Fr Beni’s Reflection (16 August 2026)

Today we celebrate the feast day of the Assumption of Mary; we are reminded to have
hope and trust in God, as the Virgin Mary did. As we join the Universal Church to celebrate this great feast, it
is important for us to reflect and to contemplate the life of our Blessed Mother Mary and how God rewarded
her humility and obedience with such a great reward.
Mary was just an ordinary woman, like any other, but she’s outstanding in living out her obedience to
God. Her faith and hope in God made God find favour in her. The feast is a huge reward for Mary and
also gives us something that gives humanity hope. The feast began to be celebrated in Rome in the
middle of the 7th century. It was not until 1 November 1950 that Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma
of Mary’s assumption of body and soul into heaven.
The Assumption of our Blessed Mother is not simply the end of her earthly life. It is about the destiny
God desires for every human person. It is the victory of grace over sin, hope over despair, and life over
death. Therefore, the feast is important to us as the people of God. It should encourage us to imitate
Mary in living her faith and hope in God. In the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel revealed Mary as full of
grace. Because of this, she is sinless. Even when she was born, Mary was free from original sin from the
very first moment of her conception in her mother’s womb (Immaculate Conception).
Immediately after the Annunciation, Mary went and visited her cousin Elizabeth. Mary, but this time,
she was filled with joy, full of grace, and now reached out to Elizabeth to share the joy and grace she
herself received from God. An image of the church as missionary.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, now we see that the feast of the Assumption is also important to us
today. God rewarded Mary with a great reward and even desires for us to share in this reward as well.
Let us open ourselves to God like Mary. She obeyed God till her last moment on earth. She heard the
word of God and kept it. Through the grace of God, Mary is sinless and worthy to be the mother of
God’s Son. It is through her humility in the sight of God that God lifted her to be honoured among
humanity. Let us strengthen our hope and trust in God as Mary did. May this feast empower us and
inspire us to imitate our Blessed Mother.
Happy Feast Day to all.