Feast of the Assumption
Luke 1:39-56
Feast Day Gospel Reflections by Sister Nancy Bonshock

In the gospel for the feast of the Assumption, we are privileged to observe a tender event in Mary’s life journey. Mary, so recently surprised by news of her own pregnancy, set self-concern aside, and, sensing a need, hurried to visit the older, pregnant Elizabeth. When these vulnerable women greeted each other, new life stirred within, the holy one was recognized, and hope found a way. Words filled with joy and gratitude, anticipation and trust were shared. Oh, the power and grace of compassionate presence!

Hope is nourished in the communion of vulnerability where God dwells. How well we remember the gracious moments of connection that calmed our fears, healed our wounds, strengthened our faith, and awakened our own sense of awe and wonder! As with Mary and Elizabeth, the stirrings within shifted our focus from worry about what cannot be controlled or changed to trust in the mystery of unseen growth, to hope in the presence of transforming grace. The lowly will be raised to high places…and the hungry given every good thing. Hope waits in joy and gratitude; hope longs for more that has already been promised. All things are possible when we gift each other with presence.

“My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit finds joy in God my savior.”

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

            This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Sister Nancy Bonshock

After graduating from Notre Dame High School, Moylan, PA, Nancy Bonshock entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on September 12, 1965 at Ilchester, MD. In 1970, after receiving her undergraduate degree from Trinity College, Sr. Nancy began her teaching career at Little Flower High School in Philadelphia. Questions asked about Native Americans by several very intense students led Nancy to volunteer her service on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona during the summer of 1972. One year later Nancy returned to the reservation, joining the faculty of St. Michael High School, where the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament run a boarding school located near Window Rock, capital of the Navajo Nation. Returning east in 1975, Nancy continued her ministry of education at the Academy of Notre Dame, Villanova, PA. She pursued her graduate degree in Cultural Anthropology at the University of PA where she wrote a thesis on Navajo Catholicism and cultural continuity, justifying a return to the reservation for fieldwork. Nancy currently serves on the faculty of NDA, Villanova.