This year we will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 16 August. In this blog, Catherine from our Theology Team explores how Mary’s radical Magnificat, and Pope Leo XIV’s recent reflections on it, renew our hope and help us put faith into action.
As a child with an overactive imagination, I loved the first reading that we hear on the Solemnity of the Assumption (Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab).
The image of a woman in the sky, wearing a crown of stars, standing before a seven-headed, ten-horned dragon who was waiting to gobble up her baby, was thrilling. It assumed the same kind of place in my consciousness as the fairy stories and adventure tales that I loved to read.
These days with a slightly older perspective – I hesitate to say wiser! – the image is no less striking. But instead of just enjoying the spectacle, I find myself searching for meaning. I reflect on the idea that the woman is Our Lady, and her child Jesus Christ, while the dragon is all the evils of the world, which seek to destroy our hope.
There are plenty of dragons to be faced in our world today: greed, exploitation, injustice, the pursuit of power and wealth, conflict and violence. We can add to this the impacts of the climate crisis, poverty, exclusion and oppression. Dwelling on these enormous challenges too much can lead us to feel overwhelmed and stuck. They are too big for us to tackle alone.
But again, the readings for the Assumption have something to say. In Revelation, both mother and baby escape the dragon’s clutches. And in the gospel we hear of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth and her wonderful song of praise, the Magnificat.
We are reminded that God has done wonderful things. God has chosen a humble girl to be the mother of his child and play a part in the salvation of the world. Mary, in turn, praises God who has scattered the proud, brought down the mighty, filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
As Pope Leo XIV wrote in his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas:
“Mary suddenly sees all of history through the lens of this revelation. Nothing has changed around her; the socio-political situation of her time remains the same. The Romans continue to control her land, and her people are still subjugated and humiliated. Yet, everything has changed within her, and this allows her to see what is invisible. God has already shown the strength of his arm… His plan is one that is often hidden beneath the opaque context of human events that see ‘the proud, the mighty and the rich’ triumph. Yet his secret strength is destined in the end to be revealed.” #243
God’s plan may feel well hidden to us today. But, in the Magnificat, Our Lady “directs our gaze to ‘the points at which humanity is broken and the world becomes distorted’” (Magnifica Humanitas #244). It is our task not to look away, but to trust that through the grace of God, all things will be made new. This does not mean waiting passively, because we all have a part to play. As God works through us and in us, we seek to make Mary’s triumphant song of praise a reality in our world today.
In the Assumption, we celebrate Mary being taken up to heaven, body and soul. She is the ultimate example of a truly human life, lived in faithfulness to God’s will. God’s plan for her is made visible for us all to see in her faithful yes, which eventually leads her to the foot of the Cross. It is not easy, she faces pain and suffering, but she does not turn away from the path which she knows is right.
We also seek to walk alongside our brothers and sisters, even in the most difficult times, so that we may make God’s love visible in our world. And we pray that Our Lady may intercede for us, so that we may live faith-filled lives in service to God and one another.
