Assumption of Mary — Magnificat Lk 1:39-56
The feast of Assumption of Mary is a great feast of Hope. The Church’s historic teaching is that the Virgin Mary has been assumed into heaven and is reigning as the Queen of Heaven and Earth, in body and soul, next to her Divine Son. The bodily Assumption of Jesus’ mother into heaven is a foretaste of our own destination where we will share the same Glory like Mary because of the resurrection of Jesus.
The first reading from revelation says, “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. For the Jewish people, the ark was very important because the ‘Word’ was written by God on Tablets of Stone and was placed inside the Ark. In the New Testament, the Word of God became Flesh, conceived inside Mary and Mary carried the Word of God, Jesus. Mary is called “Queen” not only because of her Divine Motherhood of Jesus, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of eternal salvation. She is also our spiritual mother in heaven. But the question is why this ordinary peasant girl Mary is honoured in such a way. The answer is the Magnificat.
In the Old Testament, Prophet Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel”. This prophecy was about Jesus and the virgin God chose was Mary. It was not a random selection. God chose her because of her exceptional faith, obedience, humility, understanding of scripture, hope and charity. Magnificat reveals all these qualities as it came from her heart.
When the Archangel Gabriel visited Mary to convey God’s message, he greeted her saying, Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with You and he said, God was pleased with her and wanted her to become the mother of the Son of God. At the end of the conversation, Mary said YES to God’s plan. The Archangel also said that her cousin is pregnant despite her age because nothing is impossible to God. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth felt honoured and filled with the Holy Spirit, she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb”. She realized that it is not just Mary, her cousin, but the mother of God is visiting her and she said, the child in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leapt with joy. In response, Mary shared her joy with all generations to come, and sang praises of God”, the Magnificat, because of the great thing that has happened to her.
This Magnificat came from her heart which mirrors her soul. Mary sang, my soul “magnifies” the Lord, that is, “proclaims the greatness” of the Lord. Mary wanted God to be great in the world, great in her life and all humanity. It reveals Mary’s understanding of God, the Old Testament, and her prayerful relationship with God. The wisdom she received from God helped her to give the famous reply to angel Gabriel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”. Thus, She became part of God’s plan of salvation through her “YES”. Let’s learn from Mary’s example today and remember to live humbly and step out with boldness magnifying the Lord in our lives, like our mother, Mary.
Our liturgy started with the celebrant greeting us “the Lord be with you” and it was repeated multiple times during Liturgy. Angel’s greeting to Mary also started with the same greeting, which resulted in Mary receiving Jesus into her. In the same way, Jesus is coming into us in the Eucharist and let us receive Him into our heart and souls not body alone and Magnify the Lord like Mary.
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