Catholic Church

by

Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great feast and solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the glory of Heaven, a great occasion instituted and declared as a dogma of the Faith, by the holy and pious Pope Pius XII in the year 1950, just about a century after another dogma declared the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Immaculate Conception refers to the fact that Mary was prepared beforehand by God to be special, to be beyond and above all other men and women, in that she was conceived without any taints of original sin, which has tainted all other mankind ever since sin entered into the hearts of men since the days of Adam and Eve and their disobedience.

Understanding what Immaculate Conception is, and what the meaning of the Assumption is, tied with the role that Mary played in the whole plan of God’s salvation of mankind is important if we are to appreciate how significant the things that we are celebrating today are. And as Christians, truly, we have to appreciate what Mary as the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, had done.

The Assumption refers to the moment when Mary was taken up into heaven and did not suffer a bodily death on earth. Our fellow brethren in the Eastern Orthodox Church had a similar belief in what is called the Dormition of the Theotokos, as in their tradition, Mary as the mother of God fell into a deep sleep at the end of her earthly life and was taken up into the glory of heaven.

But all these speak about the same thing, that the mother of God did not suffer from an earthly death of the body, but instead was taken up directly by God into the glory of heaven. And lest all those who misunderstood the intention of this event and those who misunderstood the role of Mary complained that we glorified her too much or even accused us of making a deity or a goddess out of her, then we should know more about how Mary is special and so important in the role she played in ensuring our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today, we should see how many of them speak about the Ark of the Covenant of God. It was told in our first reading, from the Book of Chronicles, about the moment when king David wanted to transfer the Ark of God, or the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem.

Festivities, songs and dances were prepared, and a grand welcome was planned to bring in the Ark of the Covenant into the city. And why is that so? Because the Ark of the Covenant is a grand golden vessel containing the two slabs of stone upon which God Himself had touched and on which He had written the Law and the Covenant which He had established with His people. It is a representative of God’s very Presence in this world.

But how does that then relate to Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ? That is because if we know Who Christ is, then certainly we can make that clear link between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. Yes, Mary indeed is also the Ark of the Covenant, as she bore within her the New Covenant of God with mankind, that is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world in order to save the world and right all the wrongs and faults which was in this world. Mankind had erred and through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, they had brought the sundering and the separation between us and God. According to St. Paul, through the act of one man, the whole race of men had been brought low by sin and had to suffer and die. But through the act of another Man, they all have been brought into a new life in God.

And that Man was Jesus Christ, the One Who had been born through the virgin, Mary, His mother, that by His works, He may bring all mankind back into the loving embrace of God. Through Jesus, a new covenant between God and mankind had been established, while the old covenant had passed away. The old covenant God made with mankind had expired and been replaced anew with one that will last forever.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not the same as the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first place, we are not making Mary to be a goddess or a deity on her own right. Jesus ascended by His own power and might, but Mary was brought up by God into heaven through His will to grant her the singular grace to escape the snares of death. She alone among all mankind not to suffer death.

And why is this so, brethren? That is because as the vessel bearing the Lord of life and He Who have mastered and conquered death, it does not seem appropriate if then His own mother would succumb to it, as death is the consequence for sin, and for someone who has been conceived without the taints of original sin, that is the blessed mother of our Lord, Mary, it is appropriate that our Lord rewarded her with such a privilege.

But in the end, how are all these relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because we know for sure that Jesus our Lord would not let His mother to suffer death or in any sense, any form of earthly and bodily decay, so thus He will also endeavour to bring us all into the salvation and liberation which He alone can bring unto us. For in Mary we have seen the fullness of God’s faithful promises to us mankind, that He will deliver us all from the snares of sin and from the sting of sin, that is death.

Yet, all these will also require our dedication and commitment. We cannot truly receive the fullness of God’s promise and God’s salvation if we ourselves are the ones who place the barriers and obstacles on our path to attain God’s mercy and grace. God offers us His mercy and forgiveness freely, but we shall find that we are ourselves our greatest enemy. It is our reluctance, our lack of desire to be forgiven, that lack of the sense of regret for our sins that have caused us to remain trapped within that quagmire of sin.

And lastly, we have that one great helper and a source of inspiration to depend on, as we make this journey of faith towards God. Mary herself is our greatest help and our great protector before her Son, our Lord. She is in heaven, interceding for our sake daily, praying for us and for all the beleaguered children of God, whom God had entrusted to her care from the cross.

On this day of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us renew our devotion to the Lord our God through His blessed mother Mary, who has shown us the way forward, by following her examples, faith and piety that we too may receive the same glory which had been accorded to her. We too shall share in the joy of heaven and in the eternal life promised by God to all of His faithful ones. All that we need to do is to really devote ourselves, our time and our efforts in order to serve the Lord our God and follow Him with all of our strength.

May God bless us all and keep us, and may His mercy be poured down upon us, and through His blessed mother Mary, whom we remember today in her glorious Assumption into heaven, let us all look up to her as the great model for our own, and thus we will be more able to proceed forward to the goal of our life, that is to be reunited with God, our loving Lord and Creator at the end of it all. Let us all seek the Lord through Mary, His beloved mother. Mary, Blessed Mother of God assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

by

Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 39-56

At that time, Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour! He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed.”

“The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name! From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden.”

“He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

by

Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 20-26

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep. A human being brought death; a Human Being also brings resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. However, each one in his own time : first Christ, then Christ’s people, when He comes.

Then the end will come, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power. For He must reign and put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.

by

Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 44 : 10bc, 11, 12ab, 16

At Your right hand, in gold of Ophir, stands the queen.

Listen, o daughter, pay attention; forget your father’s house and your nation.

And your beauty will charm the King, for He is your Lord.

Amid cheers and general rejoicing, they enter the palace of the King.

by

Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 11 : 19a and Revelations 12 : 1-6a, 10ab

Then the sanctuary of God in the heavens was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant of God could be seen inside the sanctuary. A great sign appeared in heaven : a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain, looking to her time of delivery.

Then another sign appeared : a huge, red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and wearing seven crowns on its heads. It had just swept along a third of the stars of heaven with its tail, throwing them down to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour the Child as soon as it was born.

She gave birth to a male Child, the One Who is to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre; then her Child was seized and taken up to God and to His throne while the woman fled to the desert where God had prepared a place for her. Then I heard a loud voice from heaven : Now has salvation come, with the power and the kingdom of our God, and the rule of His Anointed.

by

Saturday, 13 August 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!” Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

by

Saturday, 13 August 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 54b-57

When our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of the Scripture will be fulfilled : Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

Sin is the sting of death to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin. But give thanks to God Who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

by

Saturday, 13 August 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 6-7, 9-10, 13-14

Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!

May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling. “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer, here will I dwell.”

by

Saturday, 13 August 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2

Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi, and the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.

David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name of YHVH.

by

Saturday, 13 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and St. Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Scripture readings today spoke to us about what we ought to be doing in order to find righteousness and salvation in our God. And that is for us to abandon our sinful ways and our wicked past, just as what the Lord told His people through His prophet Ezekiel, telling them that while the righteous enjoy the favour of the Lord, but the wicked and those who refused to obey Him, shall receive punishment due for them.

And in order to find righteousness and justice in God, we will have to learn to distance ourselves from all the things that are wicked and that are against the Lord’s ways, as God Himself announced to the prophet Ezekiel, that His faithful people ought to distance themselves from things that can cause fornication and corruption of the body, heart, mind and soul. That means, we should avoid unjust attitudes and behaviours, avoid greed and unbridled desires, avoid all the things that bring us into the trap of sin and thus into our downfall.

Why is this something so important for us to take note of, brethren? That is because, by our nature, we have that tendency to be swayed by our needs and wants, by our desires and by our attachments to the world and its goods. It is easy for us to lose our way going forward as we are presented with many options, many of which lead not to the Lord but instead towards the devil and his false ways.

In the Gospel today, Jesus spoke to His disciples to point out to them that very simple fact which we often forget in life. That if we want to follow the Lord our God, then our focus cannot be on other things beside Him. We have too many attachments and concerns in life, and that is a singular most important reason why so many of us were incapable of being devoted and committed servants of our Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us ought to heed what Jesus our Lord said to us in the Gospel, that we have to be like that of little children if we are to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. And no, it does not mean that we should become childish in our actions and way of life, but rather, we must be as children are when they believe in something and be like them in our faith towards the Lord.

If we have seen children before, talking to them and working with them, we should realise that they are truly clean slate, pure and innocent, untainted by the many concerns and attachments to the world. And these are exactly the very reason why many of us met our downfall and falter on our way to the Lord, as our burdens, the burdens of our attachments weighed us down and held us back.

Are we able to believe in the Lord just as the children had believed? The faith of a child is pure and true, and when they believe in something, they will hold on to that faith and to that belief. Whereas many of us are easy to turn away our beliefs and faith, for something else, just as what many of us did, ditching the Lord behind for the gain of our own flesh, the pleasures of that same flesh, and for the tempting gains of money, fame, possessions and worldly glory.

Let us then look at the examples of the two holy saints and servants of God whose feast we are celebrating on this day. Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus were renowned elders and leaders of the Church at the time of the early Church, during the time when the Church was still under the persecution and attack from the Roman Empire and its government.

Pope St. Pontian was the leader of the Universal Church at that time, while St. Hippolytus was supported by some segments in the Church to become the Bishop of Rome in opposition to Pope St. Pontian. The struggle and tension between the two of them were quite bad for some time, with both sides accusing each other of trying to divide the Church and the faithful.

But in the end, Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus agreed to lay down their differences for the sake of the faithful and the Church, and it also happened during the time of a particularly vicious and cruel persecution of the Church by the Roman Emperor Valerian. They were both arrested and put into great suffering and were exiled, where eventually they were martyred for their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the example of these two saints, we can see how our human desires and wants can become great obstacles on our journey and path towards the Lord. These can cause divisions and intrigue to arise among the faithful and in the Church. And certainly, from what we have learnt, we should also endeavour to reject the temptations of the flesh, the allures of the world, and instead, do what we can in order to help one another to find our way to the Lord and to His salvation.

Let us all cultivate and strengthen our faith, so that it may grow stronger in us, and with stronger faith, may all of us be united ever more closely and intimately with our God, and in all the things that we say and do, let us do them for the greater glory of God. Amen.