Lk 1:39-56
Rev 11:9, 12:1-10
1 Cor 15:20-27
Focus: One day, we, too, will be received, with our whole existence, our whole person, into the fullness of God’s glory and God’s light.
A few years ago I was invited to give a presentation to a group of United Methodist pastors (the monks may remember this story). The group asked me to speak on the Rosary, in which one of the pastors had taken a special interest! To my surprise, the talk was received well. I described the Rosary as rooted in Holy Scripture, as a way of reflecting about the most central mysteries of our Christian faith and of praying with them.
With most mysteries of the Rosary, immediately one or more Scripture passages come to mind that express them. Even the last one, the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, has a direct biblical reference, namely in today’s first reading: “A woman clothed with the sun,… on her head a [royal] crown of twelve stars.” At first sight, the exception seems to be the Assumption of Mary into Heaven with Body and Soul. Is this mystery biblical?
Today’s second reading points us into the right direction. “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.… For just as in Adam all die, so too, in Christ all shall be brought to life.” St. Paul is proclaiming in this Chapter 15 of his First Letter to the Corinthians
the resurrection of the body, not only the immortality of the soul.
What the Catholic Church has defined as the “Assumption of Mary into Heaven,” is simply a specific application, based on the great dignity and special role of Mary as the Mother of Jesus.
The mystery of today’s feast is a particular case of our general belief in the resurrection. It is also about that which ultimately awaits all of us! We profess in the Apostolic Creed (which is the start of the Rosary): “I believe in the resurrection of the body [as a promise for all of us] and life everlasting.”
The Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is the feast of our own hope! With Mary we celebrate one of us who has arrived already at the destination, who has been received into heaven with body and soul. We, who have been connected with Christ since our baptism, who have put on Christ in our baptism like a garment and already have a share in His Divine life, are promised to experience one day, as Mary did, the resurrection of the body, of our bodies, and immortality.
Today’s gospel is Mary’s encounter with Elizabeth. Mary helps her pregnant kinswoman; and Elizabeth recognizes the Divine mystery in her. In response, Mary praises God who looks on the lowliness of God’s servants.
We, too, have reason to praise God for the many great things that God has done already in our lives. It is good to do this on a regular basis. I do it every night in my Examination of Consciousness, which starts with thanking God and praising God for God’s gifts to me during this past day.
Dear sisters and brothers in faith, One day, we also will be received, with our whole existence, our whole person, into the fullness of God’s glory, God’s light and God’s peace.
There is another wonderful Scripture passage that shows the meaning of today’s feast. In the Song of Songs, the lover speaks to the beloved: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come.” We confess today that God has said this to Mary, God, the great Lover, to the beloved. We believe that God will speak to us one day in the same way: Arise, my beloved, come!
While still here on earth, we invoke Mary for her intercession. As we pray the Rosary, as we meditate on the mysteries of our faith, each of which says something about us, too, Mary helps us to become ever more fully disciples of her son, Jesus. And we grow stronger in our hope for the destination of our own life’s journey in God, for heaven. AMEN.
~Fr Thomas Leitner, OSB
