CELEBRATING HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: We celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary and India’s Independence Day.
We celebrate that Mary was lifted, body and soul, into God’s presence. It is a celebration of hope that one day we will share in this fullness of life. We celebrate that Mary is precious to God; so are you and I, and every person in this world. We should treat each other like that: as persons precious and beloved to God.
We pray that we may respect every human being with the dignity and sacredness which is his/her right as a child of God.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have failed to respect people, we ask the Lord to forgive us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, in you shall all be brought to life:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you raise the dead to life in the Spirit:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you will come in glory with salvation for your people:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Gracious God,
you chose the Virgin Mary
to bear your incarnate Word,
and at her life’s end
you brought her in body and spirit to heavenly glory.
Grant that like Mary
we may hear your word and keep it
and one day share with her
the risen life of Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Psalm Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
Response The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Mary is taken up to heaven;
a chorus of angels exults.
Gospel Luke 1:39-56
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Sunday Snippets
I came across a book A Child Called ‘It’. It is the autobiography of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his mother. She considered him not a son, but a slave; not a boy, but an “it”. Dave’s clothes were torn rags; his food was spoiled scraps that dogs refused to eat. He had no one to whom he could turn; his dreams kept him alive – dreams of someone loving and caring for him, of being treated as a human being.
The story of David Pelzer is the story of many. The book’s publisher, Trevor Dolby, said: “We get ten letters a day from people saying the book mirrors their childhood.”
The story of David Pelzer is the story of our world. We seem closer to one another than ever before. In fact, we live in “anonymous proximity” in a depersonalised society; we treat one another as “its”.
It is this context of a depersonalized society that we celebrate this Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption and our Independence Day.
The Assumption means that Mary already experiences the union of glorified body and soul; she already shares in Christ’s resurrection. It points to and anticipates a gift to all believers. We too will one day share in Christ’s resurrection as complete persons.
Perhaps more important than the “what” of the Assumption is the “why” of the declaration of the dogma. In the declaration, Pope Pius XII stated that the previous fifty years had seen the loss of several million lives in the Armenian genocide, the two World Wars and the Holocaust, and the Russian Revolution. He deplored the destruction of human life, the desecration of human bodies, and the loss of reverence for the God-given identity of every human being, and intended “that the celebration of the Assumption of Mary might make clear the sacredness and the high destiny of every single human person.”
The horror of the last century is not over: violence and terror attacks; communalism and caste discrimination; oppression of the poor and the weak; racial profiling and hate crimes; women and children being raped – we hardly treat human beings as persons.
We need this solemnity, which “makes clear the sacredness and the high destiny of every single human person,” more than ever before.
Our celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption is a challenge and an invitation to treat every human being with respect and dignity. When we can do that, we can call ourselves free!
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: How can I become an “ark”?
Reading 2: The reading says that Christ will bring those who “belong” to him to life. For me, what does “belong” mean? The thesaurus gives us these synonyms: connected to, be part of, feel comfortable with, be attached to, have a place, be one of the family. Which meaning would I choose?
Gospel: When have I responded to God with joy? How can I share the joy of the Gospel with everyone I meet?
When God calls us, he does not pay any attention to our limitations. No matter my age/ability, do I perceive that God is calling me to make the world a better place? What might God be calling me to deal with today to make the world a better place?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled. Like Mary, let us trust that God will hear our prayers, and so we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For our Pope, bishops and all who exercise authority in the Church – that they may help people experience true freedom from everything that enslaves us, we pray…
R: For leaders in government – that they may use their power and influence to address the needs of the voiceless and powerless in society, we pray…
R: For every citizen of our country – that we make judicious use of our freedom and respect every human person, we pray
R: For the victims of natural and human-made disasters – that those who mourn the loss of their departed take courage from this Solemnity and find hope in the promised resurrection, and that they receive material and emotional help to cope with their suffering and loss, we pray…
R: For an end to the covid pandemic – that God may heal the sick, keep frontliners safe from the virus, protect the human family, and assist access and distribution of vaccines, we pray…
R: For ourselves – that we imitate Mary’s humility, gentleness, sensitivity, and serene acceptance of God’s will, we pray…
L: Father, by bringing Mary body and soul to heavenly glory, you give us hope. May we live as hope-filled people in true freedom and uphold the dignity and freedom of our fellow human beings. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord,
when Mary met her cousin Elizabeth
she praised you and
sang with unrestrained joy
a radical song of promise.
Lord,
let me join with Mary
to declare your greatness and pray with her:
that you give hope to the lowly,
a wealth of good food for all the hungry,
enlightenment and desire
to repair all that is broken in the planet
and in the justice systems.
May I work with you in the realization of this promise.
Lord,
complete your work in me and in us
that you may be all in all.
When I die,
bring me to life in you.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God, you lift up the humble.
In Mary, you have given us a vision
of a Church that knows how to serve
and to hold on to you in life and in death.
With Mary, and in the strength of her Son,
may we be poor and humble enough
to listen to your word and to live by it,
to visit our neighbour in need,
and to be to the world the body of your Son,
who is Lord for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
