The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – August 15, 2021
Next Sunday, we will celebrate one of the great feasts of
our Lady. Even though the Assump-
tion of Mary into heaven was only proclaimed as
a solemn teaching of the church in 1950 by
Pope Pius XII, the tradition of
Mary’s Assumption into heaven had been part of the church’s
living faith from
the earliest centuries. In the light of the long history of Christian be-
lief
since the early Christian; the Pope defined Mary’s Assumption into Heaven as a
dogma
of Roman Catholicism: “…the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin
Mary, having compl-
eted the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and
soul into heaven.”
The feast celebrates the good news that because Mary
belonged to Jesus in a special way thr-
oughout her earthly life, she now shares
in a special way in his risen life. Mary had a un-
ique relationship with Jesus
throughout her earthly life. She carried Jesus in her womb for
nine months.
Having given birth to Jesus, she cared for and looked after him in the way
that
any mother cares for her child. She lived under the same roof as him for the
first th-
irty years of his life. She was there throughout his public ministry,
even if in the back-
ground. She was there at the foot of the cross. She was
there with the disciples when the
Holy Spirit came down upon them at the first
Pentecost. Just as Mary had a unique relatio-
nship with Jesus during her earthly
life, the church believes that she now has a unique
relationship with the risen
Lord in heaven. She has come to share fully in his risen life.
This feast does
not celebrate a privilege of Mary alone, because where Mary now is, God
wants
all of us to be. We are all destined to share fully in the Lord’s risen and
glorious
life.
Mary was the mother of Jesus, but she was also a disciple of
Jesus, and we are all called
to be the Lord’s disciples. Her life shows us what
it means to be the Lord’s disciple.
Sunday’s gospel reading is Luke’s account
of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Just before this
gospel reading, we have Luke’s
account of the annunciation to Mary. The angel Gabriel decl-
ared to Mary that
God had chosen her to be the mother of his Son. After struggling to come
to
terms with what was being asked of her, Mary eventually declared, “Here I am,the servant
of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke
portrays Mary here as a woman
of faith, who surrenders to God’s will for her
life, God’s purpose for her life. It is this
faith which Elizabeth recognizes
in the gospel reading, “Blessed is she who believed that
the promise made her
by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary believed and surrendered to
God’s word as
spoken to her by Gabriel. She allowed God’s word to shape her whole life.
Later
in Luke’s gospel, Jesus will say “my mother and brothers are those who hear the
word
of God and do it.” Mary was above all a woman who heard God’s word and did
it. This is the
essence of faith. Through baptism, we are all called to such
faith, and Jesus declares that
those who, like Mary, hear the word of God and
keep it, will become his brothers and sisters.
Mary shows us what a life shaped by God’s word looks like.
She went as quickly as she could
to her older cousin Elizabeth, whose need was
greater than Mary’s. It was a journey of
love. Here was Mary’s faith expressing
itself in the loving service of someone more vulne-
rable than herself. Saint
Paul speaks about “faith expressing itself in love.” This is what
defines us as
disciples of the Lord, a faith that finds expression in the love of others.
The
second half of the gospel reading shows us that Mary’s faith also found
expression in
prayer. Elizabeth had declared Mary blessed and, in response, Mary blessed God. She praises
God in the great prayer that has come to be known
as the Magnificat. Mary’s life was a life
of faith, love and prayer. Today’s
feast celebrates Mary as one who not only shows us the
glorious destiny that awaits us at the end of our life’s journey but also how we are to
travel that
journey as disciples of the Lord.
Fr. Don, cp