Feast of the Assumption: Bringing new hope

For the Feast of the Assumption, Caroline from our Theology team reflects on how Mary’s Magnificat can help inspire us to work for a better world in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

As August arrives, so does a great feast of hope to encourage us in our journey through the Jubilee Year. On 15 August we mark the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which, as the preface in the liturgy for the day reminds us, serves as a "sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people."

In her Assumption, Mary shows us the ultimate destiny of all God’s people who share in Jesus’ victory over evil and death.

A hymn of hope

Our gospel reading for the feast includes Mary’s great song of revolutionary love, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).

Mary sings of a world that has been, is being and will yet be, turned upside down by God’s liberating justice and compassion. In the longest passage spoken by a woman in the New Testament, her great song of social justice is a hymn of hope for those experiencing poverty and marginalisation.

Use our family prayer resources for the Assumption to reflect on the message of the Magnificat

Words that resonate today

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour…
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty."

Though Mary first spoke these words in her own troubled time of occupation and conflict, they continue to speak powerfully to us today. Many of our neighbours around the world go to sleep at night hungry. They wake up in refugee camps, a long way from home. Or they struggle to access education or health services they desperately need.

We continue to hold onto the hope of Mary’s song and share her commitment to God's vision for a better world. Together we reach out to those impacted by emergencies, support sustainable development and equip individuals and communities with the tools they need to flourish.

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An unmistakable challenge

There is no mistaking that Mary’s Magnificat is a challenging, and perhaps unsettling text. It has been considered so subversive that, on a number of occasions, different authorities have even banned it from being publicly sung or recited.

The words challenge us to make space to hear the voices of those who are marginalised and excluded today. They call us to speak out against all that goes against God’s purposes in our society and come together to be agents of change for a better world.

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Inspiration for us

We are in still in need of the jubilant, bold and faithful words of the Magnificat.

As we listen to Mary’s song may we be inspired to participate in the reordering of the world they speak of.

May we trust that the Mighty One who did great things for Mary will continue to do great things, through us, in our world today.

And may we remember that Mary, assumed into heaven, is still present with us today and interceding for our world.

Pray the joyful mysteries of the rosary for the Jubilee Year