Scripture Readings for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - August 15, 2008:
First Reading: Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6,10
Psalm 45:10-12,16
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Gospel: Luke 1:39-56
August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. Last week we celebrated the Transfiguration of Our Lord, when He revealed His glory as God to His Apostles prior to His death on the Cross. The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is the fulfillment of that promise of glory and eternal salvation of the whole person, body and soul. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the first after Our Lord to experience the Resurrection of the Body. This is why she wears a crown: the crown of the one who has, as St. Paul describes it, "run the race to the finish", and won, not a perishable crown of leaves, as did victorious athletes in ancient Rome, but the crown of eternal life in the flesh. Christ came to save the entire human person. Since we are composed of body and soul, that means He came to save both body and soul from the grave. The body is important, everyone knows that. We know the world, the love of our mothers, fathers, friends, husbands, wives, and children, because of our senses. We don't just intuit love or beauty; we know it through experience; through our bodies. We enjoy the beauty of a day and of creation, the glories of man's ingenuity and talents, music, art, literature, all through our senses. Our bodies are an essential part of us, as is our soul. Christ took on human flesh and became like us in everything but sin, so He could redeem the entire person. To think that eternal life is just for our souls is to hope for only partial salvation. As St. Paul says, "We will see God face to face." Likewise, St. Paul instructs us, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" As the image of God, then, our body is important, and respect for the body in human morality essential to the Christian for eternal life. Our Lady, the closest and most perfect disciple of Christ, the spouse of the Eternal Father, who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, is the first to experience this eternal life in the flesh. The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is about Christ's promises and hard work coming to fruition for Mary and for all of us.
In a homily by St. John of Damascus, an 8th century Father of the Church, we catch a glimpse of the mystery of Mary's bodily Assumption into Heaven: "How could Mary taste death from whom the true Life [Christ] flowed out to all? Yet she did fall under the law inflicted by Him whom she bore, and as a daughter of old Adam she suffered the old sentence of death, even as her Son did, who is Life itself. But now as Mother of the living God, she is fittingly taken up to heaven by Him. For how could death feed on this truly blessed one who had eagerly listened to the word of God; who at the Archangel's salutation, filled with the Holy Spirit, conceived the Son of God; who without pain gave birth to Him; whose whole being was ever consecrated to her Creator? Could hell receive such a one? Could corruption destroy a body in which Life [Christ] had been brought forth? For her, beloved brethren, a way is prepared to heaven . . . For if Christ, the Way and the Truth, has said: 'Where I am there also shall My servant be', does it not follow that His Mother is surely with Him?" The Assumption of Mary bodily into Heaven is a promise to us as well, that Christ's hard won victory on the Cross can be shared by us too. The grave will not be our end, if we love Christ and strive to please Him in a virtuous and holy life through His Church. Christ showed His glory as God to the Apostles on Mount Tabor. He proved His love for us on the Cross. He fulfilled His promises by bringing His Mother to Heaven body and soul. Let us pray to Our Lady for strength to persevere that we too may share in this wondrous gift, body and soul, offered us by the Lord who loves us so much that He wants us with Him forever.
NOTE: Monsignor Stephen DiGiovanni is the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Stamford, CT. He received his Doctorate in Ecclesiastical History (H.E.D.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He is the author of four books on Church history and has written an excellent article entitled "Pius XII and the Jews: The War Years, as Reported by the New York Times", which can be found on the website of The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights at http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/piusnyt/bio.htm.
