Thoughts to live by: Solemnity of Our Blessed Virgin

15 August, 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Solemnity of Our Blessed Virgin Mary:

Liturgy of the Word: Rev. 11:19; 12:1-6, 10; Ps. 45:10-12, 16; 1 Cor. 15:20-27; Lk. 1:39-56.

Some notes on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

1. The Church celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15 as early as the 5th century. It bore the name, Our Lady's "birth into heaven." But Byzantine traditions going back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries call the event the "Dormition," or the falling asleep of the Mother of God. The feast began to be celebrated in Rome in the 7th century. It was not until 1950 that Pope Pius XII proclaimed Mary's assumption, body and soul, into heaven as a dogma of the faith.

2. The declaration reads -- "By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her mortal life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory" (Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950). Thus, the Assumption of Mary became one of the 4 Marian dogmas of the Church.

3. The declaration was built upon the 1854 dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which declared that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Both the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception are founded on the Divine Motherhood of Mary. Thus, Mary was taken up into heaven, because she was immaculate. She was immaculate, because she is the Mother of God. The dogma is silent about the death of Mary, simply referring to her "having completed the the course of her mortal life."

4. Some traditions have Mary 's Assumption taking place in Ephesus where she lived in the care of St. John. But the earliest traditions say that Mary's life ended in Jerusalem. The late arrival of St Thomas the Apostle, who reported that he saw Mary taken up to heaven, precipitated a reopening of Mary's tomb. It was found empty. A later tradition says that dropped her girdle from heaven down to the Apostle as a testament to the event. By the early 8th century, the belief in Mary's death and empty tomb was well established, as attested by St. John of Damascus.

5. The promise of the resurrection of the body and of life everlasting is accomplished in Mary. The Assumption is a privilege granted to Mary and is connected to her being the Mother of God. Since she was sinless, she did not undergo the death and corruption of the body that are the consequences of sin. Mary's destiny to be united with the transfigured and glorious body of Jesus is, likewise, the destiny of all those who are united to the Lord Jesus in faith and love. She is the sign of our consolation and hope.

We entrust ourselves to her, our joys and sorrows, the trials and tribulations of our earthly life.

6. 1st Reading, Rev. 11:19; 12:1-6, 16 -- Our first Reading contains the chief scriptural witness to the Assumption. "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars; and she was with child...." (12:1-2).

Since the time of the early Church Fathers, the image of the woman clothed with the sun has symbolized the people of Israel, the Church, and Mary. In Catholic thought, there is a connection between the woman in Rev. 12 victorious over the dragon, Satan, and the woman in Gen. 3, the New Eve, who will crush the head of the serpent, Satan. In Rev. 11: 19, John sees the Ark of the Covenant in heaven, the Ark being a prophetic type of Mary.

7. 2nd Reading, 1 Cor. 15: 20-27 -- Our 2nd Reading is about the Resurrection of the body. A fitting complement to Mary's Assumption, body and soul. St. Paul instructs the Corinthians that Jesus is the new Adam. While the first Adam brought death through sin, the second Adam, Jesus, was victorious over death through his resurrection. He is "the first fruits" of the resurrection. For when he comes again, we "who belong to Christ" shall also rise from the dead. Then Jesus will hand over his kingdom to his Father and will destroy every enemy, every authority and power. Death will be the last enemy to be destroyed.

8. Gospel, Lk. 1:39-56 -- After the angel of the Annunciation told the Virgin Mary that her old and sterile cousin Elizabeth was 6-months pregnant, she went in haste to visit her. As soon as she greeted Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy. She and her baby were filled with the Holy Spirit and realized that Mary was the mother of the Lord. Elizabeth told Mary, "Blessed are you among all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. " Mary answered with her beautiful canticle, the Magnificat, filled with images from the Old Testament. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed. The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name." She speaks of God humbling the proud, casting the mighty from their thrones, lifting up the lowly, and feeding the hungry. This is God's predilection for the poor and the lowly, of whom Mary is the exemplar. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, presumably to help her deliver baby John, later known as the Baptist.

9. Prayer -- Almighty God, you assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary into heaven. Grant, we pray, that we may strive to follow her humility and lowliness and to listen to your word as she did, so that we may share in her heavenly glory. This we ask with her prayers, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!