Solemnity of Mary's Assumption, Aug.15th, 2010

Scripture: Assumption of Mary. Lectionary # 822. Revelation
11:19a-12:1-6,10ab. I Cor. 15:20-27. Psalm 45:10.11.12.16. Luke 1:39-56:

A poet, William Wadsworth, had this clear statement about Mary, our Mother
in saying, "Our tainted nature's solitary boast." Boasting in the New
Testament according to St.Paul as interpreted by David Stanley, S.J. is
praying and praising God. Mary's Assumption tells us that we are to boast
about her through prayer more than through fancy ideas or clever words.
Our celebration today started back in the fourth century just like the
feast of Christmas did (380 A.D.). There are numerous manuscripts of
writings that attest to the belief that Mary's Assumption in the Western
Churches, and her Dormition in the Eastern Churches was preached and
interpreted in the teachings as well as in the traditions of the Great
Church (Catholic) as it was called. The liturgical use of texts from the
Old and New Testament were applied through accommodation to the mystery of
Mary's passing from this life to the next. Both the dormition of Mary or
her falling asleep (dying) as well as her body and soul being taken up into
heaven were celebrated in the liturgy of the Church from 500 A.D. which
means this mystery was believed in by Catholics for over 1500 years. It is
a mystery unique to Mary, our spiritual mother, but it is a mystery that is
ours in the life of our own journey to where she now is with Jesus her son
who is next to God the Father. In those earliest years where Mary became
more spoken of and written about the most ancient prayer dedicated to Mary
was also composed. We call it the "Sub tuum praesidium" which is the
foundation prayer for our "Memorary" and the "Hail Holy Queen" of Salve
Regina sung after the night prayer of the Church. This prayer attests to
the intercessory power of Mary for us and our access to her through prayer
in our belief that she is foremost among those in the Communion of Saints.
As we continue to ponder over her life and our teachings about her, we come
to realize that each dogma or doctrinal teaching of the Church about her is
related and developed by pondering over with mind and heart one doctrine
after another; thus, her virginity, motherhood, and holiness are related to
the Assumption of Mary.

It was in the life-time of some here present that the dogma was proclaimed
on August 15th, 1950 by Pope Pius XII during the decades when Mary was
presented in almost every dimension of the Catholic Church. It was a type
of golden age for the mysteries of Mary. This belief and devotion was more
clearly presented in the balance marian theology of Vatican II (1962-1965).
There was almost a universal consensus from the faithful and the religious
and clergy on this last dogma concerning the Virgin Mary.

Today's liturgy has many hidden allusions to this mystery that are
worthwhile meditating upon and praying. The reading from St. Paul shows us
that Mary is never separated from Jesus Christ the Redeemer and that her
own redemption is bound up with the reality of the Incarnation, that is,
from being born of a human mother, Mary of Nazareth. She was never to be
thought of as a goddess for this would take away from the great mystery of
Jesus Christ becoming flesh and living among us. She belongs to Christ and
his resurrection as a member who is among the "first fruits of his
resurrection" as Paul affirms in our text.

The selection from Revelation is applied to both Mary and the Church. We
notice that it does not begin with Revelation 12: 1 but with a reference
that is a biblical symbol of God's presence through the heavenly ark of the
covenant. The scene of the woman clothed with the sun is linked to that
verse that reads: "Then God's temple in heaven opened and in the temple
could be seen the ark of the covenant. There were flashes of lightening and
peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm." These are signs
of a theophany that immediately follows through the great scene of the
woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet and twelve stars
surrounding her head. This woman is the mother of the messiah for he is
referred to in verse 5: "She gave birth to a son--a boy destined to
shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron." The Messianic promise is
traced by to Psalm 2 which reads: "You (the Christ or anointed one, the
Messiah) shall rule them with an iron rod..." (Psalm 2:9). It is also
related to Psalm 110, another Messianic Psalm. Literally, the only woman
who gave birth to the Messiah is Mary of Nazareth; symbolically this woman
is seen as the Church. And Paul VI at the close of Vatican II declared Mary
as the "Mother of the Church." She is also the new ark of the covenant now
seen in the heavens and reminding us of the eternal presence of God which
was present in the covenantal ark of the covenant in the Old Testament.
The text from Revelaion also tells us that "she had a place prepared for
her by God.

Today, as Queen she stands next to her son Jesus who sits at the right hand
of the Father. As Psalm 45 tells us in today's liturgy "whe has been
borne-lifted-up into the heavens with gladness and joy." And a chorus of
angels exults as this happens. This is our Alleluia verse read before the
Gospel.

We may ask why the Church uses the Visitation and Mary's Magnificat in the
liturgy for the Assumption. We learn that Elizabeth tells us Mary is
blessed among women since she is the mother of the Lord (Incarnation). In
her Magnificat she continues to extol and magnify God's name as a lowly
servant who is lifted up by God. Her total honesty about herself, her
holiness, and her election are stepping stones in her life to the full
enjoyment of God's presence in the heavens. As a complement to her
miraculous immaculate conception and her holy and extaordinary birth she is
a sign and a person who gives us much hope for our own journey to God
combined as it is with our failures and tragedies as well as our goodness
and virtue. Where she is we hope to be through the same loving-kindness of
our God and our King. She may be our tainted nature's solitary boast but
she also is our loving and gentle mother who is our life, our sweetness and
our hope.