Luke 1: 39-56
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081526-Day
(Bartolome Esteban Murillo, circa 1860)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
Taking a picture of a vast space with mountains or the Ocean or even standingbefore a large structure of some kind may be impressive but having a person stand in front of that scene even more gives perspective and depth to the main image. The sheer vastness of the picture comes through by comparison of size. That mountain is enormous or the Ocean scene was impressive by comparison of size. A small human being standing before something so immense makes an unforgettable impression. This weekend we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed virgin Mary.
We might say that God is the immense image and standing before him was a simple Jewish woman. The immense God chose the small and simple to bring about our salvation. Because of that, Mary can rightly say as we hear in the Gospel this weekend: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; . . . for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant . . . the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.”
Mary has become the immense figure because of God’s great work in and through her. So today we remember the logical outcome at the completion of her life on earth and her eternal reward in heaven. And so, we hear: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven."
With that one sentence, on November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared this infallible teaching of the Church that has since become part of the absolute truth of the Christian faith. However, this is not a new teaching only stated in 1950. It has been part of Christian belief reaching back to the time of the early Christians.
While the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition of Mary is present in Jerusalem, it does not claim to contain the body of the Blessed Mother. So, no tomb of Mary has ever been noted. No pilgrimage to Marys gravesite has ever been organized or claimed. No relic of the Blessed Mother has ever existed or piece of her clothing or hair or such. It was apparently a general and unquestioned belief in the Church for centuries but with Pius XII declaration it became a public and declared infallible dogma.
The rich deposit of faith
in the Catholic Church is loaded with mystery and grace. What we believe is not
there to restrict us or burden us but to enrich our lives as we journey as Mary
did on this earth. To set us free to know, love and serve God more freely each
day.
Among those beliefs,
Dogmas of the Church, is the infallible definition on what happened to Mary
after here earthly life was complete.
She was taken up to Heaven, body and soul, to remain there in glory and
to intercede for humankind.
This was Mary’s
reward for her obedience and absolute trust in the will of God for her life.
She had played a significant role in the whole salvation event which Jesus had
brought about for humanity and so was rewarded, by the singular grace of God,
to be the first among humanity, to experience the fruits of the resurrection of
Jesus.
In other words, as
Mary is now, united for all eternity in her body and soul, glorified beyond
corruption and filled with grace, we hope to share in her glory at the end of
time and after the final judgement and general resurrection by Christ. As Mary
is now, we hope to become. As the Opening
prayer of the Mass for the Assumption states: . . . always attentive to the
things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory. . .
While all of this is
profoundly true, and may seem a bit heavy, the ultimate vocation of Mary is
rooted in the common role of a mother.
Did Mary have hopes
of being wed, having children and experiencing a full Jewish home for her
life? Of course, she must have. She was
planning a wedding when her life was interrupted by an angelic visitor and such
was shared with her betrothed soon to be husband, Joseph. Mary wanted to be a
mother and she was open to that possibility
The Angel Gabriel was
sent by God to announce that she would be the human mother of the divine Son of
God who would embrace humanity within her womb; a God/Man would be born of her;
fully divine and fully human. A son of mystery but also a son of common
humanity: God from God and light from light.
Marys “yes” was to be
a mother unlike any mother but a human mother whose child was conceived strangely
but with a natural human gestation period as the child developed through all of
the normal human stages and then was born from her in the common human
manner. Did you ever wonder how much the
baby Jesus weighed at birth?
Marys call to be one
who would protect, would nurture, educate, discipline (if Jesus needed any?)
love her husband and support him, wash dishes, prepare meals, enjoy the
ordinary events of childhood and beyond with her son, engage in activities and
conversation with local neighbors and celebrate Jewish customs, traditions, and
stages of passage while reflecting on events in her life that puzzled her or
made her wonder what God was up to. Yet
deeply Jewish along with her husband Joseph -righteous Jews who followed the
law and awaited the Messiah. Only later
must she have come to the understanding that her role was far more than practical
or biological only.
Like any parent, she
shared anxiety and sorrow. With her
husband Joseph they were distraught at the seeming loss of Jesus when he could
not be found for three days until they discovered him in the Jerusalem
Temple. There were certainly many joys
and worries that she experienced along the way that are not in the Scriptures
because of their common and ordinary expressions.
Then her ultimate
grief by the cross of her son when she was asked to share in her own passion
and suffering as her son was brutally murdered in a public manner. A “sword pierced her heart” as was
predicted by Simeon when Jesus was presented in his infancy at the Temple.
But now, on this
feast of the Assumption, we see how God was preparing her to come home. Home
where we are all destined.
Her whole orientation
was to do whatever God asked of her: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) she said to the angel
and never stopped saying this her entire life.
So, at the end her
earthly life, because of her surrender to God’s will and her unique role in salvation
history, she was taken up to heaven body and soul for eternity.
A mother? Yes
totally. A model for all Christians? Very
much. A unique and one-of-a-kind mother?
Absolutely. Now our spiritual mother who watches over all those who
follow her son who constantly intercedes for humanity. She is home not to rest or make chocolate chip
cookies or to retire but to continue the work of her Son’s compassion, love and
hope that one day we too will join her at our final home; heaven itself.
Almighty, ever-living God,
who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory, grant
tht, always attentive to the things that are above,
we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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