Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. We give our praise and worship to God alone. We venerate (honor) Mary but we do not worship her.
Our gospel reading today is the story of the Visitation of Mary. When Mary learned that she had been chosen to be mother of Jesus, the angel Gabriel also told her that her relative Elizabeth was also pregnant. So, Mary went to visit Elizabeth that they may share their joy.
Elizabeth, who was “filled with the Holy Spirit,” recognized the presence of the Lord in Mary’s womb as did her own son John, who “leaped in her womb.” Elizabeth praises Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth recognizes how blessed she is that the mother of her Lord should come to her.
Mary is special and she knows that. She gives us a lesson in humility in her words, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant…the Almighty has done great things for me.” Mary understands the importance of her role but she is not prideful. She knows her special role is not something she earned for herself. It is a gift from God.
In today’s second reading, Paul speaks of Jesus as the firstfruits of the resurrection. Jesus is the first to rise body and soul. Jesus appeared to his disciples after his Resurrection, allowing them to touch his hands and his feet and to see him eat so that we all may know what it means to rise body and soul. This is why we treat human bodies after death with respect, because we know God will raise up our bodies with our souls in the resurrection. We are not to dissolve the deceased body in chemicals. We do not make compost of the deceased bodies. When a person is cremated, we are not to scatter the ashes. Our believe in the resurrection calls us to treat the remains with great respect. (For more on how we treat human bodies after earthly death, see my article “More on Respecting the Dead.”)
Jesus promises all who believe in him as the way and the truth and the life a place in his Father’s house (see John 14:1-6). He promises us that we will share in the resurrection at the end of time.
Mary held a special place for her yes to God (see Luke 1:38). She was very special to Jesus as his own mother. So, when the time came for Mary’s earthly death, Jesus saw fit that she did not need to wait until the end times to be raised up. He saw that she was immediately assumed into Heaven, body and soul. This is the Assumption of Mary that we celebrate today.
The Assumption of Mary was declared as an infallible dogma of the church in 1950. However, it was not a new teaching of the church then. When Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary as infallible dogma (see Munificentissumus Deus), he referred to the writings of early church fathers on the Assumption.
You will not find the Assumption of Mary explicitly taught in the Bible. However, we do have today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation that provides the vision of a woman clothed with the sun and wearing a crown. The Tradition of our Catholic faith is that this woman is Mary.
The Assumption of Mary is the Fourth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary. When she was assumed into Heaven, she was given a crown and made Queen of Heaven, the Fifth Glorious Mystery. In the Old Testament, the mother of the king was the queen. She would intercede for the people. As the mother of Jesus, Mary is our queen who intercedes for us (for more on Mary as queen, see my article “Some Insights on Our Catholic Understanding of Mary”).
We venerate Mary today with our celebration of her Assumption. As we honor her, it is also a good time to think about how we will share in the resurrection. Mary was the first after Jesus to enter Heaven but she is not the only one. If we follow Jesus (confessing our sins when we fall short), we will be raised up to Heaven in the Resurrection at the end of the ages.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff