Assumption of Mary August 15, 2021
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
“From this day all generations will call me blessed.” So Mary proclaims in a moment of great joy. Indeed, we are interrupting our journey through John Chapter 6 to acclaim the blessedness of Mary. Why, though? Why honor Mary in this way? Because “the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Yes, as always when we honor a saint, we are ultimately honoring what God has done in and through that saint. That’s truer of Mary than anyone else.
The Solemnity of the Assumption is when we celebrate the fact that Mary was brought into heaven body and soul. Everyone else leaves their body here on earth and must wait till the end of time to get it back, but Mary’s body is brought into heaven right away. That exact moment is not recorded in the bible but belief in this miraculous event goes back to the beginning of our tradition. It also makes perfect sense when you understand how scripture portrays Mary as the new ark of the covenant.
The scene from the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is a very close parallel to the scene from the Old Testament when King David brings the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. Both of them “arose and went” to the hill country of Judah. When the ark enters Jerusalem, David asks “how can the ark of the Lord come to me?” Elizabeth asks how the “mother of my Lord” could come to her. David leaps before the ark and cries out the same way that John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb and she cries out. David keeps the ark in the hill country for three months and Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months.
But it goes further. In the book of Revelation, John sees the ark of the covenant in heaven, but then immediately describes a woman who gives birth to “a male child, destined to rule all the nations” and who was “caught up to God and his throne.” Just as David brough the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, God brings Mary, the true ark, into heaven.
What does that have to do with the Eucharist? Everything. The ark was a golden box that was seen as God’s presence on earth. Do you know what the ancient Israelites kept in the ark of the covenant? The tablets of the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron the high priest, and a jar of Manna, the miraculous bread from heaven that they used to eat in the desert. Yes, the same Manna that Jesus compares his flesh to in John chapter 6. The ark held bread from heaven as a prefiguration of Mary whose womb held the True Bread from Heaven, Jesus Christ who gives his flesh and blood to us.
And what is it to receive the Eucharist if not to receive God’s presence into our very selves? This is the reason we honor Mary so much and so often. She is the prime example, the most perfect disciple who heard the word of God and kept it so perfectly that she was literally filled with the Word made flesh. Adam and Eve broke human nature by Original Sin, but Jesus is the new Adam who remakes our nature. Mary, then, is the new Eve. Right now, there are two human bodies in heaven, one male, one female. These bodies are promises to us, reminders that, if we are faithful, we will have glorified bodies in heaven to match theirs.
So, what can we learn from Mary’s assumption? Many things, but here are three to focus on for now. That we should look forward to heavenly glory, that we should embrace God’s word, and that we should praise God in response to what he’s doing.
First is the heavenly glory. After the resurrection, our bodies will be perfect, reliable, and immortal. By remembering the ascension of Jesus and the assumption of Mary, we can find hope and encouragement when our bodies let us down. Deformity, pains, weakness, covid and other diseases – these will all cease to exist. Ever been frustrated by your body’s inability to do what you want? Both Jesus and Mary have bodies under their perfect control. And those bodies will last forever. Mary was assumed into heaven nearly 2000 years ago, but she still has it. She sometimes appears to people with that body, even altering her appearance to be recognizable to whatever culture she’s appearing in. To get the most out of receiving the Eucharist, take time on occasion to meditate on these promises to build excitement for what Jesus’ body and blood will one day do to your body.
Secondly, we must strive to accept God’s word. Mary says “let it be done to me according to your will.” She doesn’t argue and she doesn’t let some false sense of pride or independence get in the way. Do you accept all of the Church’s teachings? Or just the ones that are pleasant? Do you receive God’s word by reading Scripture? Seriously, we Catholics have a reputation for not knowing the bible and we’ve kinda earned it. If we want to be raised up to heavenly glory like Mary was, then we need embrace God’s word like she did. Praying the rosary, which is built on scripture, is one great way to do this.
Lastly, we must praise God as Mary does. God doesn’t need our praise but human nature needs to give praise. Look at the eagerness and attention some people give to sports, to celebrities, to getting rich, to political ideas and people, or to their own pleasure and entertainment. Human beings will always worship something. If we are not deliberate about praising and worshipping God, then we are worshipping something else and that is idolatry… it is the road to damnation and it’s easier to follow than we like to admit. Praise God. In good times and in bad, praise him for existence, for salvation, for the grace to endure, for the chance to be forgiven, for the successes and for the humility that can come from failure. There are many ways to praise God, but one stands above the rest: the Mass. This is why I stress the importance of responding and singing at Mass. To be in heaven means to praise God, so if we are reluctant to sing praise to him now, something will have to change before we can get into heaven. It isn’t about what we feel at a given moment, but about the choice to glorify God with his own words and in the way he asks us to. Even Mary’s words of praise in the gospel are a close parallel to an old testament proclamation. The Church gives us this act of praise, the Mass not to entertain us, but to lead us to authentic praise. We should embrace it as best we can.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” These words of Mary can be true… are true for every one of us. We have only to recognize that what he has done for her, he offers to do for us through the gift of the Eucharist. Glorify him for the promise of eternal life in a perfect body, receive his words in scripture, tradition, and personal prayer, then praise him for “he has filled the hungry” not just with good things, but with the greatest gift there is: his very self.