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Vol. 36 No. 45                                                                                       Cycle B

                       ASSUMPTION OF MARY & INDEPENDENCE DAY

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones.

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 the twin feasts of the Assumption of Mother Mary and Independence Day of our Motherland. The Readings of the Mass for India are chosen to highlight freedom. Mary was a supremely free woman because she was sinless, and she surrendered to God in faith, humility and love.
Because of our pride and selfishness, we continue to be in the bondage of sin. The two great feasts we celebrate today challenge us to stand up and be counted in the struggle against bondage of any sort. Let us be sorry for not contributing our share in eradicating the many evils that prevail in our country, and for the times we have failed to accept and do the will of God in our lives.

I confess...

Glory to God...

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray: 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, in overcoming the enemy of her people, brings joy to them all. King Uzziah praises Judith 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 her, “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 your nation was brought low, but have avenged our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God. 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

(St Paul exhorts the Galatian Christians, saying: “For freedom Christ has set us free and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” To be free, he tells, is to be able to love all by serving them 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

(In gratitude and praise, Mary sings the mercies of the Lord, because she recognizes her low, helpless and powerless status.)

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, as we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary and Independence Day of our great Nation, let us place all our petitions through Mary that she may intercede for us with God our loving Father.

Response: Father, through the intercession of Mother Mary, hear our prayer.

1. That all the leaders of the Church may look toward Mary for guidance and follow her example of accepting and living the will of God, let us pray to the Lord. R./

2. That all the political leaders and governments of our country may understand the needs of the people and commit to serve them with justice and equality, let us pray to the Lord. R./

3. That all those who work for the development and prosperity of our country may experience God’s presence in their lives and may not be discouraged by oppositions or hardships, let us pray to the Lord. R./

4. That all those who live in oppression and bondage of sin may experience God’s healing touch and come to share the freedom of the children of God, let us pray to the Lord. R./

5. That all of us gathered here to honour Mother Mary may learn to imitate her openness to the will of God and become bearers of Christ, let us pray to the Lord. R./

(Pray for local and personal needs)

Cel: Loving Father, you have given us Mary as model of faithful discipleship, and you willed that she shares in the glory of your Son Jesus. Grant us the faith of Mary that we may proclaim your mercy and love to all peoples. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

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…

 

                             Liturgy & Life

In union with all Catholics all over the world, we rejoice on this solemnity of the Assumption of Mother Mary. As God had preserved her from the corruption of original sin, so also He preserved her from the corruption of the grave. Assumption of Mary is a pledge and guarantee of our own resurrection and return to our Heavenly Father.

Although it was only proclaimed as dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, the Assumption had been taught in the Church for centuries as a truth that emerged from the popular faith of the Christian community. This is what the dogmatic definition tells us as it expresses the hope “that faith in the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven may make our faith in our resurrection both stronger and more active.”

We honour Mary as the woman who put her whole self at the service of God’s plan, who consented to let God’s Spirit take hold of her so that the Son of God could take flesh in our midst.

In the Magnificat we see Mary as the radical woman. She is the woman who hungers for a new justice on earth, one that reflects the justice of God. The God who did not overlook her is the God who dethrones the mighty and exalts the lowly. In this dispensation the hungry are filled with good things, the rich sent empty away. Mary voices a contrary wisdom. She voices a radical protest against what we all take for granted: that the mighty will always prevail over the weak, that the well-fed nations will thrive while others starve to death, that the politically strong will always occupy the thrones of power. The power of the Lord, revealed in history through his salvific deeds, is the source of profound rejoicing (v. 47). God’s liberating actions come from the lowly and the oppressed (v. 48). Mary also proclaims the holiness of God, “and holy is his name” (v. 49).

As Mary’s assumption is the first fruit of the redemptive love of Jesus, we too are supposed to be part of that harvest. Because of Jesus, humanity is destined for glorification; because of Mary, humanity is shown to be already involved in the fullest realization of its potential.

St Paul states in Corinthians (I Cor 15:23), “all people will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in the proper order: Christ as the first fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him.”

Mary’s glorification is not only a personal privilege—comparable to the resurrection and ascension of her son Jesus—but also a promise and pledge of our own glorification one day. It not only emphasizes her unique dignity as the Mother of Jesus, but also underscores our own destiny.

It is a happy coincidence that Independence Day of our great Nation falls on the feast of the Assumption of Mother Mary. With Mary let us raise upto God a chorus of gratitude and praise for the blessings received as individuals and as a Nation. As the redeemed people of God, we have a mission to redeem and free our country from poverty, illiteracy, corruption, injustice and communalism, etc. And we, like Mary, must have faith—not a faith that shilly-shallys, but a faith that is meaningful, a faith that leads to commitment. Today, once again, let us resolve to commit ourselves to the cause of truth and justice and work for the good of all citizens of the Nation.


—Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp


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