For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
9 Aug 2015 – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
10 Aug 2015 – Saint Laurence, Deacon, Martyr – Feast
11 Aug 2015 – Tuesday of Week 19 Year 1
12 Aug 2015 – Wednesday of Week 19 Year 1
13 Aug 2015 – Thursday of Week 19 Year 1
14 Aug 2015 – Friday of Week 19 Year 1
15 Aug 2015 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Among the many Feast days and Solemnities which we celebrate each month, one Solemnity which some people may be wondering why it is being celebrated is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some wonder whether we are giving too much reverence or too much “face” to the Blessed Virgin Mary, so to speak. But if we look closely at what we are doing, we are actually celebrating not the glory of Mary in herself, but the wonderful works of God and His abundant grace. Mary is assumed into heaven only because of God’s grace, which transforms a docile, humble and simple person like Mary into the person whom we admire today. Therefore, on this Solemnity, it is God whom we are actually glorifying and praising.
The Solemnity of the Assumption gives us several messages of faith and hope. It helps us affirm our faith and hope that we Christians will share in the resurrection of Christ. We can believe in the resurrection because it has already happened to mother Mary and she is proof that the resurrection is a reality. It reminds us of the goodness and beauty of our physical bodies. Mary is assumed into heaven not only in soul, but in both body and soul into heaven. The body is not evil and not the cause for our sinfulness, since the body is created good by God. It is we who are tempted and choose to sin and commit evil. The Solemnity of the Assumption also reaffirms and reminds us of the unity of the body and the soul. A body without a soul is a lifeless thing. But a body with a soul is a person that deserves respect and dignity. If we forget or ignore the spiritual dimension of persons and treat persons only as a physical body, we would start treating such persons as a thing to be used, abused and discarded when no longer useful. We are reminded that the body may decay but the soul continues for eternity. Because of this, we should focus more on what happens for eternity rather than focusing too much attention on what is temporary.
If we call ourselves Christians, then Mary should have a special place in our hearts, for we believe that she is the mother of Jesus, and since Jesus is both God and man, Mary is also mother of God. But our love for Mary is meant to lead us ultimately to love Jesus her son. She brought Jesus into this world and Jesus brought her into eternal life.Thus we should, together with mother Mary, praise God and thank Him for the many things He has done in our lives, and thank Him especially for the gift of His Son, Jesus.
Life seems tough. We see people struggling day by day, some trying to make ends meet, some going through mental or physical pain, some worrying about what is going to happen in the future, some devastated by the recent lost of a loved one. So many things happening around us could cause some to feel down, and even cause some to give up or despair. But is this the end? Is there no hope left? No. There is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a silver lining to every cloud.
In the first reading, we see a vision of a confrontation between two parties. We have the woman in labour, which symbolises powerlessness and weakness. We have the fearsome dragon towering over the woman. It appears as if dragon cannot be stopped. But God intervenes. God saves the woman and she brings a child into this world, a child who will rule the universe. At the moment when all appeared to be lost, when certain defeat was imminent, God gives victory to the weak and afflicted.
In the Gospel, Mary was aware of God’s providence and benevolence, and she exclaimed this in the Magnificat, which is a beautiful song of praise to God. She sings of how God will defend and protect the weak and defeat the mighty: “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.”
Today, on this Solemnity of the Assumption, we are reminded that the power of God is much greater than any thing, any problem, any difficulty, that we might face. God gives us hope and strength to carry on. He will not abandon us, though at times we may have avoided Him or ignored His voice. God is our providence, our hope. Are we still living in fear or uncertainty? Or have we learned to walk humbly before our loving and caring God?
