SHE HAS A PLACE PREPARED BY GOD…

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY.

Revelation 11:19;12:1-6,10

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

1 And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2 she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.4 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 bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;5 she brought forth 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,6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

10 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, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

1 Corinthians 15:20-27

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.27 “For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection under him,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him.

Luke 1:39-56

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.51 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home. 

 
MEDITATION

THE BOOK OF REVELATION reveal the heavenly Ark that appeared in the form of a ‘portent’; an exceptional woman and heavenly queen mother of the twelve tribes of Israel, who birthed the Messiah! The atypical ‘portent’ Satan, sought to destroy the mother and child, but alas the mother is victorious through her seed.Gen 3:15 Furthermore, the “woman” escaped untouched by the evil one to a “place prepared by God!” The Church has from the beginning understood that this apocalyptic description refered to Mary’s heavenly assumption. To be sure, John was bequeathed by our Lord to be the “son” of Mary (Jn 19:26-27), thus it is fitting that he received and memorialized this divine revelation. 

St PAULS EPISTLE describe “Adam,” the first living being as a type of the sinful nature of man who died, whereas in Christ the last Adam, man is made alive! Paul emphasize that there is an order of salvation (v 23) that begins with the “first fruits,” followed by those who belong to Christ at the second coming.In the Hebrew language “first fruits” is also interpreted as “first born,” thus we can posit that Mary the new Eve is one of the first who was “made alive” in Christ Jesus! Pauls reference to the OT prophecy (Gen 3:15) in verse 27 is further evidence that he alludes to Mary as the ‘first born.’

St LUKE’S depiction of Elizabeth’s greeting illustrate that Mary (v 42) is the Ark of the ‘new covenant.’ The mere presence of Mary saw Elizabeth’s child come ‘alive’ with joy in and through Christ!” When we reflect on the first Adams exhortation at the manifestation of the first Eve:”Bone of my bone flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23), we observe the typological fulfillment of God’s plan to make man in His image! 

Marys [belief] in the “fulfillment” of God’s plan (v 45) when the word became flesh (Jn :1:14) is recognized by Elizabeth’s greeting that evoked Mary to glorify and sing God’s praise as did her forebearers.1Cron 15; Ps 1:32 To reject Mary as our maternal heavenly mother is to reject Jesus our Savior. Our Lord understood that we require a mother to accompany us on our journey. Mary is indeed our go to mom, when we struggle in our walk of faith to assent to her Son. “Do whatever he tells you”(Jn 2:5) is her continues message to you and me so that we may also have a place prepared for us in heaven! 

LET US PRAY: Psalms 45:10-12,16

10 Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house;11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;12 the people of Tyre will sue your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
16 Instead of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.

Author. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days