The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Almighty has done great things for me, he has exalted the lowly.
The Word This Week
This great feast is a twin to the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Then, if you recall, the preface of the Mass contained these words: Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church; where he has gone, we hope to follow. Today we celebrate the first of us to do just that, as we remember Mary following our Lord into heaven. She is the first to follow him - but not the last: this feast should help open our eyes to our final destination, heaven. So this feast pushes us right back to Easter, to thoughts of death and resurrection: it is the second reading which underlines all this. It talks of the gradual resurrection of the dead: Christ first, then those who belong to him. Of these, the first is Mary, she who was without stain of original sin, she who was most blessed of all women. In her, today, we see the fulfilment of the vision of the first reading: the end of death and the victory of life in Christ.
Notes for Readers
(Mass during the Day)
First
In the book of the Apocalypse, this vision of
Second
Take time and care with this reading: it explains the feast we celebrate today. We begin with the resurrection - a very clear statement: it is important to underline the words first-fruits. The next point reiterates that as death comes to all because of Adam, so resurrection comes to all because of Christ. Todays feast finds an echo in the words but all of them in their proper order - Mary is, fittingly, the first. The conclusion of the reading, which looks forward to the end of time, underlines out hope that we too will be among those who belong to him - that when Christ comes we too will share in the eternal life he has won, as we too rise from the dead and join Christ and Mary, body and soul in the joys of heaven.
Sunday Mass Sheet
This is a two-sided A4 Mass Sheet, which when folded lengthways will give you a thin booklet. Please feel free to download this pdf file and print it out for Parish use.
Wordsearch
Click on the link to get this Sunday Wordsearch. Feel free to copy and paste it into your parish publications.