Assumption of Mary: The love of a son for his mother.
August 15 2019 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
A Danish proverb says, “He who takes the child by the hand,
takes the mother by the heart.”
How do you love your mother? That will sound strange as
question while we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Some would even ask, what is the relation? Simple. The elevation
or assuming of Mary in heaven is simply the expression of the filial love the
Son of God has for his Mother. We all hold our mothers in great esteem and we
owe them everything. How much more Jesus, for his mother!
The solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, before any
theological or dogmatic explanation, is the expression of a filial love for our
Heavenly Mother. Many criticisms and condemnations have always been raised against
Catholics regarding today’s celebration and its dogmatic enunciation. Many times,
referring to Marian cult, Catholic Christians have been accused of idolatry and
of many other evils. Without the presumption of giving any answer to all those
criticisms or misunderstandings, we will like our today’s meditation to focus
on only one aspect: our Marian devotion.
By definition, from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, devotion
is a feeling of strong love or loyalty. It is the quality of being devoted. Therefore,
it is said that, if one feels loyal and loving toward someone or something,
that is devotion. In that sense, some people are devoted to pets of company,
others to basketball, soccer or golf, some others are devoted to food, not
forgetting the devotion-addiction to social media and gaming.
Taken in that understanding, the is nothing evil for one to
feel loyalty and filial love to one we know, have found special favor with God
(Luke 1:30). Our Marian devotion are beyond and before all, act of loyalty and
external pious practices directed to the person of the Mother of our Lord and
Savior. It is homage of children to their mother. Through it, we worship God for
having chosen our humanity, in Mary, to collaborate in his divine purpose.
All our Marian devotions and act of love to Mary are
biblically rooted. All starts with the singular role God entrusted to her in
the mystery of Christ life, death and resurrection. to look closely and
honestly, there is not a single moment or event, so significant in the life of
Jesus where Mary was not found. If we consider the beginning of the mysteries
of Jesus with the Incarnation through the Annunciation, the main actor of the
Annunciation was not Jesus, but Mary. It is to her that the Angel appeared. At the
Nativity, it was also Mary the main character with the Child Jesus, Joseph, the
Angels and the others. At the start of Jesus’ public ministry, Mary was also present.
We read the narration of St. John, “On the third day there was a wedding at
Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to
the wedding with his disciples” (John 2:1-2). Then, at the greatest hour of the
manifestation of God’s glory, at the hour of the “Consummatum est”, during Jesus
passion and death amidst the few who remained with him was firstly named, his Mother.
Mary stands as the most faithful and greatest disciple
(follower) and devoted of her Son. We pay her tribute, through our devotion,
for what she has been for Jesus and what she is for us, even today. Our Marian
cult is not an act of idolatry, but expression of love from children to the
Mother of their Savior and their own Mother. If we hold in great respect our
biological mothers, how much more respect we should give to the one God choses
to be his Mother? “Blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:42). Unless we refuse
ourselves to see Jesus as God, Mary is the Mother of God.
After these clarifications, let us now turn to today’s
solemnity. The dogmatic declaration goes as follows: “The Immaculate Mother of
God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was
assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” [Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus
44].
This proclamation or act of faith for us Catholics talks of
the elevation or exaltation of Mary. The words are clear that “having completed
the course of her earthly life…” It is not a declaration of Mary’s immortality.
Like any other human beings, Mary reached the end of her earthly life, that implies
death. Even Jesus, the Son of Mary in all his divinity experienced death. The difference
from us, however, is that God did not allow her body, the body which bored the
Son of God to know the decay and corruption of the tomb. She was assumed into
heaven.
The Solemnity of the Assumption, from that aspect, becomes a
call and a challenge to you and I. we are called to see and understand that the
earth is not our final destination. God created us from earth, and in earth we should
go, dust unto dust. Our lives, nonetheless, are not limited only here on earth.
It is therefore, a challenge for us to gaze upon heaven, where Mary our own,
one of us is being taken today, as our true homeland.
Though we will face trials, hardships and many other
tribulations here below, heaven is still wide opened for us. And Mary taken
near to her divine Son will continually intercede and plead for us, for our
future glorification.
For sure, and that is the message of the first reading, our
life here on earth is a continual battle. A war between good and evil; a battle
between forces of death and forces of life. Hatred jealousy, violence in all
its forms, injustices, corruption, rejections, criminality and many other
evilness surround our daily life and are all other in our societies and
communities. But we are assured that evil won’t prevail over good. What God did
with Mary, through Mary he will also do for us. In our battles of life, the “woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
twelve stars” journey with us and intercedes for us. She gave us her divine Son;
she won’t fail to give us to her Son.
Just as Jesus was raised from the dead as firstfruits
of those who have fallen asleep, so too, will we rise from death and experience
the glory of God. Mary’s glorification in synonym of our future glorification. Therefore,
by singing her Magnificat, we sing God’s love for our humanity. He has done
great things for his lowly servant, he will always do great things for us too, by
giving us to experience his mercy and love when we face our battles of life.
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