one in proper order:
   Christ the firstfruits;
   then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
   then comes the end,
   when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
   when he has destroyed every sovereignty
   and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
   for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mary is taken up to heaven;
a chorus of angels exults.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Lk 1:39-58

The Almighty has done great things for me: he has raised up the lowly.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

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 leaped 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 leaped 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,
   he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
   and has 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 servant Israel
   for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
   the promise he made to our fathers,
   to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months
   and then returned to her home.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Lectio Divina

The account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth presents to us a meeting between two mothers … a meeting between two pregnant women. Both speaking words of praise: Elizabeth praises Mary while Mary praises God. This account can be divided in two principal parts and a conclusion.

In the first part (verses 39-45) we find Mary—who through the Angel Gabriel had just been told that she and her cousin Elizabeth were both with child—visiting Elizabeth who recognises Mary as the “Mother of my Lord.”

In the second part (verses 46-55) Mary replies to what Elizabeth had just told her and to what God her “Saviour” has done in her life. This second part is better known as the “Canticle of Mary” or the “Magnificat.” In the final verse (verse 56) we find the conclusion, where St Luke presents to us Mary as a servant.

In our reflection we will only concentrate on the first part, which is the declaration made by Elizabeth regarding Mary: first “blessed” and then “happy.” Elizabeth’s first declaration is familiar to us because it is what we say in the Hail Mary: “Blessed (eulogēmenē) are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Elizabeth recognises God’s grace given to Mary. But St Luke emphasises in a delightful manner that Mary’s importance is not in the fact that she is the Mother of the Lord! Her prestige par excellence is found in the second declaration spoken by Elizabeth: “And blessed (makaria) is she who believed that what the Lord has said to her will be fulfilled.” Luke uses a different adjective in the original Greek. Blessed (eulogemene) is used for her maternity which came from above, from God. The second adjective (makaria) is more forceful because it implies the same joy that the Lord promises in the Beatitudes, a state of blessedness which is not the result of who Mary is but because of what she believed.

Prayer

Jesus you once corrected a woman in a crowd who raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But you replied, “Blessed, rather, are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Lk 11:27-28).

I thank you because like your mother Mary I am blessed. Because the blessing comes from above, from you. You send your blessing … you look upon everyone, even upon me. You have done great things, even with me.

Like your mother Mary, I want to be blessed. Because happiness does not come from above. Happiness comes from the attitude I take towards what comes from above. Happiness is the result of my response to you.

I pray, Lord, that you watch over me and extend your mercy upon me so that like your mother Mary I can declare: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” Amen.

 

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew