Mass Readings for : Thursday, 15th August, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 15th August, 2024

08-15- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Solemnity

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Apocalypse 11:19, 12:1-6, 10
A woman adorned with the sun, standing on the moon.

The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake, and violent hail.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth.

Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready for her to be looked after in the twelve hundred and sixty days.
Then I heard a voice shout from heaven,
‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ.’,
now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 44
Response On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

1. The daughters of kings are among your loved ones. On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words: forget your own people and your father’s house. Response

2. So will the king desire your beauty: He is your lord, pay homage to him.
They are escorted amid gladness and joy; they pass within the palace of the king. Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 15:20-27
Christ as the first fruits and then those who belong to him.

Christ has in been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Mary has been taken up to heaven; all the choirs of heaven are rejoicing.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 1:39-56 Glory to you, O Lord.
The Almighty has done great things for me and he has exalted the lowly.

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
She gave a loud cry and said,
‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.
Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy according to the promise he made to our ancestors-
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Reflection 5^th August, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Luke 1:39-56

Mary’s assumption reminds us of our own heavenly destiny. Her earthly life reminds us of our own baptismal calling. In today’s gospel reading, Mary physically carries Jesus in her womb to Elizabeth, her older cousin. As disciples of the Lord, we are all called to carry Jesus to others. Our baptismal calling is to become bearers of the Lord’s presence to all. Mary gives expression to our own baptismal calling. As the first disciple of her son, she shows what it means to follow in the Lord’s way. Mary could bring the Lord to Elizabeth because, at the moment of the annunciation, she had given herself over to God’s purpose for her life and she had consented to allow the Holy Spirit to overshadow her, to take hold of her. To the extent that we give ourselves over to God’s purpose for our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to overshadow us, we too will become people who bring the Lord to others.

When Mary reached her destination and greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary’s way of relating to Elizabeth resulted in Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit. We too are called to relate to others in ways that help them to become filled with the Holy Spirit, that open them up more fully to the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In response to Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth declares Mary blessed because of her faith, ‘Blessed is she who believed’. Mary’s faith showed itself in love, in a journey of loving concern to her older, more vulnerable, pregnant cousin. She shows us that genuine faith always expresses itself in loving service of others. Just as Mary’s presence filled Elizabeth with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth’s way of relating to Mary filled Mary with a spirit of prayer. Because of the way Elizabeth welcomed Mary, Mary prayed her great prayer, the Magnificat. Mary’s prayer shows her to be a woman who hungers for a new justice on earth, where the lowly are exalted, the hungry are filled, and oppressive powers are overcome. Mary shows us that genuine faith expresses itself not only in love but in hunger for justice.

If Mary’s life shows us the shape of our own faith journey, her assumption shows us our final destiny, beyond this earthly life. The feast of her assumption celebrates her full sharing in the risen life of Christ. She gives us hope that, in the words of today’s second reading, ‘all will be brought to life in Christ’. As one who now shares fully in the Lord’s risen life, we can confidently turn to her, asking her to pray for us now so that we can be the complete disciple of the Lord that she was and to pray for us at the hour of our death so that we too can come to share in the Lord’s risen life to the full.