August 15, 2013 - Mass During The Day - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mass during the Day 
Lectionary: 622

On the day that the Church is celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, it is appropriate that we read this verse because it highlights that the Virgin Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant.  Why?

 Because the Ark of the Old Covenant contained within it (Hebrews 9:4); the Manna (i.e. bread from heaven), Aaron's high priestly rod, and the tablets of the Commandments (i.e. the word of God).  

But Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, contained in her womb, the True bread of heave (John 6:51), the True High Priest (Hebrews 3:1) and the True Word of God (John 1:1); Jesus Christ. 

Reading 1RV 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB

God’s temple in heaven was opened,

and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

St. John was having a vision of heaven.  In heaven, he could see the temple of God.  The temple where the faithful worship.  And suddenly, it came open and within it he saw the Ark of the Old Covenant.   

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.

Then, St. John saw a woman.  The symbolism here is inescapable.  The woman is the Ark of the New Covenant.  And she is the Queen of heaven because she is glorified by the sun and her foot rest is the moon and she has been crowned with a crown of 12 stars.  This is significant because the stars now represent the twelve tribes of Israel, the Kingdom of God. 

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

The powerful symbolism continues.  The woman bears a son and if we skip a few verses, we see that this child is the Messiah and goes to sit at the Throne of heaven.  Therefore, this child is God.  We can see in another verse where Scripture says:

Hebrews 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

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.

Another powerful symbol appears.  That of the Dragon.  If we read further, we find that the Dragon is actually the Serpent (Revelation 12:9).   This, of course, recalls the Serpent in the Garden of Eden who caused Adam and Eve to sin.

Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky

and hurled them down to the earth.

This same Serpent has caused many of the Angels of God, represented by stars, to sin also.

Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,

to devour her child when she gave birth.

Now, the Dragon tries to kill the Child which is born of the Woman.  This represents Satan trying to kill the new born Jesus (Matt 2:13).

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.

But they fled into Egypt (Matt 2:14-15)

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.”

And this testifies to the fact that Jesus Christ is our salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Responsorial PsalmPS 45:10, 11, 12, 16

R. (10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R. 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.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord.
R. 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.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

This, I believe, is a comparison of the Queen of Israel, Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon to the Queen of Heaven, Mary, the Mother of God.  Bathsheba was enthroned beside her son.  Mary is enthroned in heaven beside her Son.

Reading 21 COR 15:20-27

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Jesus Christ laid down His life in order to take it up again.  And He did this so that we would learn that we must also die and if we believe in Him, live again.  Mary, was the first to receive this promise.  

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.”

And because He destroyed death, His mother lives, in heaven, body and soul.

GospelLK 1:39-56

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.

Mary had received news from the Angel Gabriel, that her aged cousin was with child.  So, she hurried to her in order to help her in her time of need.

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.”

This is a very interesting statement. First we see that as soon as Mary's voice was heard, the Holy Spirit entered Elizabeth.  As though the Holy Spirit accompanied her voice.  Then we see that the inspired woman calls Mary, "mother of my Lord".  That means, "mother of my God".  And then she blesses Mary for her faithfulness.  This is all under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  So, we could say that God, spoke through Elizabeth and revealed that she was the most faithful of women and the Mother of God.

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:

This is fulfilled by Catholics, who daily pray the Holy Rosary of our Lady.

the Almighty has done great things for me

This confirms all the Teachings of the Catholic Church regarding Mary's many gifts.

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 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 forever.”

And this confirms that Mary points everyone to God.  By her example of faith and love, she points always to her Son and to our Father.

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

Mary stayed until St. John was born and then she returned home.