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Zenale, Bernardino. L'Assunta. (Church of Saint Charles on the Corso: Milan, Italy).
This day the holy and animated Ark of the living God, which had held within herself her own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord, which is not made with hands. – St. John Damascus
Most Catholics probably do not know the significance of the great Mystery celebrated this day. It is clear of course that the Church places great importance in this Mystery. It assigns it the greatest solemnity, makes it a holy day of obligation, and in many Catholic countries this Great Feast is even celebrated as a public holiday.
This feast is not a new feast invented by Pope Pius XII in his declaration of November 1, 1950, Munificentissumus Deus. The common perception of this teaching is also not one of doubt, but one of apathy. Why does it matter that the Holy Mother of God has been taken up to heaven body and soul?
It matters – it matters deeply not only within our souls, but with in our bodies – our bones, our muscles, and our flesh. This great grace of Mary’s Assumption is the fulfilment of the promise of the God the Father to redeem us and call us back to him (cf. Ps. 16). At the beginning of time there was no need of redemption, since God walked in the Garden of Eden with the first Adam and the first Eve. As Pope John Paul II put it Adam and Eve were “naked without shame.” After the Fall, this was lost. For they realized they were naked, and became ashamed. They hide themselves from God (cf. Genesis 3:9-15).
Heaven was lost to Adam and Eve, and since we are their children, we have also lost heaven. For through the first Adam death entered the world. The death we all face is the unavoidable witness to this fall. Death, strong though it may be, is not stronger than the love of God. God’s love for us took on a body like our body – with bones, muscles, and flesh – he became incarnate in Jesus Christ. He came to redeem us – which means literally he came to buy us back. God wants us to be with him in heaven. So the promise of our own resurrection is shown forth in the resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20-6).
Saint Ireneaus of Lyon tells us how this was first shown worth with the Blessed Virgin Mary. By his own death, Christ – the “second Adam” – undid what the first Adam did. Christ reverses death. So Mary – the “second Eve” – in her obedient words, be it done unto me according to your Word (Luke 1:37), reverses the disobedience of the first Eve. Thus God’s promise is fulfilled in her, and her body does not even come to know the decay of death. This is important for us to reflect on. The redemption of our body is a gift that we have not earned. We cannot earn it. But God nonetheless respects what He has created – and respects the freedom that He has created us with. He will not force the resurrection of our bodies on us, just like He did not force more to become the Mother of God. He offers us the resurrection in the promise that took on flesh in His Son, and as all the angles and the rest of creation waited on the words of Mary – so all the angles and the rest of creation waits for us to say, be it done unto me according to you Word.
This Great Feast in fact is the great invitation to join Mary in heaven. To accept the gift that God so graciously lays before us. This now is the moment to make our own FIAT. To fulfil the promises of our baptism as a response to the great gift that God offers us. This is so great that the Church has always celebrated it. The first Christian bishops preached about the Assumption of Mary. This Tradition was handed on, as is testified to by countless homilies through all the ages down to the present. We see this in art – all of the famous painters have always painted at least one image of the Assumption. We hear this in music – as some of the most beautiful music was composed to commemorate the Assumption. It has always been believed by the Church, so that is the reason why Pope Pius XII, defined the Assumption in 1950. He was not proposing something new, but in his words drawing together almost two thousand years of Tradition to glorify Jesus through His mother, Mary.
This feast is not a new feast invented by Pope Pius XII in his declaration of November 1, 1950, Munificentissumus Deus. The common perception of this teaching is also not one of doubt, but one of apathy. Why does it matter that the Holy Mother of God has been taken up to heaven body and soul?
It matters – it matters deeply not only within our souls, but with in our bodies – our bones, our muscles, and our flesh. This great grace of Mary’s Assumption is the fulfilment of the promise of the God the Father to redeem us and call us back to him (cf. Ps. 16). At the beginning of time there was no need of redemption, since God walked in the Garden of Eden with the first Adam and the first Eve. As Pope John Paul II put it Adam and Eve were “naked without shame.” After the Fall, this was lost. For they realized they were naked, and became ashamed. They hide themselves from God (cf. Genesis 3:9-15).
Heaven was lost to Adam and Eve, and since we are their children, we have also lost heaven. For through the first Adam death entered the world. The death we all face is the unavoidable witness to this fall. Death, strong though it may be, is not stronger than the love of God. God’s love for us took on a body like our body – with bones, muscles, and flesh – he became incarnate in Jesus Christ. He came to redeem us – which means literally he came to buy us back. God wants us to be with him in heaven. So the promise of our own resurrection is shown forth in the resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20-6).
Saint Ireneaus of Lyon tells us how this was first shown worth with the Blessed Virgin Mary. By his own death, Christ – the “second Adam” – undid what the first Adam did. Christ reverses death. So Mary – the “second Eve” – in her obedient words, be it done unto me according to your Word (Luke 1:37), reverses the disobedience of the first Eve. Thus God’s promise is fulfilled in her, and her body does not even come to know the decay of death. This is important for us to reflect on. The redemption of our body is a gift that we have not earned. We cannot earn it. But God nonetheless respects what He has created – and respects the freedom that He has created us with. He will not force the resurrection of our bodies on us, just like He did not force more to become the Mother of God. He offers us the resurrection in the promise that took on flesh in His Son, and as all the angles and the rest of creation waited on the words of Mary – so all the angles and the rest of creation waits for us to say, be it done unto me according to you Word.
This Great Feast in fact is the great invitation to join Mary in heaven. To accept the gift that God so graciously lays before us. This now is the moment to make our own FIAT. To fulfil the promises of our baptism as a response to the great gift that God offers us. This is so great that the Church has always celebrated it. The first Christian bishops preached about the Assumption of Mary. This Tradition was handed on, as is testified to by countless homilies through all the ages down to the present. We see this in art – all of the famous painters have always painted at least one image of the Assumption. We hear this in music – as some of the most beautiful music was composed to commemorate the Assumption. It has always been believed by the Church, so that is the reason why Pope Pius XII, defined the Assumption in 1950. He was not proposing something new, but in his words drawing together almost two thousand years of Tradition to glorify Jesus through His mother, Mary.
Mary Mother of God, Assumed into Heaven, Pray for us.
Pius XII, of Blessed Memory, Pray for us.
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