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
