Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Revelation
11:19.12:1-6.10; Corinthians 15:20-27; Lucas 1:39-56)
It was only
in 1950 that the Church defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. Before that, Catholics did not have to
believe that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. They could have thought that her soul lived
with God whileher body was corrupting in the grave awaiting Christ to
return at the end of time.
At the
time, some Catholics thought it was unwise for Pope Pius XII to make the
definition. They believed that an
infallible declaration would alienate further separated brothers and sisters in
Orthodox and Protestant congregations.
So why did
Pope Pius XII make the dogmatic, infallible declaration of the Assumption? And why do we continue to celebrate it today
with a major feast day? Let’s look at a
few reasons.
First, the Assumption
corresponds to the Immaculate Conception of Mary proclaimed in the nineteenth
century. If Mary was privileged to be
conceived without any corruption of soul, it follows that her body would not
suffer corruption at death but would be assumed directly into heaven.
Second,
belief in the Assumption of Mary has had a long history. It was preached by the Fathers of the Church,
celebrated in the Sacred Liturgy during the first millennium, and proclaimed in
the naming of many churches.
Finally,
the Assumption of Mary implies the dignity of the human body in a time when it
is regularly abused. As Mary’s body
lives forever, so our bodies have an eternal destiny if we are faithful to the
Lord. Unfortunately, many people today
either do not care for their bodies or treat it with undue adulation as if it
were the most important element of existence.
Many neither eat wholesomely nor exercise regularly. They think their bodies as acquisitions like
a cell phone or a car to be used or discarded as desired. But our bodies are who we are. They form a duality with the soul like a television
has physical parts that produce a visible image. If we are to present ourselves as images of
God than we must take care of our bodies.
Others
abuse their body by spending too much time and money seeking the admiration of
others. We get an idea of this just
looking at the cosmetics aisles in drugstores.
Similarly, the exaggerated attention given to the body is witnessed by
all the mirrors in an exercise room. We
take care of our bodies so that we can better serve the Lord, not to extract
flirtatious comments from others.
We can add one more reason to celebrate Mary
today. She has constantly assisted us in
our prayers to God for help. It is said
that there have been 8000 miraculous cures at Lourdes alone. We pray to her that she might intercede for
us before her son, Jesus. He is the
Lord, the one who created us and in whom we hope to have our end.
