Luke 1:39-56

Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab

Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16

1 Corinthians 15:20-27

Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children forever.”

Mary remained with her about three months

and then returned to her home.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, my eyes today look towards my heavenly home. I long to be with you, with your Son, with your Spirit, and with all the saints. I can’t wait to see my heavenly Mother, the New Ark of the Covenant and the Woman clothed with the sun.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Mary as the New Ark: Yesterday’s vigil mass for the Assumption of Mary told the story of the transfer of the old Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, to Mount Zion. Today, we celebrate the passage of Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant, to the Heavenly Jerusalem, where God dwells in glory. The Gospel today – Mary’s Visitation – brings out the parallels between the old Ark and the New Ark. The old Ark rested in the hill country of Judah, in the house of Obed-Edom, for about three months; Luke tells us that Mary stayed with her cousin Elizabeth, in the hill country of Judea, for about three months. Both arks were sources of blessing. And just as King David leaped as a priest-king before the old Ark as it was brought to Jerusalem, John the Baptist, the son of the priest Zechariah, leaped in Elizabeth’s womb before Mary. “In his mother’s womb John the Baptist danced like David before the Ark of the Covenant; like David he recognized: Mary was the new Ark of the Covenant, before which the heart exults with joy, the Mother of God present in the world who does not keep this divine presence to herself but offers it, sharing the grace of God” (Benedict XVI, August 15, 2011). The symbol of the ark in the Old Testament gives way to reality in the New Testament in a real person, in Mary, the true Ark of the Covenant.

2. Mary as the Woman Clothed with the Sun: The First Reading, taken from the Book of Revelation, lifts our eyes and our hearts toward heaven, where we contemplate Mary not only as the true and new Ark of the Covenant but also as the Woman clothed with the sun. The latter symbolizes that now she is totally clothed with God and totally living in God, surrounded and penetrated by divine light. The crown twelve stars symbolize that she is surrounded by the twelve tribes of Israel, by the whole People of God, and the Communion of Saints. The moon under her feet symbolizes her victory over death and mortality. Mary is the great sign of the victory of love, the victory of goodness, the victory of God. She is a sign that consoles us and invites us to trust in God and to imitate Mary in her self-offering to God (see Benedict XVI, August 15, 2007). Because of her immersion in her Son’s Paschal Mystery, Mary was enabled to share in his victory over sin and death. In us, who have been incorporated into Christ’s Death and Resurrection through Baptism, Christ’s Resurrection is still incomplete. In Mary, however, it is complete and perfect. In Mary, the mystery of Christ has fully taken effect, redeeming her from death and bringing her, body and soul, to the Kingdom of immortal life (see Benedict XVI, August 15, 2008). She has entered into the fullness of union with God and with her Son.

3. Mary in Heaven, Body and Soul: The Assumption of Mary was a gift of the Risen Christ to his Mother. She was the one in whom the Son of God made his dwelling. Today, the day of the Assumption, she began to dwell body and soul in God. By means of the Immaculate Conception, she was preserved from sin; by means of the Assumption, she was preserved from the corruption of the grave (John Paul II, August 15, 1982). In Mary, we witness the victory of her Son over the Ancient Serpent, whose head is crushed. As well, when we contemplate Mary in heaven, we contemplate our definitive home. We are pilgrims in this world and we experience the battle between evil and good, the battle between those who pridefully rebel against God and those who humbly seek the will of God. One way to stay on the path that leads to life is to keep our eyes fixed on Mary, clothed with the sun, clothed with eternal divine love (John Paul II, August 15, 1986). With Jesus, she is our model and our guide. In heaven, body and soul, Mary has been raised with Jesus and is enthroned with him. In heaven, body and soul, Mary lives the promise of salvation, offered to us in Jesus Christ. In heaven, body and soul, Mary eternally worships the Father with Christ. In heaven, body and soul, Mary contemplates in glory the very face of God. In heaven, body and soul, Mary exercises her maternal mediation for us, her children.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate today the gift you gave your Mother, the gift of assuming her into heaven, body and soul. This mystery fills me with hope, that one day I will be in heaven and one day, at the end of time, I will receive my glorified body.

Living the Word of God: What virtues of Mary can I imitate today? Her humble service? Her attention to the needs of others? Her intercession for others? Her victory over sin?