THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

[cappie]

We celebrate this Sunday the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We recall in this feast that at the end of her earthly life, Mary, Jesus’ mother, was taken up into heaven to be with her son.

 Early traditions of the church speak about the Apostles gathering at Mary’s grave only to find it empty and covered with flowers – her body having been taken into heaven. The reason Christians have always believed in Mary’s Assumption is quite simple.  Christians believe Mary to be unique and special. Only she was chosen to carry and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Because she was kept from all stain of sin, and because her vocation was so extraordinary, God did not let her experience death, but rather took her to heaven before her body could know earthly decay.

Today as we celebrate the culminating event that crowned the mystery of Mary, her bodily assumption into heaven, we hear expressly in the liturgy that "A GREAT SIGN APPEARED IN HEAVEN: A WOMAN CLOTHED ADORNED WITH THE SUN." (REV 11:12) From early times this sign was associated with Mary. This entire scene is shrouded in mystery and the language is deliberately symbolic, so that it can be rightly understood only by those who already share something of the author's perspective and beliefs. This woman who gives birth to a son whose life is in danger from hostile forces, is a symbol of the Church of God. She is best exemplified in Mary, the Mother of the Savior, as many commentators have correctly noted.

If Mary is now enthroned as Queen of Heaven and is honored as mother of the Church, she has not obtained such privileges without paying a costly price in terms of suffering.

Her suffering began even before she gave birth, when she found herself pregnant with child and defenseless until Joseph received the special revelation that resolved his crisis of conscience. Above all she shared by compassion in the sufferings of our Lord during his active ministry when she learned of the increasing hostility of his enemies, and even more intensely when he was arrested, and crucified. She found in the same Holy Spirit who had overshadowed her at the conception of the Lord, the strength of soul to remain standing at the cross until the end. What she suffered at that time surely surpasses imagination. But her faith and love were stronger than anguish and heart-rending pain so that she not only endured but actively accepted her share in the Passion of her divine Son.

Following the ascension of Jesus she knew the sorrows of bereavement, having earlier on experienced the loss of her husband and the loneliness of widowhood. Yet through all these years she remained full of faith and confidence in the victory of her son and maintained her lively hope that she would join him in person in God's time. Today we celebrate the occasion when that happy union took place.

For Mary's Assumption carried her, body, and soul, into the presence of her risen and glorified son. Deservedly she is known as the virgo fidelis, the faithful virgin. Fidelity in love proved stronger than the violence of deadly force. In this fidelity, as in her humility, Mary followed closely in the footsteps of her son.  

This isn’t just an event which is external to us. Rather, it points to something very important at the heart of Christian life, for we all share in this mystery through our own baptism.  Baptism is the point at which we started to experience eternal life. From that moment of baptism onwards, we live more closely in the love of God, and experience within us the reality of God’s Kingdom.

Our Christian discipleship points to the thing Mary experienced at the end of her earthly life – the life of heaven. She is the first to experience the saving power of her son’s death and resurrection.

Mary is in a place where her earthly life is fulfilled and completed, and that is something all Christians hope for. Through putting our trust in Jesus Christ and by living according to the Gospel, we are given nothing less than the promise of eternal life.  

As we offer the Eucharist here this morning, may we so open our hearts to the glorified Son of God as to receive a share in that same divine favor that gave meaning and strength to Mary's life, and which even now unites her to God in glory for all eternity.