Meditation

Today, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel presents us with the dialogue between her and her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary enters the house and greets Elizabeth, Elizabeth says to her, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Lk 1:42). These words, full of faith, joy, and wonder, have become part of the Hail Mary. Every time we recite this beautiful and familiar prayer, we do as Elizabeth did: we greet Mary, we bless her, for she brings us Jesus.

Mary accepts Elizabeth's blessing and responds with a canticle, a gift for us, for all of history: the Magnificat. It is a song of praise that could be defined as "the song of hope." It is a hymn of praise and exultation for the great things the Lord has done in her, but Mary goes further: she contemplates God's work through the history of his people. It says, for example, that the Lord "has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty" (vv. 52-53). Listening to these words, one might wonder: isn't the Virgin exaggerating a little, describing a world that doesn't exist? Indeed, what she says doesn't seem to correspond to reality; While she speaks, the powerful of the time have not been overthrown: the formidable Herod, for example, is firmly on his throne. And even the poor and hungry remain so, while the rich continue to prosper.

What does this canticle of Mary mean? What is its significance? She doesn't want to chronicle the times—she isn't a journalist—but to tell us something far more important: that God, through her, inaugurated a historical turning point, definitively established a new order of things. She, small and humble, was lifted up and—as we celebrate today—raised to the glory of Heaven, while the powerful of the world are destined to remain empty-handed. Think of the parable of the rich man who had a beggar, Lazarus, at his gate. How did it end? Empty-handed. In other words, the Virgin announces a radical change, a reversal of values. In speaking with Elizabeth, carrying Jesus in her womb, she anticipates what her Son will say when he proclaims the poor and humble blessed and warns the rich and those who rely on their own self-sufficiency. The Virgin Mary, therefore, prophesies with this hymn, with this prayer: she prophesies that it is not power, success, and money that matter most, but service, humility, and love. And by looking at her in glory, we understand that true power is service—let us not forget: true power is service—and to reign means to love. And that this is the path to Heaven.

So, looking at ourselves, we can ask: does this reversal announced by Mary affect my life? Do I believe that to love is to reign and to serve is to have power? Do I believe that the goal of my life is Heaven, is it paradise? Or am I only concerned with having a good time here below, am I only concerned with earthly and material things? And further, observing the events of the world, do I give in to pessimism or, like the Virgin, do I know how to see the work of God who, through gentleness and littleness, accomplishes great things? Brothers and sisters, Mary today sings of hope and rekindles hope in us; in her we see the goal of the journey: she is the first creature who, with her whole being, body and soul, crosses the threshold of Heaven as a victor. This shows us that Heaven is within reach. How so? Yes, Heaven is within reach if we too do not give in to sin, if we praise God with humility, and if we generously serve others. We must not give in to sin; but someone might say, "But, Father, I am weak"—"But the Lord is always near you, because he is merciful." Remember God's style: closeness, compassion, and tenderness; he is always near to us in his own way. Our Mother takes us by the hand, accompanies us toward glory, and invites us to rejoice in the thought of paradise. Let us bless Mary with our prayers and ask her for a vision that allows us to see Heaven on earth.

POPE FRANCIS

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square

Monday, August 15, 2022