Blessed Are You

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invite us to reflect on the battle against evil that is celebrated in the life and Assumption of Mary.

Basilica of Saint Mary

The Reading from Revelation presents The Woman and the Dragon.

* [12:1–6] The woman adorned with the sun, the moon, and the stars (images taken from Gn 37:9–10) symbolizes God’s people in the Old and the New Testament. The Israel of old gave birth to the Messiah (Rev 12:5) and then became the new Israel, the church, which suffers persecution by the dragon (Rev 12:6, 13–17); cf. Is 50:1; 66:7; Jer 50:12. This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster.

* [12:2] Because of Eve’s sin, the woman gives birth in distress and pain (Gn 3:16; cf. Is 66:7–14).

* [12:3] Huge red dragon: the Devil or Satan (cf. Rev 12:9; 20:2), symbol of the forces of evil, a mythical monster known also as Leviathan (Ps 74:13–14) or Rahab (Jb 26:12–13; Ps 89:11). Seven diadems: these are symbolic of the fullness of the dragon’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of this world; cf. Christ with many diadems (Rev 19:12).

* [12:5] Rule,iron rod: fulfilled in Rev 19:15; cf. Ps 2:9. Was caught up to God: reference to Christ’s ascension.

* [12:6] God protects the persecuted church in the desert, the traditional Old Testament place of refuge for the afflicted, according to the typology of the Exodus; see note on Rev 11:2.

* [12:10] The accuser: the meaning of the Hebrew word “Satan,” found in Rev 12:9; Jb 1–2; Zec 3:1; 1 Chr 21:1; he continues to accuse Christ’s disciples. (Revelation, CHAPTER 12 |USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 45 is a song for the Davidic king’s marriage to a foreign princess.

* [Psalm 45] A song for the Davidic king’s marriage to a foreign princess from Tyre in Phoenicia. The court poet sings (Ps 45:2, 18) of God’s choice of the king (Ps 45:3, 8), of his role in establishing divine rule (Ps 45:4–8), and of his splendor as he waits for his bride (Ps 45:9–10). The woman is to forget her own house when she becomes wife to the king (Ps 45:11–13). Her majestic beauty today is a sign of the future prosperity of the royal house (Ps 45:14–17). The Psalm was retained in the collection when there was no reigning king, and came to be applied to the king who was to come, the messiah. (Psalms, PSALM 45 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the First Letter of Paul to Corinthians asserts Christ as the Firstfruits.

* [15:20–28] After a triumphant assertion of the reality of Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor 15:20a), Paul explains its positive implications and consequences. As a soteriological event of both human (1 Cor 15:20–23) and cosmic (1 Cor 15:24–28) dimensions, Jesus’ resurrection logically and necessarily involves ours as well.

* [15:20] The firstfruits: the portion of the harvest offered in thanksgiving to God implies the consecration of the entire harvest to come. Christ’s resurrection is not an end in itself; its finality lies in the whole harvest, ourselves.

* [15:21–22] Our human existence, both natural and supernatural, is corporate, involves solidarity. In Adam…in Christ: the Hebrew word ’ādām in Genesis is both a common noun for mankind and a proper noun for the first man. Paul here presents Adam as at least a literary type of Christ; the parallelism and contrast between them will be developed further in 1 Cor 15:45–49 and in Rom 5:12–21.

* [15:24–28] Paul’s perspective expands to cosmic dimensions, as he describes the climax of history, the end. His viewpoint is still christological, as in 1 Cor 15:20–23. 1 Cor 15:24, 28 describe Christ’s final relations to his enemies and his Father in language that is both royal and military; 1 Cor 15:25–28 inserts a proof from scripture (Ps 110:1; 8:6) into this description. But the viewpoint is also theological, for God is the ultimate agent and end, and likewise soteriological, for we are the beneficiaries of all the action.

* [15:26] The last enemy…is death: a parenthesis that specifies the final fulfillment of the two Old Testament texts just referred to, Ps 110:1 and Ps 8:7. Death is not just one cosmic power among many, but the ultimate effect of sin in the universe (cf. 1 Cor 15:56; Rom 5:12). Christ defeats death where it prevails, in our bodies. The destruction of the last enemy is concretely the “coming to life” (1 Cor 15:22) of “those who belong to Christ” (1 Cor 15:23). (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents Mary Visits Elizabeth celebrated in The Canticle of Mary.

