Vol. 37   No. 45      THE  ASSUMPTION  OF  MARY  & INDEPENDENCE DAY  OF INDIA                     Cycle C (Special Mass for India) August 15, 2010 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                        He who is mighty has done great things for me --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENTRANCE ANTIPHON 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. PENITENTIAL RITE Today we celebrate a double feast: The Assumption of Mary as well as the Independence of our country. We do well to entrust our motherland, bruised as she is by so many instances of crimes, corruption and scandals, to the protection of our heavenly Mother. The Assumption of Mary into heaven is an act of God’s love. In every Eucharist we celebrate God’s love and mercy. Let us open our hearts and minds to the saving power of Christ that we too may be freed from the bondages of our sinful habits and imperfections. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER O God, our heavenly Father, you freed Mary, assumed into heavenly glory, from the bond of death. May we, through her intercession, be worthy to share in that same glory. We make this...   FIRST READING (Judith cleverly liberates her people from the enemies and all rejoice over the victory. King Uzziah and the people praise her, saying: “You are the great pride of our nation!”) A reading from the Book of Judith       (13:18-20;15:9) And Uzziah said to Judith, “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies. Your hope will never depart from the hearts of men, as they remember the power of God. May God grant this to be a perpetual honour to you, and may he visit you with his blessings, because you did not spare your life when our nation was brought low, but have avenged our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people said, ‘So be it, so be it!’ And when they met her they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, “you are the exalation of Jerusalem, you are the great glory of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation!” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM       (1 Sam 2:4-7) Response: There is none holy like the Lord, there is no rock like our God. My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation. R./ The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. R./ The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. R./ SECOND READING (God has called us to live in freedom; therefore our sinful human inclinations must be curbed. We must be ever willing to serve one another in love.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Galatians      (5:13-17) For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION    (Lk 1:48) Alleluia! Alleluia! All generations will call me blessed. Alleluia!   GOSPEL (Mary acknowledges the love and mercy of the Lord in her life and sings His praises. ‘The Magnificat’ of Mary reveals God as a great and mighty Liberator who comes to the help of the humble and the oppressed.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke      (1:46-55) And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” This is the Gospel of the Lord   I believe in God,/the Father almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the holy catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen.   PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL   Cel: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Feast Day, let us thank our heavenly Father for Mother Mary and for our motherland. Now, let us present all our needs and prayers to God through the intercession of Mary, saying: Response: Lord, graciously hear us. 1. That the leaders of the Church, like Mother Mary, may hear the word of God, obey and live by it in their day- to-day life. R./ 2. That all in authority may learn to serve the people under their care. May they become more sensitive to the needs of others as Mary was. R./ 3. That all our political leaders, both regional and national, honestly and earnestly work for the development and prosperity of our Nation. R./ 4. That all those who cause communal disharmony and division may receive the grace of God to give-up their evil ways and follow the path of love, justice and peace. R./ 5. That all those who live in oppression and bondage may experience Jesus’ healing touch and come to enjoy the freedom of the children of God. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Heavenly Father, you willed that Mary should share in the glory of your Son Jesus in her body and soul. In your saving plan you have given us Mary as the model of faithful discipleship. Grant us the grace to imitate her in accepting your holy will always with love. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Accept, O Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the gifts which your people have brought to your altar. May they become for us the sacrament of the fullness of life promised to us in the mystery of her glorification. We make this... PREFACE Father all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is our wisdom and our strength, our holiness and our freedom and in his Mother, the Virgin Mary, we greet the first fruits of his saving work. She was freed from sin and death to be for us the hopeful sign of our own perfect liberation, and so (on this day of gladness) we praise your name with all the angels, and joyfully we sing: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON He has exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION We thank you, Lord, for these wondrous gifts through which, on this festal day, you fill our hearts with gladness. May they bring us to that freedom which you give to your children. We make this prayer...     LITURGY  AND  LIFE   On this solemnity of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother, the Church invites us not only to meditate Mary’s hymn of praise and thanksgiving, but also to join her in rendering thanks to the Lord for all the marvels he has accomplished in Mary for us, and in us for the world. Through our day-to-day lives, however simple and humble they may be, the Almighty Father’s loving plan is being unfolded for the world. With Mary each one of us is chosen by God to carry on the redeeming work in close collaboration with Jesus. The central theme that runs through all the three readings of today’s liturgy is freedom. Judith (First Reading) is blessed for liberating the people from the threat of the Assyrians. Paul, writing to the Galatians (Second Reading), reminds them that freedom is not licence. In the Gospel, Mary praises the Almighty for the marvels he has worked for her and through her for humankind. The Saviour sent by the Father has liberated humanity from the fetters of death and corruption. The Assumption of Mary is the fruit and proof of this liberation of humankind wrought by Christ. The Assumption of Mary is an anticipated fulfilment of a promise: it assures us that we too are destined to be sharers of that glory of God to which Mary has been already admitted body and soul.   Mary’s entry into the presence of God is yet another confirmation of humanity joining divinity—human beings’ final and total union with God. Jesus’ Ascension, return to the Father, was something too obvious as he is the Son of God. But when Mary, an ordinary human being like any one of us, enters the intimacy of God, contemplates fully his presence with her body and soul, it is indeed the final confirmation of the total liberation of humankind realized by the Father.   The Assumption of Mary is a confirmation given to us by the Father to sustain and strengthen our faith. When our faith and trust in God are shaking, when we are overpowered by our own sins and weaknesses, when we seem to be lacking the faith to go on, in those moments of darkness, the mystery of Mary’s Assumption should remind us that we have a home and a Father waiting for us.   For us in India, the feast of Mary’s Assumption coincides with the feast of our political liberation—our independence. And today we want to thank the Lord for all who staked their lives and positions for the ideal of freedom. As Paul reminds us, freedom brings with it a heavy load of responsibility. And indeed with the Independence, the responsibility for our destiny as a nation has fallen on our shoulders. But even after six decades of our political independence, have we become a really liberated people? We as a nation still need to find our liberation from so many evils in our society that continue to keep us enslaved. And as Christians, we have also the responsibility of bringing about the spiritual liberation of our people. Does the light of Christ, the Liberator, so shine out in our lives that our fellow-citizens can walk by that light towards true freedom? Does the love of Christ flow out through our hearts that millions of our sisters and brothers can meet and experience the God of love? These are challenging questions that should shake us and awake us from our spiritual complacency. —Fr Joseph Thenasseril, ssp     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August  2010                 READINGS  OF  THE  WEEK             Psalter Week  4 16 Mon (G)   Ezek 24:15-24; Ps Deut:32:18-19,20,21; Mt 19:16-22 17 Tue (G)   Ezek 28:1-10; Ps Deut:32:26-27ab,27cd-28,30,35cd-36ab; Mt 19:23-30 18 Wed (G)   Ezek 34:1-11; Ps 22:1-3a,3b-4,5,6; Mt 20:1-16a 19 Thu (G)   Ezek 36:23-28; Ps 50:12-13,14-15,18-19; Mt 22:1-14 20 Fri (W)   St Bernard, mem,  Ezek 37:1-14; Ps 106:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9; Mt 22:34-40 21 Sat (W)   St Pius X, mem,  Ezek 43:1-7a; Ps 84:9abc&10,11-12,13-14; Mt 23:1-12   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------