The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary invite us to reflect on the promises of Christ concerning our mission and eternal union with the Divine.
A plaque of the Magnificat in English is seen at the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem, Jerusalem. (Wikimedia Commons/Deror avi (https://www.ncronline.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_full_width/public/Church_of_the_Visitation_IMG_0650%20CROP.jpg?itok=udWKQ5_N )
The reading from the Book of Revelation shares images of the Woman and the Dragon.
* [12:1–6] The woman adorned with the sun, the moon, and the stars (images taken from Gn 37:9–10) symbolizes God’s people in the Old and the New Testament. The Israel of old gave birth to the Messiah (Rev 12:5) and then became the new Israel, the church, which suffers persecution by the dragon (Rev 12:6, 13–17); cf. Is 50:1; 66:7; Jer 50:12. This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster.1
Psalm 45 is an ode for a Royal Wedding.
* [Psalm 45] A song for the Davidic king’s marriage to a foreign princess from Tyre in Phoenicia. The court poet sings (Ps 45:2, 18) of God’s choice of the king (Ps 45:3, 8), of his role in establishing divine rule (Ps 45:4–8), and of his splendor as he waits for his bride (Ps 45:9–10). The woman is to forget her own house when she becomes wife to the king (Ps 45:11–13). Her majestic beauty today is a sign of the future prosperity of the royal house (Ps 45:14–17). The Psalm was retained in the collection when there was no reigning king, and came to be applied to the king who was to come, the messiah.2
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians declares Christ the Firstfruits of our connection to resurrection.
* [15:24–28] Paul’s perspective expands to cosmic dimensions, as he describes the climax of history, the end. His viewpoint is still christological, as in 1 Cor 15:20–23. 1 Cor 15:24, 28 describe Christ’s final relations to his enemies and his Father in language that is both royal and military; 1 Cor 15:25–28 inserts a proof from scripture (Ps 110:1; 8:6) into this description. But the viewpoint is also theological, for God is the ultimate agent and end, and likewise soteriological, for we are the beneficiaries of all the action.3
In the Gospel of Luke, Mary visits Elizabeth and offers a Song of Praise.
* [1:46–55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary’s pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v. 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God’s favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker.4
Vivian Amu reflects upon the Assumption of the Blessed Mother. She thinks about how often she has found herself seeking her intercession and asking her to stay close by. She finds great comfort when Blessed Mother Mary sits with her for a while and keeps her company, especially when she has nothing else to say and no more tears to cry.
Considering my temptation to have a list of requests when I come to God in prayer, it is nice to rest quietly on the lap of the Blessed Mother while God works on what troubles me, and either lightens my burdens or strengthens my spirit. I, like Elizabeth, feel a leap of joy within me when Mary spends time with me. Today, let us take off our heavy shoes of worry, set down our heavy bag of self-doubt, past trauma, and the heartbreak we sometimes carry around with us. Let us put aside our list of many needs, wants, and desires, and just for a moment, ask the Blessed Mother if we can just lay our head on her lap to rest awhile as we entrust our life path to God.5
Don Schwager quotes “Christ the fruit of the faithful,” by Ambrose of Milan (339-397 A.D).
"You see that Mary did not doubt but believed and therefore obtained the fruit of faith. 'Blessed ... are you who have believed.' But you also are blessed who have heard and believed. For a soul that has believed has both conceived and bears the Word of God and declares his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each of you, so that it magnifies the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each of you, so that it rejoices in God (Luke 1:46-47). She is the one mother of Christ according to the flesh, yet Christ is the Fruit of all according to faith. Every soul receives the Word of God, provided that, undefiled and unstained by vices, it guards its purity with inviolate modesty. (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 2.26)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:39-56 comments that Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven is another truth that can’t be explained on a natural level. Again, we don’t know how it happened, but we do know why. By saying yes to the angel’s request, Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world. Because of this “yes”, she played a central role in our salvation. And so God greatly honored her by allowing her to share fully in the fruit of Jesus’ victory over sin and death even now, before he comes again in glory.
One day we too hope to share in Christ’s victory. At his Second Coming, the corruptible will become incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:54). Our bodies will be brought to life again as spiritual bodies, and we will see Mary in all her beauty and splendor. We don’t know how this will happen. But that’s where faith comes in. As Elizabeth said to Mary, Blessed are those who believe. We are truly blessed when we choose to believe that all of God’s promises will be fulfilled. And when we struggle to believe, we only have to turn to Mary, our Mother. She is always eager to intercede for us and lead us into the loving arms of her Son, Jesus. “Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.”7
Friar Jude Winkler explores the connection of the passage in Revelation to the Ark of the Covenant. Vatican II declared Mary as the model and Mother of the Church. Friar Jude shares the relationship of Mary meeting Elizabeth in Abu Gosh and the story of the Ark of the Covenant resting in Ein Karem.
Mary M. McGlone, the congregational leadership team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, comments that neither church nor society has probably ever been quite ready for Mary of Nazareth and all that she implies for the rest of our race. Rather than celebrate her simplicity as one of us, we typically depict her with crowns and halos, imagining her as the pinnacle of beauty. And we rarely depict her with a skin tone that is anything but white. But what about the Mary of the Gospels? Who was that Jewish woman?
The song of the mother of God is Luke's gift to us. As we ponder her assumption into the realm of God, Luke invites us to contemplate the God of real life and history whom she proclaims. Mary's song urges us to recognize God's activity in the everydayness of our world. She points to where we can find God working among us and warns us about the possibilities of losing our way. As we celebrate her Assumption in body and soul, Mary's canticle tells us where we will find our own salvation. Mary's creed leads us to seek God in the times and places where the lowly are cherished and the hungry filled. Everything about this feast urges us to appreciate flesh and blood — to appreciate it so much that we do everything possible to save the powerful from their pretensions, to help nourish every kind of hunger and to receive and share God's own mercy.8
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, expresses gratitude that his doctors proceed with logic, evidence, and reason; yet in his experience, it is the artist, like the mystic, who intuits Reality first.
The early Church theologians saw incarnation and divine indwelling as occurring as a metaphysical union with nature as a whole, not just in one human being (Jesus). John Duns Scotus (1266–1308), one of the great Franciscan teachers, said that God did not create genus and species; God only created what Duns Scotus called “thisness” (in Latin haecceity). Each creature is a unique aspect of the infinite Mystery of God. He said that until we can experience each thing in its specific “thisness,” as artists so often do, we will not easily experience the joy and freedom of Divine Presence.9
The mystery of our journey with Christ includes our accompanying Him to a place among many in His Father’s house.
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