* [1:43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

* [1:45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Lk 1:20). Mary’s role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among “those who believed” after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

* [1:46–55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary’s pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v. 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God’s favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker. (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments that we reflect upon the meaning of the resurrection for us - as we do every time we celebrate a funeral - we are brought into the mystery of what happens to us after we die, after there is no more life in the body, when we pass into eternity and time is irrelevant. How does Christ’s victory over sin and death touch and transform our mortal bodies? “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.” [Catechism of the Catholic Church, #966]

Dear Lord, help us to live our lives with true hope in your gift of eternal life. Take away our fears, comfort us in the trials and crosses of our daily life. Help us to imagine the joy of a great reunion at the Banquet of Heaven. And, please, let our anticipation of that joy free us from the worries and anxieties we face today. Let Mary assist us and guide us on our path to that life in you.

Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you. 

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus! 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, 

now and at the hour of our death. (Alexander, n.d.)

Why is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Fete nationale de l”Acadie?

Google AI responds:

The Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15 became the Fête nationale de l’Acadie (National Acadian Day) during the first Acadian National Convention in Memramcook, New Brunswick, in 1881. Delegates chose it to honor the Virgin Mary as the patron saint of the Acadian people and to assert a distinct cultural identity separate from other French Canadians. In the 1881 debate leaders met to unite and organize the Acadian people.Some wanted June 24 (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day), the holiday for French Canadians. Father Marcel-François Richard argued for August 15 instead. He stated that Acadians needed their own unique day and patron. Reasons for Choosing August 15 Patron Saint: Acadians held a deep religious devotion to Mary as Notre-Dame de l'Assomption. Cultural Distinction: It separated Acadian national identity from Quebec's Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. Practical Timing: June 24 conflicted with the spring planting season. Historical Resilience: It honored survival after the Great Upheaval (Grand Dérangement). (Google AI)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ the fruit of the faithful,” by Ambrose of Milan (339-397 A.D)

"You see that Mary did not doubt but believed and therefore obtained the fruit of faith. 'Blessed ... are you who have believed.' But you also are blessed who have heard and believed. For a soul that has believed has both conceived and bears the Word of God and declares his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each of you, so that it magnifies the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each of you, so that it rejoices in God (Luke 1:46-47). She is the one mother of Christ according to the flesh, yet Christ is the Fruit of all according to faith. Every soul receives the Word of God, provided that, undefiled and unstained by vices, it guards its purity with inviolate modesty. (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 2.26) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the passage in Revelation that describes the miraculous vision of the author who sees a woman crowned and under her feet the crushing of the Serpent. This is the image from the Immaculate Conception showing Mary ready to give birth, the image that would signify the Church and Mary as the Mother and Model of the church. Satan and the stars under her feet representing the angels in rebellion The Child is born and taken to the Throne of God and protects the Woman who is the Church! In Corinthians, Paul proclaims the Resurrection and Christ as the first born of Mary who ascends into heaven body and soul. The Assumption raises the question: did Mary die? There are tombs for her in some cities. The Assumption may indicate her falling asleep and being assumed into heaven. The child of Elizabeth, John the Baptist gives witness to the Presence of Jesus in the womb. Elizabeth greets Mary with the preface to the Magnificat. Dualism in the Canticle is a typical technique in Hebrew poetry. Luke is telling us what Mary said using pre-existing prayers. Friar Jude underlines that the “anawim” are the ones ready to accept the greatness of God and their need for God.

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 Heaven is our destiny as well. As the Catechism tells us, Mary’s assumption is “an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians” (966). Our resurrected bodies will retain our five senses: we will be able to perceive beauty, hear beautiful music, and feel the embrace of a loved one. At the same time, we won’t have to contend with disordered passions like hatred or resentment, and we will never again fall sick or die.

Today, let this truth fill you with hope. Let it help you to cling even more closely to the Lord, especially when life here on earth seems hard. Keep your eyes fixed on the great plans God has for you. Eternal life will be more amazing than you can ever imagine. Just ask your mother Mary!

“Mary, Mother of God, pray that I would place all my hope in your Son, Jesus, and the life he has won for me!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author Jon Sweeney who invites us to pray like Francis of Assisi.

