The Assuption of Mary

This is a piece from a couple of years ago that I'm not sure I can really add to, so I'm just gonna go ahead and republish it.  Have a blessed Feast of Our Lady.  May we always trust in her loving, motherly care!

Today we take a break from the regular cycle of Sunday readings as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. So I will take a break from our examination of Salesian Spirituality and focus our attention on our Blessed Mother. She is the Queen of Heaven, yet as St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, she is more mother than queen. She loves us very much and always calls us to follow her Son. Today’s feast, in part, teaches us that Mary, and all the saints are powerful gifts from God, that they are active within the Church, and that, if we are faithful, we will share in the glory they have been given.

That Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven was attested to from Apostolic times and was always believed by the Church, both in the East and West. It was not defined formally as a dogma until 1950 when Pope Pius XII proclaimed, “By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: 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 (Munificentissimus Deus, 44). Because Mary was preserved from original sin in preparation to be mother of the Savior, and was obedient to God’s call, she was also given the grace of not suffering the corruption of the grave. In a special way she already enjoys the fruits of the resurrection won by Jesus’ death on the cross. She is alive in the fullest sense of the word, and is active still within the Church.

In the Gospel reading for today we hear the story of the Visitation. Mary, after saying “yes” to God, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary has Jesus within her, this great grace prompts her to go forth and serve her neighbor in need. She is an example for us to follow. As we receive Jesus in the Eucharist we are also called to go and serve others. She and all the saints are united to us and help us by their prayers and example. In a special way Mary is active, as we can see by her apparitions in places like Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. She always calls us to follow her Son more faithfully and covert our lives.

The celebration of the Assumption also points us to the reality of the resurrection. As Mary lives in glory now, so shall we. Mary was blessed in her life, but she also suffered greatly. Her heart was truly pierced by a sword when she saw Jesus suffer as he did. Through it all she was faithful to God’s call. She is a sign for us that if we are faithful through life’s problems and struggles we too will share in gifts from God beyond our understanding.