AUGUST 15
621 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Vigil
Catechism Links
CCC 411, 966-971, 974-975, 2853: Mary, the New Eve, assumed into heaven
CCC 773, 829, 967, 972: Mary, eschatological icon of the Church
CCC 2673-2679: at prayer with Mary
CCC Cross Reference:
1 Cor 15:56 602
Back Memorial Bench
Reading 1
1 Chrronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2
David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord
to the place which he had prepared for it.
David also called together the sons of Aaron and the Levites.
The Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders with poles,
as Moses had ordained according to the word of the Lord.
David commanded the chiefs of the Levites
to appoint their kinsmen as chanters,
to play on musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals,
to make a loud sound of rejoicing.
They brought in the ark of God and set it within the tent
which David had pitched for it.
Then they offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.
When David had finished offering up the burnt offerings and peace offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
May your priests be clothed with justice;
let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For the sake of David your servant,
reject not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he prefers her for her dwelling.
“Zion is my resting place forever;
in her will I dwell, for I prefer her.”
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
Reading II
1 Corinthians 15:54b-57
Brothers and sisters:
When that which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
then the word that is written shall come about:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel
Luke 11:27-28
While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied,
“Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2
David gathered all Jerusalem to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of the Lord.
David then told the heads of the Levites to assign duties for their kinsmen as cantors, with their various instruments of music, harps and lyres and cymbals, to play joyful tunes. They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered holocausts before God, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
Psalm: Psalm 131:6-7,9-10,13-14
Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.
At Ephrata we heard of the ark;
we found it in the plains of Yearim.
‘Let us go to the place of his dwelling;
let us go to kneel at his footstool.’
Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.
Your priests shall be clothed with holiness;
your faithful shall ring out their joy.
For the sake of David your servant
do not reject your anointed.
Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
here have I chosen to live.’
Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.
Second reading 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Luke 11:27-28
As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Solemnity: Vigil of the Assumption of Mary
From: 1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2
Enthronement of the ark in Jerusalem
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[3] And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. [4] And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites. [15] And the Levites carried the ark of God upon their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
[16] David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
The ark is placed in the tent
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[1] And they brought the ark of God, and set it inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. [2] And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
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Commentary:
15:1-24. The preparations for the transfer of the ark involve leading figures in the life of the people and in the priesthood. Firstly, David himself, who makes arrangements about where it will be lodged (v. 1), calls the people together (v. 3), and gives all the necessary instructions (vv. 4, 11-12, 16); secondly, the Levites, chosen to be the only ones to carry the ark (vv. 2, 12) and organize the liturgical chant (v. 19); thirdly, the priests, particularly those appointed by David – Zadok and Abiathar (cf. 2 Sam 8:17; 15:24-27; 17:15; 19:12), who are sanctified along with the Levites (vv. 11, 14); and finally the entire people gathered in liturgical assembly.
The liturgy of the Church uses much of this passage in the Mass of the Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, thereby teaching that Mary is the true ark of the Covenant, the temple of God's enduring Presence on earth. Apropos of the Assumption, St John Damascene says, in a meaningful play on words, "Today, she who was the temple of the Lord is at rest in the divine temple that was not built by human hand" (In Assumptionem, 2).
16:1-43. The Levites who brought the ark to Jerusalem are charged by David himself with organizing the liturgy and its music. This definition of their role will be a point of reference for those who succeed them, including those who were alive when this book was written.
"To invoke, to thank and to praise the Lord" (v. 4), three essential elements of the liturgy, are spelt out also in the psalm that follows. Invocation includes the joyful remembrance of the wonders worked by the Lord (vv. 12, 15); thanksgiving means acknowledging God in all his works (vv. 8, 34, 35); and praise of the Lord means sharing in his glory, glorying in him (vv. 10, 25, 36). In Christian liturgy, as a res- ponse of faith and love to the spiritual blessings God gives us, "the Church, united with her Lord and 'in the Holy Spirit (Lk 10:21), blesses the Father 'for his inexpressible gift (2 Cor 9:15) in her adoration, praise and thanksgiving" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1083).
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From: 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57
The manner of the resurrection of the dead
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[54b] [When] the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
[55] "O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?"
[56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Commentary:
54-58. The chapter ends with the words of joy and thanksgiving to God for the tremendous benefits bought by the death and resurrection of our Lord, benefits which result from his victory over those enemies which had made man their slave – sin, death and the devil. Jesus Christ, by dying on the cross – offering himself to God the Father in atonement for all the offences of mankind – has conquered sin and the devil, who attained power through sin. And his victory was completed by his resurrection, which routed death. This has made it possible for his elect to be raised in glory, and is the cause of their resurrection. "In Christ", Bl. John Paul II explains, "justice is done to sin at the price of his sacrifice, of his obedience 'even to death' (Phil 2:8). He who was without sin, 'God made him to be sin for our sake' (2 Cor 5:21). Justice is also brought to bear upon death, which from the beginning of man's history has been allied to sin. Death has justice done to it at the price of the death of the one who was without sin and who alone was able –by means of his own death – to inflict death upon death (cf. 1 Cor 15:54f) […]. In this way the cross, the Cross of Christ, in fact, makes us understand the deepest roots of evil, which are fixed in sin and death; thus the Cross becomes an eschatological sign. Only in the eschatological fulfillment and definitive renewal of the world will love conquer, in all the elect, the deepest sources of evil, bringing as its fully mature fruit the kingdom of life and holiness and glorious immortality.
The foundation of this eschatological fulfillment is already contained in the Cross of Christ and in his death. The fact that Christ 'was raised the third day' (1 Cor 15: 4) constitutes the final sign of the messianic mission, a sign that perfects the entire revelation of merciful love in a world that is subject to evil. At the same time it constitutes the sign that foretells 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Rev 21:1) when God 'will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away' (Rev 21:4)" (Dives in misericordia, 8).
56-57 The Apostle here provides a summary of his teaching on the connections between death, sin and the Mosaic Law, a teaching which is given in a much more elaborate form in chaps 5-7 of his Letter to the Romans. Sin is the sting of death in the sense that death entered the world through sin (cf. Rom 5:12) to do harm to men. Sin, in its turn, grew as a result of and was reinforced by the Mosaic Law: the Law did not induce people to sin but it was the occasion of increase in sin in the sense that made it plainer where good lay and yet did not provide the grace to enable man to avoid sin (cf. Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.).
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From: Luke 11:27-28
Responding to the Word of God
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[27] As He (Jesus) said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked!" [28] But He said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
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Commentary:
27-28. These words proclaim and praise the Blessed Virgin's basic attitude of soul. As the Second Vatican Council explains: "In the course of her Son's preaching she [Mary] received the words whereby, in extolling a Kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God (cf. Mark 3:35; Luke 11:27-28) as she was faithfully doing (cf. Luke 2:19-51)" ("Lumen Gentium", 58). Therefore, by replying in this way Jesus is not rejecting the warm praise this good lady renders His Mother; He accepts it and goes further, explaining that Mary is blessed particularly because she has been good and faithful in putting the word of God into practice. "It was a complement to His Mother on her "fiat", 'be it done' (Luke 1:38). She lived it sincerely, unstintingly, fulfilling its every consequence, but never amid fanfare, rather in the hidden and silent sacrifice of each day" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 177). See the note on Luke 1:34-38.
[Note on Luke 1:34-38 states:
34-38. Commenting on this passage Bl. John Paul II said: "'Virgo fidelis', the faithful virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. 'Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The 'quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a 'fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the 'how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely [...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes: this is consistency [...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's 'fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent 'fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).]
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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