He’s taken a friend with him, Brother Leo, but asked Leo to only check in on him once per day…. Leo hears Francis’ voice and his prayer. “Who are you, God?! And who am I?” Francis keeps repeating this doubting prayer “and nothing else,” the text tells us. It is a yearning, as were all those times when he was looking and reaching up, but it was also a repeated ritual. Somehow, the meaning of a religious life is found in the repetition of certain simple, eternal questions….

 

It may be that such eternal, elementary, reaching prayers are not so much a human expression of need and desire, as they are a desire for God that comes from that human place inside us where God resides. Because then, “Who are you, God? And who am I?” would be like a connective tissue of spirit to Spirit, or even more, of one unified spirit speaking as if in a single voice. In this way, one of the early Hasidic rabbis, Pinchas of Koretz (eighteenth-century Ukraine), taught that sometimes “The prayers you pray are the very presence of God.” (Rohr, n.d.)

We celebrate the Spirit and the response of Mother Mary “let it be done to me according to Your Will” as the aspiration of all the siblings of Jesus seeking the fullness of life.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection August 15, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-15-2026 

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?39 

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:20-27. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/15/1645931/ 

1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/15? 

Psalms, PSALM 45 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/45?10 

Revelation, CHAPTER 12 |USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/12 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). The Mysticism of Francis and Clare: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mysticism-of-francis-and-clare-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2026&date=aug15a 

A Mantle for Love

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine the practices in our journey that deepen our commitment to be agents of Jesus’ Love.

Food and Full Life

In the Reading from the Second Book of Kings, Elisha Succeeds Elijah.

* [2:9] Double portion of your spirit: as the firstborn son inherited a double portion of his father’s property (Dt 21:17), so Elisha asks to inherit from Elijah his spirit of prophecy in the degree befitting his principal disciple. In Nm 11:17–25, God bestows some of the spirit of Moses on others.

* [2:12] My father: a religious title accorded prophetic leaders; cf. 6:21; 8:9; and 13:14, where King Joash of Israel reacts to Elisha’s own impending death with the same words Elisha uses here.

* [2:14] The LORD, the God of Elijah—where is he now?: the words in Hebrew have an incantatory quality, as if Elisha is invoking both the divine name and the name of his departed master in an attempt to duplicate Elijah’s miracle. (2 Kings, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 31 presents an anticipatory thanksgiving.

* [Psalm 31] A lament (Ps 31:2–19) with a strong emphasis on trust (Ps 31:4, 6, 15–16), ending with an anticipatory thanksgiving (Ps 31:20–24). As is usual in laments, the affliction is couched in general terms. The psalmist feels overwhelmed by evil people but trusts in the “God of truth” (Ps 31:6). (Psalms, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus Teaching About Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

* [6:1–18] The sermon continues with a warning against doing good in order to be seen and gives three examples, almsgiving (Mt 6:2–4), prayer (Mt 6:5–15), and fasting (Mt 6:16–18). In each, the conduct of the hypocrites (Mt 6:2) is contrasted with that demanded of the disciples. The sayings about reward found here and elsewhere (Mt 5:12, 46; 10:41–42) show that this is a genuine element of Christian moral exhortation. Possibly to underline the difference between the Christian idea of reward and that of the hypocrites, the evangelist uses two different Greek verbs to express the rewarding of the disciples and that of the hypocrites; in the latter case it is the verb apechō, a commercial term for giving a receipt for what has been paid in full (Mt 6:2, 5, 16).

* [6:2] The hypocrites: the scribes and Pharisees, see Mt 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29. The designation reflects an attitude resulting not only from the controversies at the time of Jesus’ ministry but from the opposition between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew. They have received their reward: they desire praise and have received what they were looking for.

* [6:16] The only fast prescribed in the Mosaic law was that of the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:31), but the practice of regular fasting was common in later Judaism; cf. Didache 9:1. (Matthew, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Greg Dyche thinks the main question is who are you asking to look, people or God?  Elisha is not a hypocrite. He’s not saying “look, look”. 

 

Jesus is instructing me about intent, “Take care not to perform … in order that people may see” me. I find it difficult to help and ignore the feeling of “look, look”. I used to avoid serving to avoid the temptation.  I have come to believe my own weakness is not a good enough reason to stay out of the game, to not help. I trust I am a work in progress. 

