Introduction

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated on August 15th, is one of the major feasts in the Roman Catholic Church. This solemnity commemorates Mary’s being taken up body and soul into heavenly glory at the end of her earthly life. The term “assumption” comes from the Latin word assumptio, meaning “taking up,” which reflects the Church’s teaching that Mary was assumed into heaven by the power of God.

This celebration honors Mary’s unique role in salvation history as the Mother of God and her freedom from original sin, which makes her assumption a sign of the ultimate destiny that awaits all the faithful.

There are two Old Testament examples of others being assumed into heaven: Enoch in Genesis 5:24 and Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11. Hebrew tradition also holds that Moses was assumed into God’s presence (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).

The Feast of the Assumption is a very old feast of the Church, celebrated universally by the 6th century. The earliest printed reference to the belief that Mary’s body was assumed into heaven dates from the fourth century, in a document entitled Transitus Mariae (“Dormition of Mary”). The doctrine of the Assumption was formally defined as dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus, which underscores the Church’s belief in the resurrection of the body and the eternal life promised to all who follow Christ.

1st Reading – Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed One.”

In this apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, the Church contemplates the cosmic significance of Mary’s role in salvation history.

Her victory over the dragon points to God’s triumph over evil and foreshadows the glory promised to all who remain faithful — glory revealed most fully in Mary’s Assumption into heaven.

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

By the time Revelation was written (likely mid-to-late 90s AD, under Emperor Domitian), the Ark of the Covenant had been missing for over 600 years. Historical tradition holds that it disappeared during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

So when John sees the ark in heaven, it is a profoundly hope-filled and eschatological image: the hidden ark is now revealed — not in an earthly temple, but in heaven itself. It signals God’s faithfulness to the covenant and the fulfillment of all the promises made to Israel, now definitively realized in Christ.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 

This “great sign” has layered meaning: the woman symbolizes Israel, the Church, and most fully, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Her radiance and regal crown recall Genesis 3:15 and point to her role as the new Eve and Queen of Heaven.

The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles, signifying both continuity and fulfillment.

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. 

Mary’s labor echoes not only her physical motherhood but also the Church’s ongoing struggle to bring Christ to the world. Her suffering reflects the tension between God’s plan and the world’s resistance to it.

Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.

The dragon represents all the forces opposed to God. It is a composite image that draws from various Old Testament sources, including the depiction of monsters and evil empires found in Psalms, Isaiah, and the vision of Daniel (Psalm 74:13-14, 89:9-10; Isaiah 27:1, Daniel 7:7).

The diadems on its head represent its blasphemous claims to sovereignty.

Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. 

This dramatic image has been interpreted as Satan’s fall with a third of the angels (cf. Revelation 12:9; Catechism of the Catholic Church 391–392). It also evokes the destabilization of created order and spiritual rebellion.

Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. 

The dragon’s intention to devour the woman’s child signifies his attempt to thwart God’s plan of salvation through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. 

The child, described in royal terms, is unmistakably Christ, the long-awaited Messiah-King. He is destined to universally shepherd (poimaínō) all of the nations with a rod of iron, an image of harsh punishment drawn from Psalm 2:8-9 and several other Old Testament passages.

Her child was caught up to God and his throne.

Upon his birth, the child is caught up to the throne of God and rescued from the threat of the dragon, demonstrating the ultimate triumph of good over evil.

The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God.

The desert, biblically a place of both testing and divine protection, recalls Israel’s exodus and Mary and Joseph’s flight into Egypt.

Given that she just gave birth to the Messiah, this woman is clearly Mary.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”

This triumphant declaration confirms the decisive victory of Christ over the dragon. “Anointed One” (Greek: Christos) affirms Jesus as the Messiah.

By giving birth to the Messiah in the midst of a cosmic struggle, Mary has played a unique and extraordinary role in God’s plan for salvation.

Through Mary’s “yes,” salvation entered the world; through Christ’s kingship, evil is defeated.

2nd Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:20-27a

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

This passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians provides a concise overview of the entire messianic and redemptive work of Christ.

It’s a fitting selection for today’s feast because it highlights the promise of resurrection for all believers, a promise in which Mary enjoyed a privileged role.

Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Paul begins by asserting the central Christian belief: the resurrection of Christ. (“Fallen asleep” is a euphemism for death.)

The firstfruits of a crop were believed to contain the most forceful expression of the life of the plant, and they stood as a promise of more yield to come. It is also a Jewish cultic term: the offering of the firstfruits to God was a symbolic dedication of the entire harvest.

