The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Solemnity
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Mary’s Song Is Also Ours
Mass during the Day
Greeting
Glory and honor to our risen Lord,
whose victory over death
was shared first by her
who was closest to him,
his Mother, the Virgin Mary.
May her Son, the Lord Jesus, be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Today we rejoice for one of us who has reached her destination. It is Mary’s great feast, the feast of her Easter, Our Lady’s Assumption. On earth, she went the way of Jesus, she lived the beatitudes wholeheartedly, and now she shares in Jesus’ glory. The Assumption is for us a sign of hope. It reminds us that we, too, are called to share in her the victory of Jesus if we are willing to share in the humble faith and service of the poor and the lowly in the kingdom of God. Let us celebrate!
Penitential Act
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us our sins
that we may one day share with Mary
in the resurrection of her Son.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, your mother, God’s humble servant,
was kept free from all sin:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, great things were done to Mary
when she was taken up into heaven:
Christ. Have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your Mother served you
with her whole heart and person
and she lives now forever in your joy:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
liberate us from all sin
and lead us in faith and hope
to the joys of everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us thank God with Mary
and ask him for the strength of her faith
(pause)
Lord our God,
you took Mary up into heaven
with her body as well as with her soul,
to share in the definitive triumph over death
of Jesus, your Son,
because on earth she humbly served your plans
as the first of those who believe.
Grant us her attitude
of trusting openness to your will,
that you may overcome evil and death in us,
and lead us safely, with Mary,
into your everlasting joy.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB
Mary Sums Up the Church: Christ is victorious over evil and is taken up into heaven. The woman of our text is the Church, but as Mary was eminently all that the Church is called to be, the liturgy applies the text to her. She is victorious with her Son.
The inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, celebrate, and exchange gifts because these two prophets were a torment to them.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (10bc) The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
R. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Second Reading
But no, Christ has been raised from the dead, and he is victorious over all who have fallen asleep.
A human being brought death; a human being also brings the 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.
As Scripture says: God has subjected everything under his feet. When we say that everything is put under his feet, we exclude, of course, the Father who subjects everything to him.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Mary is taken up to heaven;
a chorus of angels exults.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
God Exalts the Humble: Mary fully responds in humility and service to the plans of God. She recognises that her greatness comes from God. It is God who exalts her and who will lift her up into heaven at her assumption. She sums up a humble and serving Church.
Mary then headed to a town in the hill country of Judah.
She entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and,
with 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 inside me suddenly leaped 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 savior!
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 thrown down the mighty from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
according to the promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for approximately three months before returning home.
Prayers of the Faithful
With the help of Mary, our mother, let us pray together to our Father in heaven that he may look with favour upon us, his servants, and do great things in us. Let us say: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord may show his love to all those who try to serve him well, and that he may show his forgiving mercy to those who have failed him and one another, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord may show his power and defend the humble people who are trampled upon, and dispose us all to respect and love them, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord may give us the will and the strength to accomplish his word in our life, day after day, single-mindedly and joyfully, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord, make us aware of the poverty of our heart, so that he can fill us with his gentleness, his acceptance of people, and his care for the poor, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord may help us see to it that the hungry are fed, and dispose all people and the mighty of the world to give everyone a fair share in the earth’s goods, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– That the Lord may take up all our beloved dead into his home of everlasting joy, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
Lord our God, on the feast of Mary’s Assumption we pray: fill us with all good things, that we may bless your holy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
you let your Spirit come down on Mary
and made her the mother of Jesus, your Son,
yet you waited for her humble yes.
Let your Spirit come down with power
on our humble gifts of bread and wine
and let them become your Son.
Let your Spirit inspire us
to seek your will in all we do
and to make Jesus known to the world.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R / Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Mary, we thank the Father today for the great things he has done in her and which he keeps doing for us through Jesus our Lord.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
In the words of Jesus
we pray to our Father
that his will may be done in us. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
and from the ultimate enemy, death.
Let your compassion and faithful love
reach from age to age,
and fill the hungry with good things,
as we wait in joyful hope for our resurrection
at the full coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, the Lord, who said:
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
will live for ever,
and I will raise them up on the last day.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat the Lord’s body,
and to share in his victory. R/ Lord, I am not worthy....
Prayer after Communion
God, you lift up the humble;
in Mary, you have given us a vision
of a Church that knows how to serve
and to hold on to you in life and in death.
With Mary, and in the strength of her Son,
may we be poor and humble enough
to listen to your word and to live by it,
to visit our neighbour in need,
and to be to the world the body of your Son,
until you let us share in your glory forever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
What Mary was on earth,
we the Church, are called to be:
believing in God’s ways and guidance
even without knowing what the future will bring,
open to one another’s needs,
serving with all that is in us.
May God give you this strength and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in peace
to love and serve God in people. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 1: 39-56
The Almighty has done great things for me
On 1 November 1950, Pope Pius XII promulgated the dogma: "The immaculate Mother of God, always a virgin, at the end of the earthly life, was assumed to the heavenly glory in soul and body."
In the Acts of the Apostles, as Jesus ascended into the glory of the Father, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with joy and happiness. Their joy stemmed not from Jesus' departure, but from the realization that Jesus is now constantly present amidst them in the community. Similarly, the Blessed Mother has not forsaken the community, the Church, after her earthly life. She merely altered her manner of being with us. ‘Heavenly glory’ is not a place but the new condition of being in the world of God. She remains closely connected to the community of disciples.
What happened to Jesus has happened to Mary. And so it happens with every one of us who enters the world of God after our earthly journey. When a child of God dies, their entire being is immediately welcomed into the world of God. The Assumption of Mary brings us this joyful Good news: Death is not a thing to be afraid of; rather, it is the glorious moment of our entry into the world of God.
This solemnity of the Blessed Mother presents to us our destiny – a life in the World of God together with Jesus and Mary, Our Mother. That is why the joyous cry of our Mother becomes our own prayer of thanksgiving: "The Almighty has done great things for me.”
Today, along with Mary, we express gratitude to God, because "He has shown the strength of his arm"—only the arm of God could defeat death. The Church calls us to unite with Our Mother in declaring our salvation. A new world has been established where death is no more, and we are assured of entering Heavenly Glory.