Tuesday August 15, 2023

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Followers of Jesus,

In Luke 1:39-56, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, encounters Elizabeth who is pregnant with John. Even the two unborn children seem to greet each other. This communion of love offers us a glimpse of the beauty of Mary’s life and fidelity.

God desires communion with us and we desire communion with God. In Mary’s, “yes”, she remains open to receive God and she holds in her heart all the she longs for. She maintains the love and promise of God given to her as a young girl.

In her communion with Elizabeth, Mary speaks the words of a prophet. Mary declares from her young lips that God scatters the proud in their conceit. He casts down the mighty from their thrones. He lifts up the lowly. The hungry are fed with good things and the rich are sent empty away.

Mary held in her heart all that was important for her entire life. Her prophetic witness to God was manifest in her heart, in her willingness to bear a son and care for him until death. Mary knew God’s desire for her and for the world.

We are called to do the same. We celebrate Mary’s Assumption this day because we understand that her heart held God’s desire for her and for us. She was the first to receive the promise of her Son, that heaven would be open to us all.

We are challenged to hold what is most important within our hearts. We are being formed as prophets since we know Jesus Christ. We desire communion with Him. We desire all that is good for the world and for our wellbeing. We can’t forget our witness to God’s fidelity toward us. We can’t forget his love for us under heaven. Mary challenges us not to forget and to live our lives as bearers of such a mystery, that Jesus Christ died and rose to save all people.

 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty