19th Week in Ordinary Time
15th August 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
God's temple in heaven was opened, and a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.
Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16 (R. 10b)
R/. On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Brethren: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule 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 “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection”, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Mary has been taken up into heaven; the host of angels rejoices.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 1:39-56
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: In surrender is the greatest freedom!
Guidlines: A meaningful life is a constant transition from a set of assumptions and presumptions to the assumption and elevation of life itself{alertSuccess}
1. Every year 15 August marks the assumption of our Blessed Mother. In India, it is a double celebration as it combines with the independence day of Mother India. Every year powerful sermons are preached on the dogma of assumption and the glory of Mary in which she is assumed into heaven.
2. As taught by the authority of the Church, we believe that Blessed Mother Mary was assumed to heaven, in her entirety, with both body and soul. Unlike the other humans, her incorruptible soul was accompanied by her body too as uncorrupted. This dogmatic truth and faith in it and the glory implied thereby, are indeed matters of great importance. But this time, let us try to take a little different route of thought.
3. Surely, this is a unique privilege accorded to Mary in virtue of her most singular vocation and mission as the Mother of the Saviour. It is quite understandable and valid that God did not want the decay or the separation of that holy body which offered flesh and blood to the incarnate Saviour. In fact, her physicality became the abode and guide, the breeding ground of his humanity.
4. In Mary’s assumption, what we can see is not just the glorification of a mortal body, but that of our mortality itself. True it is our mortality is fragile as bound to earth. But it is not something despicable or detestable. Our mortality is susceptible to decay, in terms of its physicality. But Mary’s assumption shows that this mortality assumes immortality.
5. This assumption becomes possible because of three essential tenets: harmony, freedom, and elevation. Mary’s physicality becomes harmonious with her spirituality. In other words, her bodily and material existence is in harmony with her spiritual existence.
6. There is no dichotomy, no conflict between her body and her soul. There is no incongruence between the urges of the flesh and the promptings of the Spirit, as presented in Paul’s Letter to Romans 8 or Galatians 5.
7. What is notable is the body or the physical is not subjugated to the soul or the spiritual, but sublimated, not dominated or dictated but integrated and regulated by the spiritual.
8. There is also perfect freedom. Mary’s entire life was guided by the freedom of the Spirit, the freedom of heart, and the freedom to love God and others. But this freedom is not a free reign to the flesh and the physical when a person is entangled and enslaved by worldly stints.
9. This freedom is of a higher order. This is seen in total surrender to God’s will and plans. She affirmed this surrender at the annunciation, saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done unto me according to thy holy word”. This she continued till the end of her life.
10. Her whole earthly existence was an unceasing journey of elevation. She always elevated her body, mind, heart, and soul to what is high, lofty, noble, and above. She never allowed herself to be tied to what is low and below. She was never earth-bound but heaven-directed.
11. Seen in this sense, her assumption is a logical and appropriate culmination of an entire life of harmony, freedom, and elevation. Her final assumption is a clear indicator of a continuous assumption throughout every day of her life.
12. For the faithful in India too, as they celebrate the independence of their nation, the assumption of Mary can make a greater sense. We must remind ourselves that this independence is the fruit of the enormous sacrifices of numerous leaders and noble souls.
13. Like Mary, they too had lived a life interwoven with the principles of harmony, freedom, and elevation. They lived integrated lives. They lived and fostered true interior freedom. They always elevated their life to pursue a higher goal, and that is, the restoration of freedom and dignity for India and its Indian brethren.
Practice: The assumption of Mary and the independence of India is a clarion call for all of us to elevate the quality of our lives in the spirit of harmony and constructive freedom{alertSuccess}