Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | USCCB
Today we
commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. In the
Eastern Church, they understand it as the dormition, or falling asleep, of
Mary.
The Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary is
one of the four Marian dogmas of the
Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined
it on November 1st, 1950 as the assumption of Mary, body and soul,
into heaven. The four dogmas of Mary
in Catholic theology are: Divine Motherhood (Theotokos), Perpetual
Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. These dogmas are
considered to be divinely revealed truths that Catholics are obligated to
believe.
Because of the grace of her Immaculate Conception, Mary’s
whole life was centered to be always open to the Holy Will of God. God was
always center to who she was as a Jewish woman. She long awaited the coming of
the Messiah. So she was very surprised to find out, through the Angel Gabriel,
that she herself would be the mother of the Messiah. Her willingness to do
God’s Will led her to say “Yes” to Gabriel, and as a result she conceived by
the power of the Holy Spirit.
In our gospel for today we hear of her visiting her cousin,
Elizabeth, who is six months pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth
recognized the importance of Mary and asked, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my
Lord should come to me?” Further, John, in his mother’s womb, leaped for joy at
the presence of his cousin, so close to him in Mary’s womb.
Mary
responds with the Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” This
prayer of Mary is prayed every Evening by the church during Evening Prayer.
Mary in her humility realized that all generations will call her blessed.
It is
through her life of service to her Son, and those around her, that God decided
that her body would know no corruption of the grave. When it was time, God the Father
brought her to heaven to be with her loving Son, Jesus Christ.
Mary is
an example of how we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to live out our lives
while still here on earth. When Mary became pregnant with Jesus, she became a
walking tabernacle, carrying Jesus everywhere she went until the day he was
born. We, too, become walking tabernacles each time we receive Holy Communion
at Mass. We say “yes” to Jesus as we receive Him in Holy Communion with our
“Amen.”
With
that in mind, let us remember that when we leave church, the Lord Jesus Christ
is traveling with us as well. With His presence sacramentally in us, let us
remember to bring His love to all we meet during the day.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI always say that Our Lady was conceived without original sin because she was created & called to be the mother of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, true & fully GOD & true & fully man/human, & to carry Him within her womb, because no sin could ever touch Our LORD until the moment He took all our sins of the whole world upon Himself upon the Cross.
Her Immaculate Conception was GOD'S favor to her because of Who JESUS had to be. But Our Lady gets & deserves credit for remaining sinless, even though her not having original sin made it easier for her to remain sinless than for the rest of us, because she still had free will & lived in the world. Adam & Eve started out sinless, but they "blew it" in response to the very little provocation of the devil's suggestive deception. In sharp contrast, Our Lady remained obedient, faithful & sinless, even though she had to "bear with unbearable sorrow" by experiencing the intense suffering of her innocent & perfect Son--her only Son, too-- unjustly condemned & horribly tortured to death--something so hard to accept that GOD, Who can do anything, was
not only permitting but also had included as part of His plan to save & reconcile us & that would culminate in the glory & victory of Resurrection. I can only imagination the emotional agonizong struggle she must have faced in dealing with this mystery so hard for the human mind & heart to understand (she was a real woman of deep love & not some passive, mindless robot as she is sometimes unfortunately depicted), but she remained faithful & did not rebel but retained her trust in GOD that He was working it out & would make it right & restore Our LORD to resurrection life. Our Lady's Assumption is/was her reward for all her labors & enduring all the suffering to fulfill her mission perfectly, against all odds.
I love & thank you for the reminder that, like Our Lady, we become Our LORD'S living tabernacles when we receive Him in the Eucharist & carry Him within us wherever we go to bring Him within us to the people we encounter. This reminds me of a meditation written by Caryll Houselander called THE REED OF GOD, to which I was first introduced as a meditation I was asked to read aloud as a lector before Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent,probably about 30 years ago. Very beautiful & true & good to remember!!