Consider the Word, August 12, 2021
Saint Mary The Virgin
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Readings for August 15:
Collect
Saint Mary The Virgin
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Meeting ID: 923 9542 3097
- Isaiah 7:10-15
- Psalm 132:6-10, 13-14
- Galatians 4:4-7
- Luke 1:46-55 or Luke 2:1-7
O God,you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary,mother of your incarnate Son.May we who have been redeemed by his blood,share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom;through Jesus Christ our Lord,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He 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. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary is honoured because she was the mother of Jesus Christ, and because the Gospels testify that she was a virgin when she conceived and gave him birth. But she is also portrayed as an archetype of all the people of God. At the Annunciation, Mary was perplexed yet chose to accept the call. She was patient in her puzzlement; in Luke’s words, “Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” She followed her son from Galilee to Jerusalem and witnessed the crucifixion. After the resurrection, she shared in the disciples’ community of prayer and watched with them for the corning of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
- Why might it be important for us to remember the example of Mary?
God of grace,today we raise our voicesto magnify your holy name,and, in our own generation, to call her blessedwho became the mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ.May we who have shared this holy timecontinue, with her, in your glorious kingdom,founded and established in Jesus Christ our Lord.We ask this in his name. Amen.
46-55 And Mary said,I’m bursting with God-news;I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.God took one good look at me, and look what happened—I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!What God has done for me will never be forgotten,the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.His mercy flows in wave after waveon those who are in awe before him.He bared his arm and showed his strength,scattered the bluffing braggarts.He knocked tyrants off their high horses,pulled victims out of the mud.The starving poor sat down to a banquet;the callous rich were left out in the cold.He embraced his chosen child, Israel;he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.It’s exactly what he promised,beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
