The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
The experiences in my faith journey leave me astounded even now, because the whole process of awakening to God's love in my life, has truly been awesome! God's grace and my own admiration of Mary, our Blessed Mother, led me on in my search for a deeper meaning in life. This Thursday we will be celebrating a wonderful feast of Mary's Assumption into heaven. She was a model disciple open to God's grace. The feast celebrates the special place that Mary has in the life of the Church. This place is first of all defined by her being chosen to be the mother of Jesus, his only human parent. This alone gives her a uniqueness which is shared by no other person who has ever lived. By her assumption, we can understand that Mary, because of the dignity of her motherhood and her own personal submission to God's will at every stage of her life, takes precedence over everyone in the sharing of God's glory which is the destiny of all of us who die united with Christ her son.
The pope declared that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary should be treated as a dogma of the church in 1950. The Pope defined the Assumption of Mary to be the dogma of faith: "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 earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory." In the Roman Catholic Church, the dogma means an article of faith revealed by God, which the magisterium of the church presents as necessary to be believed. Now, one may ask what is the significance of the date? What happen prior to 1950? Yes, World War II had just ended lest than 10 years ago. Nevertheless, the whole Europe and many parts of Asia and North Africa were still in ruins. It was only after the war that the people came to know the extent of atrocities committed. Million of people were dead, either victims of fighting or the result of the concentration camps. More were dying due to the lack of amenities, nutrition and shelter. Although the Germans in Europe and the Japanese in Asia were defeated, there was a general feeling of hopelessness.
The questions asked were these: Where was God when all of this happened? Is there to this human life of suffering? Is human life precious and valuable? What must we do in the face of overwhelming evil?
We can find the answer from the dogma of the Assumption. The dogma and the Feast of the Assumption was, above all, a message of HOPE. It is hope especially for those who seem hopeless. It is hope for those who are weak. It is hope for those who seem to be overwhelmed by the power of evil. It is hope for those who are close to defeat and failure. It is hope for those who have suffered much.
In the first reading, we see the vision of the writer of the book of Apocalypse with the encouraging words to the listeners who remain loyal to God. Here we hear of a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve starts, associating her with realm of God. She gave birth to a son who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. These words are symbolic, meaning that Jesus gloriously resurrected and He now rules at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. Then again there is the symbol of the great dragon with seven heads and ten horns, signifying the evil and is always eager to destroy the good and perpetuate the evil. The woman symbolized in Mary and there is the promise of salvation in the world and the full authority of Christ. The reading also tell us of her struggle, Her vulnerable position is made worse by the fact that she is in labour. We have also picture of the fearsome of dragon. The dragon towers over the woman. It appears that nothing can withstand the power of the dragon. But God intervenes. God saves the woman and allows her to bring a child into this world- a simple child who will be the real ruler of the universe and not the dragon. At the moment when all appeared to be lost, at the moment of certain defeat, God ensures victory for those who are weak and afflicted.
The Second reading taken from the letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that by his glorious resurrection Christ became the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. Mary is the first to benefit completely by her assumption. Paul again tells us that all the enemies have been destroyed and God has put them under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death and hence it is the victory for the pure and innocent life lived and this is justified is Mary the Immaculate one. When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, he lost his inheritance to eternal life and death came to human race. Through his Resurrection Christ brought life to the world. Indeed, Christ is the first one to enjoy a glorious resurrection and is the cause of the resurrection of all. It is only through the church and the Sacrament of Baptism that we receive our new creation, our new heart and spirit of the godly seed, as our assurance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Mary through her assumption is the first to enjoy the fullness of his saving activity. Adam brought death into the world through his sin and Jesus brought life through his sinless life. Mary is now body and soul with Christ in Heaven.
The Gospel begins with the story of Mary's visit her cousin, Elizabeth, when both were pregnant with divine grace and were expecting their first child. Both the woman are bearing in their wombs children who when grown up will change the course of world events. The entire encounter is filled with urgency and joy. The story contains most of the elements which contribute to the status we give to Mary in our Church. We have Mary who soon after the Annunciation goes to see Elizabeth and John (still in his mother's womb). Already in the womb, Jesus is showing that urge to serve rather than be served. In Mary we see her true nature to serve and she shows her concern towards Elizabeth. As soon as Mary greets Elizabeth, two things happen:
First, at the presence of Jesus and his mother, the child in Elizabeth's womb jumps for joy.
Second, Elizabeth, in turn, recognizes the special position of Mary and her Son: filled with the Holy Spirit, she called Mary the "Mother of my Lord." She is aware of what has taken place in Mary. She also says, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
Elizabeth deeply moved that is it Jesus and his Mother have come to her and says "how is that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" Further she praises Mary for she had unconditionally accepted to submit to God's plan.
Mary's response is the Magnificat, the song of thanksgiving and her own hymn of praise. Mary praises and thanks God for allowing her to be a privileges servant of God. She also sings of how God will defend the cause of the weak and defeat the powers of the world: "He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away."
Today we may be in the midst of a difficult situation, we may be facing a problem that seems so huge. Today, we may be ready to give up in the face of failure. Today, we may feel that our voice cannot be heard because we are a minority living in the country. Today, the darkness and evil of the world may seem so overwhelming that there appears to be no way out. Yet, today, on this Feast of the Assumption, we are reminded that the power of God is much greater than any of these things. Evil and death can crush the body, but it cannot crush the soul. Others may take away our external freedom, the freedom to speak out, freedom to change our religion. However, they cannot take away our inner freedom, the freedom of conscience. Problems may threaten us from every angle, but problems cannot overcome us.
Today, we echo the hope of Mary in affirming the greatness of God- this is the God, who according to St. Paul, will put all his enemies including death under his feet.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI tells us that the Feast of the Assumption is a day of joy because God has won, Love has won, and it has won life. Love has shown that is it stronger than death, that God possesses the true strength and that his strength is goodness and love. Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven: There is even room in God for the body. Heaven is no longer a very remote sphere unknown to us. We have a Mother in heaven. And the Mother of God, the Mother of the Son of God, is our Mother.
Mary is a sure sign of hope. What the Lord has done for Mary, the mother of the Church, He will do for us, the members of the Church. There is hope, a great and glorious hope. No matter how earth-bound, sin-bound, and death-bound we seem, we can give our lives to Jesus and fly away. We will not only fly like the eagle (see Is 40:31) but also like Mary. In Jesus, "we shall overcome one day." Mary has proven it. Believe! Hope! Fly!