As the firstfruits of the dead, the risen Christ is the most forceful expression of life after death, and his resurrection contains the promise of resurrection for all who are joined to him.

For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. 

Contrasting Adam and Christ is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

Here, Paul contrasts Adam’s role in bringing sin and death to humanity with Christ’s role in bringing about resurrection and eternal life.

For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,

All humanity shares in Adam’s fallen nature and mortality. Similarly, all who belong to Christ will experience the new life of resurrection.

but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; 

Paul introduces the concept of an ordered resurrection. Christ is the “firstfruits,” the first to rise from the dead; when Christ returns at the end of time, those who belong to him will be raised.

On today’s feast, we call to mind that since Mary is most blessed, and since Mary is the preeminent disciple, we think of Mary as having preceded the rest of the human race in the promise of the resurrection: as Paul says, “each one in proper order.”

It is this belief that we celebrate today.

then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Paul’s perspective expands to cosmic dimensions as he describes the climax of history (“the end”, télos) as the culmination of Christ’s reign.

The language used to describe this final stage of God’s plan has royal and military connotations. It presents Christ as a regent-king who has been reigning with delegated authority, and now, having fulfilled his mission, returns the kingdom to the one from whom it originated — God the Father.

The image of putting enemies under one’s feet is a well-known symbol of triumph in the ancient Near East, depicting a ruler’s total domination over his foes. In this context, it also signals the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 8:6, where God promises to subdue all things under the authority of the Messiah.

“What rule and power will Christ destroy? That of the angels? Of course not! That of the faithful? No. What rule is it then? That of the devils, about which He says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities, the powers and the forces of darkness in this present age.” [Saint John Chrysostom (392 AD), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 39,6]

The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

Death is not merely one cosmic power among many, but the culminating consequence of sin itself (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:56; Romans 5:12). It entered creation not as a natural inevitability, but as the ultimate fallout of sin’s dominion.

Thus, when Christ defeats death, he is overthrowing the deepest and most destructive power unleashed by human sin.

Gospel – 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.

Our gospel reading for today’s feast is Luke’s beautiful story of The Visitation, that is, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth after each has conceived a child. We also hear Mary’s famous hymn of praise known as the Magnificat.

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 

Upon learning that her elderly relative Elizabeth is miraculously pregnant (Luke 1:36-37), Mary promptly sets out on a difficult journey — likely four days on foot — from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah.

Her haste reveals her generosity and eagerness to serve.

where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

The Greek verb used for “greeted” (aspázomai) indicates that Mary’s greeting was a customary salutation, a gesture of respect and deference that a girl was expected to have for an older woman.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb,

The effect of this greeting was profound. Upon hearing it, Elizabeth’s unborn child (John the Baptist) reacts by leaping in her womb.

This isn’t just a baby wriggling; the Greek verb skirtáō refers to a sudden, joyful movement or a leap of excitement.

This moment foreshadows John’s prophetic mission as the forerunner of the Messiah, already recognizing Christ in the womb.

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, 

Overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth gains prophetic insight.

“Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

She first exalts Mary and then her child. She recognizes the blessedness they possess, and she praises it.

The word translated as “blessed” is eulogéō, which means to extol or to speak well of. This indicates that Elizabeth isn’t giving them a blessing but rather recognizing the blessedness they already possess.

Many of us recognize this verse from the Hail Mary, a prayer in which we “rejoice with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the Lord, thanking him for having given us Jesus Christ through Mary” (Saint Pius X, Catechism, 333).

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth not only knows without being told that Mary is pregnant, she also knows Mary’s unborn child is the holy Son of God (kýrios, “my Lord”). This is the earliest recognition of Jesus as “Lord” in the Gospel.

This line echoes 2 Samuel 6:9, where David exclaims, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” Luke is drawing intentional parallels:

• Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, carrying within her not stone tablets, but the Word made flesh (cf. 1 Chronicles 15:28; 2 Samuel 6).
• The phrase “mother of my Lord” has royal connotations, echoing the queen mother’s role in the Davidic kingdom (1 Kings 2:19-20). In a way that may have been beyond her own understanding at the time, Elizabeth acknowledges Mary’s role as Queen Mother in the Messianic kingdom.

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Another Old Testament parallel: John’s leaping mirrors David dancing before the Ark (2 Samuel 6:14-15).

Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Elizabeth concludes by pronouncing a beatitude (makários) over Mary — not for her maternity alone, but for her faith. Mary is blessed because she believed God’s word.

This anticipates Jesus’ own teaching in Luke 11:28: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” — which we heard proclaimed at last night’s vigil Mass for today’s feast.

And Mary said:

In response to this extraordinary greeting from Elizabeth, Mary proclaims the hymn of praise that we often refer to as The Magnificat (named for the prayer’s first word in Latin).

During her long journey to Elizabeth’s village, Mary had plenty of time to reflect on her profound vocation to serve as the mother of the world’s Savior. She probably pondered over and over again the words Gabriel spoke to her.

The Magnificat gives us a beautiful insight into her emotional and spiritual state at this most critical time.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

Mary’s hymn of praise is a poetic expression of gratitude and joy. It echoes the themes of victory and exaltation found in the hymns of Miriam (Exodus 15:1-18), Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and Judith (Judith 16:1-17).

Her humility is central: she refers to herself as a “handmaid,” recognizing that all generations will call her blessed, not for her own merit, but because of God’s grace.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 

Mary glorifies God for his actions, both personal and historical.

His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.

The Greek word translated as “mercy” (eleos) corresponds to the Hebrew word hesed, which is more than compassion — it’s God’s covenantal, steadfast love. Hesed is the love that endures despite human failure. In the Old Testament, God’s mercy is shown again and again to Israel in the face of infidelity. Mary now sees herself and her people as beneficiaries of this same enduring mercy.

The phrase “those who fear him” refers not to servile fear, but to awe-filled reverence — the humble recognition of God’s holiness, authority, and goodness. This “fear of the Lord” is a gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isaiah 11:2–3) and a mark of true wisdom (cf. Proverbs 9:10).

He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.

Mary extols God’s reversal of worldly power structures, which is a recurring theme in Luke. God uplifts the lowly and humbles the proud. Mary is acknowledging that her experience is not an isolated event, but part of a grand narrative of God’s mercy and intervention for all of humanity.

The image of God “showing might with his arm” originates from the Old Testament and describes God’s active and powerful intervention on behalf of his people. In biblical imagery, the arm symbolizes strength, power, and action.

It’s important to realize just how counter-cultural Mary’s statements were:

• Mary’s praise of God “throwing down the rulers from their thrones” and “lifting up the lowly” was a revolutionary message of social and economic justice.
• God’s preference for the lowly turned honor-shame culture upside down, where wealth, status, and birthright dictated a person’s value.
• “The hungry he has filled… the rich he has sent away empty” directly opposed societal norms that assumed the rich were blessed and the poor cursed.

He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Mary closes by situating her own experience within the long arc of salvation history. The blessings bestowed on her represent the fulfillment of God’s enduring promises to the entire nation of Israel.

These promises, articulated to patriarchs such as Adam (Genesis 3:15), Abraham (Genesis 22:18), and David (2 Samuel 7:12), foretold God’s merciful plan for humanity.

Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Mary stays with Elizabeth until just before John’s birth, offering help and companionship. The interaction between these two holy women is marked not by rivalry but by mutual recognition, humility, and joy.

Elizabeth acknowledges Mary’s greater role; Mary serves Elizabeth in love.

There is only love between them.

Connections and Themes

The Assumption of Mary. In the solemn mystery of the Assumption, the Church celebrates that the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory at the end of her earthly life. This unique privilege was given to her by God as a sign of her intimate union with Christ and her freedom from sin. Today’s readings draw a vivid portrait of Mary’s role in God’s saving plan — from her humble obedience on earth to her exaltation in heaven.

In our gospel reading, Mary responds to God by setting out in service and proclaiming the Magnificat, a song of praise to the God who exalts the lowly. She is raised up not for status or power, but for her deep trust and openness to God’s word. In Mary, we see the model of true discipleship: one who hears God’s word and lives it.

In our second reading, Saint Paul speaks of the victory of Christ over sin and death. Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection, and all who belong to him will follow. Mary, completely free from sin and perfectly united to her Son, is the first to share fully in his resurrection. Her Assumption, body and soul into heaven, is the visible sign that death does not have the final word for those who are in Christ.

Our first reading from Revelation presents Mary as being “clothed with the sun,” bearing a child who will rule the nations. Her triumph over evil and being taken into God’s presence reflects the truth celebrated in the Assumption: that Mary, as the first disciple, shares fully in the victory of her Son.