Assumption of Our Virgin Mary
Deacon Patrick Constantino
Areading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (1:39–56)
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
“You are nothing but dirt!” Have you ever heard someone say that, maybe in a movie? Or worse, maybe someone said it to you personally. Is it true? Are you nothing but dirt? There are two ways to understand that statement, “Nothing but dirt.” It can mean you are worth nothing as a person; your personality has little to be desired. You don’t add anything to the benefit of the world. In other words, everyone would be better off if you were not around. And the statement “You are nothing but dirt” can also mean you are made from dirt, from the ground of the earth. After all, it says that in the Bible.
Either or both meanings could refer to any of us—if it were not for one important point. God has touched us. God created the dirt of the earth. Therefore, it became sacred. He formed all the rest of creation from that dirt. Therefore, all the rest of creation is sacred.
Human beings, people, us, we were each given a special, unique likeness to God. Our deep-down goodness and qualities are in the image of God. We are children of God. Mary seems to have known all this. “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord—God who is mighty has done great things for me.” She rejoices over this.
Today, you are reminded to rejoice. For God has done great things for you. He has created you, formed you, and placed in you his goodness. Constantly, he is with you to help you develop into a wonderful, mature person.
Are you “nothing but dirt?” Of course not. Not in any sense. The ground of the earth from which you come is sacred ground. The goodness placed in you by God is sacred goodness. You are a child of God. You are special.
Maybe these things are not too visible. Maybe you do have a lousy personality. But deep down there is God’s goodness waiting to be allowed to burst forth. Let it. Let God be alive within you and be seen through you. Allow him to raise you to high places as he did with Mary. Let him make something of you.
Look at Mary. She was made of the dirt, of the ground of the earth. She was given a share in God’s image. And so it is the same with you. She lacked much in material wealth. Yet she possessed everything—for God gave her every good thing. He gave her Himself. He wants to do the same for you.
You have already been raised to the sacredness of God. Now allow yourself to be completed, to be drawn up, to be assumed, and consumed by God’s love.
Mother Mary, pray for us!
Jesus, I trust in You! Amen.
The Assumption of Mary is a Catholic and Orthodox Christian belief that the Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, was taken body and soul into heaven. It is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but it is considered a dogma of the Catholic Church, defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15th and is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. The key aspect of the Assumption is that Mary was taken into heaven both in body and soul, not just her soul.
The Assumption highlights the importance of the body, the promise of resurrection, and Mary’s role as a model of discipleship and the first fruits of Christ’s redemption. It also emphasizes God’s grace and the hope of eternal life for all believers. Praise Mary for her Holyness!
Deacon Patrick Constantino retired from active Ministry on July 1, 2022. He is still a Deacon in good standing with full faculties to perform all sacraments in the Diocesan of Honolulu Hawai‘i. Constantino has been ordained for 37 years. He is the first Filipino Deacon in the Diocesan of Honolulu. Prior to his ordination, Constantino was in government—first appointed in 1966 as Assistant Sergeant of Arms by the Speaker of the House Elmer F. Cravalho. When Cravalho became Maui’s first Mayor, Constantino became his Executive Assistant—the first of Filipino ancestry. Later, Constantino became the first County Treasurer of Filipino ancestry and the first County Grants Administrator and Risk Manager of Filipino ancestry. Constantino is married to his lovely wife Corazon for sixty-four years. They are blessed with four children, eleven grandchildren, and fifteen great grandchildren.