ASSUMPTION OF MARY, BEYOND THE DOGMA.
August 15, 2020
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A Romanian proverb says, “Honor is the reward of virtue.”
And a Japanese proverb adds, “The consequence is the reward of the cause.”
Beyond the dogmatic definitions and declarations, all the
Marian solemnities and devotions are but, an act of gratefulness and
thanksgiving our humanity raises to God. For, in his great power and
omniscience, he chose to become one of us, and he did it through a humble
virgin whom he has elected to be his Mother.
Mary is one of us. She is the instrument God was please, in
all his creation, to hand-pick to contribute in his mystery of Incarnation and
Salvation.
We cannot separate Jesus from Mary. We cannot speak of Jesus
as known through the Holy Scriptures without mention Mary his Mother. Some
people try hard to eclipse Mary from the Lord's mysteries of the life, and
mission. May we say it right, using this French dictum, “c'est de la peine
perdue”. For, it is truly a waste of time to wish Jesus without Mary. And it
becomes a greater waste of time to argue with those who refuse to recognize the
role God entrusted to this humble lady in his soteriological project.
We are celebrating today the Solemnity of the Assumption.
The official proclamation by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, goes this way:
“We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the
immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of
her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.”
We believe that the body which bore the Holy Body of the Son
of God has not known the corruption of the flesh, the lot of all sinners. From
the fact that God was pleased to dwell in Mary's womb and that he preserved her
from all sins (Immaculate Conception), he could not equally let her body and her
soul sink into corruption and experience decay. So, the Pope affirms, Mary was
assumed Body and Soul in the glory of her Son. If the Immaculate Conception was
the preparation for Mary's role in God’s plan of salvation, the Assumption can
be seen as the coronation for this Marian mission, the reward of God to her
“Fiat Voluntas Tua” and her virtuous life. In Mary, we see clearly that God
always rewards mankind, when this one accepts to give way to His will and to
live in righteousness.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary opens also a
possibility to us, for our own assumption. It tells us that God wants us to be
with him in heaven. Even though our assumption will not be like it has been
with Mary, we are, however, assured of the possibility of heaven.
The readings of this solemnity, though not pointing straight
on Mary's Assumption, give us to see in her, the woman who found special favor
with God. In the first reading, the Apocalypse of John, speaks of the woman
crowned with twelves stars, and in the pains of labor to give birth to a son.
In this woman, the Church sees Mary. She is the one who gave birth to the
Savior of mankind. And through Jesus, "have salvation and power come, and
the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”
St. Paul in the second reading, tells us that Christ Jesus
is the first fruit of those who have been glorified. That means that we, those
who belong to him, will also experience the same glorification. Thus, Mary, his
Mother goes ahead of us into the glory of her Divine Son. A tree once bearing
fruits does not give only the first. It also gives many more after that first
fruit. So, if Jesus our Lord is the first fruit of God's salvation, we his
brothers and sisters are the second, third and continuous fruits, and Mary with
us.
The Gospel invites us to join our voices to that of Mary to
sing a canticle of thanksgiving to the Lord. The “Magnificat” more than a song
to Mary is a song of Mary. It is Mary singing God's goodness and love; His love
for her, his chosen handmaid; his love for Elisabeth her cousin, and his love
for the whole humanity. After Mary, and at her example, we, the following
generation not only must call the Mother of our Lord, “Blessed”, but we must
continually praise the Lord with our souls and voices.
Brethren, in today's feast, let us see beyond the dogmatic proclamation. Let us see what unceasingly and constantly, God is doing in his Church, in our lives, and each one of us through Mary. With Mary by our side, we are assured of having a bridge between heaven and earth. We have a representative in God’s glory. So, let us say Ave Maria, and always onward.
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