livingtheword

Discussion Guide:   20th Sunday Year B – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reflection  Questions:  • The Assumption of Mary. This doctrine doesn’t simply mean ‘there’s something special about Mary’. Profoundly it affirms something special about humanity. Pope Pius XII asked all Bishops in 1950 if their congregations believed that Mary was assumed into heaven; 98 percent answered ‘Yes’. God spoke through the sense of the ʻfaithfulʼ to affirm Maryʼs assumption. It does not mean she never died but after her ʻsleepingʼ or ‘dormition’ she was taken body and soul into heaven. This was celebrated in the East since ca. A.D.600, and in the West by that centuries end.

• Early Church fathers called Mary the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ seen in the first reading in heaven, even as she once held the fullness of God in her womb and in her arms on earth. The reading also depicts the figure of ʻIsraelʼ – Godʼs People – His Bride – His Church and Mary as a ‘type’ or figure for the church and each Christian who births Christ in their life. The Church births disciples in conflict with the dragon who has many faces. The Roman Empire sought to crush Christianity, Jewish leaders persecuted the new Christian sect. Reading the passage with this background what strikes you? What face of the dragon tries to ʻdevourʼ your discipleship? How has salvation and the power of the Kingdom of God impacted your life?

• On Special Solemnities the selection of readings seeks to teach deep truths of faith. St Paul writes of the first-fruits, the first offering back to God. Jesus rises first… and then each one in proper order those who belong to Christ. Just as Jesus saves us and cleanses us from original sin through Baptism, He saved Mary and cleansed her from sin from the moment of her conception. As an all-holy vessel she could bear Christ and give him the fullness of humanity. As she knew no corruption of sin in her earthly life, her body was not subject to corruption in the grave and Christ was able to bear her up to be with Him in Heaven. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death”. What is your response to Mary being ʻtaken upʼ as a first-fruit of Christ’s salvation? What hope does it enliven in you? What does the Assumption of Mary mean personally?

• The historical site of the Visitation is in the small village on the outskirts of Jerusalem called ʻEin Karemʼ. In the Church of the Visitation there are large bronze figures of Mary and Elizabeth, their pregnancy bumps almost touching as they greet each other. A conversation happens between them, but also between John and Jesus. The First Testament meets the New Testament. Zechariah, the high priestly family, the Jewish priesthood, meets the new Priesthood of Christ. Godʼs promises are fulfilled. The long waiting of the Old Testament is now turned to ʻleaping for joyʼ. The Ark of the Covenant which King David ʻleaped for joyʼ before (2 Sam 6,5) is now fulfilled with John leaping for Joy before Mary, bearing Christ and the new covenantʼ. In the baby, and the disciple John, we see our own encounter with Christ ‘hidden’ in the Eucharist, and in our encounters with others? What image strikes you the most? What could it teach you for your life?

• Mary’s Magnificat is a radical prophetic victory cry, a promise of the reversal of fortunes for all who are saved. Mary is from a humble rural town, yet sings of ‘great things done for meʼ. In Christ the world is irrevocably transformed. In this prophetic prayer we hear the mission that Jesus is to accomplish. What does lifting the lowly, casting down the mighty and the ‘promise’ mean for you?

• How will you ʻlivethewordʼ this week?