Long before the Feast of the Assumption gained prominence in the Church, Carmelites celebrated it as a sign of God’s favour towards Mary, their patron. In the Assumption the early Carmelites found echoes of the ascension of Jesus and of their spiritual father, the Prophet Elijah. They believed that where Elijah, Jesus and Mary had gone they would go too. The Feast affirms our belief in eternal life.

Through the example of Mary, our sister in faith and mother of the Church, we too can find our way to eternal life. The words of the Magnificat (today’s Gospel) capture the grace of eternal life within Mary: one who listens deeply to the Word of God; who thirsts for justice; who praises God for generosity, mercy, freedom, compassion and faithfulness.

The Assumption is a great feast of hope! In the scripture and related writings for this feast, we learn that God’s plan is that we, like Mary, are destined to share the same glory of heaven, through Christ’s resurrection.

The second reading of today’s feast says: Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep…Just as all people die in Adam, so all people will be brought to life in Christ… All made possible by God’s great love for us.

The Gospel is the story of the joy-filled meeting between the pregnant cousins, Mary and Elizabeth. Filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth recognises Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ and the child in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, dances for joy. Elizabeth feels honoured by this visit ‘from the mother of my Lord’ and proclaims Mary blessed because she believed that the promise made to her by the Lord in the Annunciation story would be fulfilled.

Mary’s response to Elizabeth is an outpouring of joy and belief, shared with Elizabeth, but also with us, even in the 21st century. Mary rejoices that this ‘great thing’ that has happened to her, an ordinary, humble person, is a gift from God.

Responding to the reign of God’s grace in her, Mary proclaims God as the Holy One embracing her part within of God’s outreach to the human family. She rejoices in God’s power which brings justice to the poor and mercy for the faithful.

The Carmelite martyr, St Titus Brandsma, says that we too can be like Mary: The Lord also sends his angel to us ... we too must accept God in our hearts and carry him in our hearts, nourish him and make him grow in us so that he is born of us and lives with us as the God-with-us, Emmanuel.

May we breathe the Word of God into every moment of life.