Howdy, Church fans!
[This week we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pretty darn cool! But why is this such an important feast for us Catholics? For a video of the homily, click here. For the whole Mass, go to our Facebook page by clicking here.]
It doesn’t happen very often, but this weekend the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the “Dormition” of Mary in the Christian East, is celebrated on a Sunday.
This makes sense when one understands that everything the Church says about Mary is really a statement about Christ. As the mother of Jesus, Mary had a very special relationship with him. By virtue of her unique vocation as the Mother of God, from the first moment of her conception she was preserved from the stain of Original Sin. While this means that she did not sin, it does not mean that she was protected entirely from the wages of sin, namely death. Even Christ died.
[St. Mary Major story; who is the child?]
But if we truly believe in the resurrection of Christ from the dead and in the resurrection of our own bodies at the end of the age, then it is entirely fitting that because of her unique vocation and relationship with Christ, at the end of her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary would immediately enjoy the fruits of the resurrection.
The Sacred Tradition—namely that which has been handed on to us from the apostles and their successors—is unambiguous; that at the moment of her death Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. Mary had carried the Divine Savior in her womb. Then she carried him in her arms. Mary held his limp body as it was taken from the Cross. Mary beheld him after his resurrection from the dead and she received the Holy Spirit with the Apostles at Pentecost.
There is no part of Mary’s life which is not intimately entwined with that of her divine Son. Why would she not also share fully with him in his resurrection? It does not make sense that her own immaculately conceived body would undergo the corruption of the grave.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also a powerful affirmation of our own resurrection. If our own lives are united with Christ, in due time we can be assured of our own resurrection.
To be a human being is a marvelous thing. We have a body and a rational soul. No other creature under heaven can make this claim. (I could make a case for dogs having an emotional soul, but I digress.)
There is a popular myth out there that when we die we become angels. It makes for great literature and fun TV, but it limps theologically.
No, we Christians believe in the resurrection of the body and life of the world to come.”
Yes, at our death, the soul goes to rest with Christ and all the saints. That’s why we say, “Rest in Peace.”
But at the end of the age, when Christ comes in glory and all things are made new, our lowly bodies, such as they are, will rise and we will become what God has created us to be.
Our ultimate destiny is not to become something else. Rather, our ultimate destiny is the perfection of all that we are, body and soul.
That’s what the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come is all about.
So I guess if you think about it, our celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also a statement about ourselves. She who is the most beautiful of all of God’s creation-Mary, who is the fairest honor of the human race-she who because of her unique vocation and her intimate relationship with Christ enjoys even now the fruits of the resurrection, shows us what lies in store for those who persevere in faith.
In celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and we are strengthened in hope as we “look forward to the resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come…Amen”.