 

In closing, I’d like to invite you to look into the names of Elijah and Elisha, and how they tell a story of what is happening in the New Testament. Elijah translates as “God is Yahweh.” And Elisha roughly translates as “God is Salvation.” By Elisha asking for a double portion, it’s saying Salvation is the firstborn of Yahweh. (Dyche, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Pray with the angels,” by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.

"When you pray, it is as if you were entering into a palace - not a palace on earth, but far more awesome, a palace in heaven. When you enter there, you do so with complete attentiveness and fitting respect. For in the houses of kings all turmoil is set aside, and silence reigns. Yet here you are being joined by choirs of angels. You are in communion with archangels and singing with the seraphim, who sing with great awe their spiritual hymns and sacred songs to God, the Lord of all. So when you are praying, mingle with these voices, patterning yourself according to their mystical order. It is not to human beings that you are praying but to God, who is present everywhere, who hears even before you speak and who knows already the secrets of the heart. If you pray to this One, you shall receive a great reward. 'For your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.' He did not merely say he would give it to you but reward you, as if he himself had made a pledge to you and so honored you with a great honor. Because God himself is hidden, your prayer should be hidden." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 19.3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 comments that we know that fasting is good for us. It helps cleanse our mind of selfish thoughts, and it teaches us the virtue of self-denial. It’s also obvious that almsgiving is good for the poor and the hungry. But those are all “practical” rewards. There are even deeper rewards that God gives us when we practice them.

There’s nothing wrong with seeking the rewards that come from a life of holiness. After all, these rewards reach far more deeply into our hearts and are far more valuable than the rewards that come from selfish acts. In fact, they give us the greatest reward of all: they make us more like Jesus. Who wouldn’t want that?

“Father, I am so grateful that you see and reward me, even in my private acts of love and generosity!” (Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the reading from 2 Kings presents the story of Elijah taken up into heaven and how Elisha succeeds him. The guild prophets are told to stay but Elisha joins Elijah. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s gifts. He receives his request and can return by crossing the Jordan using Elijah’s mantle. The understanding at this time was that Heaven was not a place for people. The idea of heaven was very unusual. Three figures, Moses, Elijah and Enock who walked with God, are attributed to have had unusual deaths. Apocalyptic books are attributed to these figures who have special knowledge of heaven. The passage from the Gospel of Matthew is part of Jesus' Sermon On the Mount and it is in the context of the question of the Jewish people about how to be forgiven when the Temple is destroyed. Jesus' answer directs us to almsgiving, fasting and prayer. We are instructed to do it with the Spirit and hide it even from ourselves. Friar Jude reminds us to seek a turning of our hearts rather than a showing of pride. We seek poverty of spirit as opposed to arrogance and self righteousness.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Church historian Diana Butler Bass who recounts how some early Christians lived their faith in the way of Jesus. Throughout the first five centuries people understood Christianity primarily as a way of life in the present, not as a doctrinal system, esoteric belief, or promise of eternal salvation. By followers enacting Jesus’s teachings, Christianity changed and improved the lives of its adherents and served as a practical spiritual pathway. This way—and earliest Christians were called “the People of the Way”—bettered existence for countless ancient believers.

Yet love is what Jesus preached—and what he embodied. In the early church, devout Christians tried to embody God’s love and to experience God in such a way that love reshaped their lives. “Love for God is ecstatic, making us go out from ourselves,” wrote Dionysios the Areopagite around 500; “it does not allow the lover to belong anymore to himself [or herself], but he [or she] belongs only to the Beloved.” Not all Christians achieved this; they too struggled with loving God. But Romans frequently criticized the Christian emphasis on love as somehow a little deluded and perhaps prurient, suggesting that followers of the Jesus Way made it known that theirs was a path of love. Early Christians insisted that love—not rationality or politics or even virtue—was the primary bond between God and human beings. Love was God’s symphony, the perfect beauty that human beings experienced through practices of faith—by imitating Christ and following his way. (Rohr, n.d.)

We invoke the Spirit to remind us that “they will know we are Christians by our love” that is energized by our almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.

References

Dyche, G. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-17-2026 

Matthew, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6? 

Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/17/1593648/ 

Psalms, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/31?20 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Christianity: A Love Song. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/christianity-a-love-song/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). When You Pray, Fast, and Give Alms. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

2 Kings, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2kings/2?1