Her Assumption Into Heaven!

 

(Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

     The pivot around which revolves the readings of today is the concept of “relation”, and it is orchestrated in the rapport between Mary and God, Mary and her Son and Mary and the Church. Mary’s greatness and favor springs from her relation with God. She is a woman of prevenient and enabling grace. In Gospel we see the relation of Mary with God the Father: “He who is Mighty has done great things for me”. In the second reading we can see the relation between Mary and the Son, Jesus: “the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep”. On the other hand, the first reading presents the relation between Mary and the Church: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”.

     In the Gospel passage (Lk. 1: 39-56) we see Mary in relation to the Father. She recognized that the Father has done great things for her, what are those great things? ●First is the fullness of grace with which she was conceived, her Immaculate Conception, which accompanied her in the course of her earthly existence. ●Second is the mystery of her divine maternity, the Only Son of the Father took flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This indeed is a wonderful gesture of the Father’s love towards Mary and all humanity. God made her the arch of the new covenant, with God in her womb she was a cause of blessing for John the Baptist and his fathers (cf. 2Sam. 6). ●Third is the mystery of her co-redemption, for God wanted Mary to be united to Christ the Redeemer; she was associated with work of redemption in all her life but especially at the moment of supreme immolation on the Cross. The great things God has done in the life of Mary do not end with the birth of Jesus; for God continues to work his greatness in the heart and life of Mary. ●And the last of these great things is the assumption in body and soul to the heavenly glory. Mary was possessed by grace in body and soul, the Immaculate in whom there is no iota of corruption, because everything in her life is grace, pure grace of God.

     On the other hand, this passage falls within the visitation narrative and the Magnificat. The Magnificat is to be seen not as an individual hymn of Mary, but as the hymn of the representative of the true Israel, and this is indicated by the switch from the first person singular to the third person plural (cf. v.50). Mary indeed is the symbol of the true Israel that rejoices in the Lord for the coming of the Messiah.

     The second reading (1Cor. 15: 20-26) presents Mary in relation to the Son, Jesus. The mystery of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of his consequent glorification is unimaginable without the reality of a body, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ has broken the bondage of death and became the first fruits of the dead. The Blessed Mother can look at Jesus and say: “This is the flesh of my flesh”. If therefore, the body of the Son was glorified, is there any doubt that the Son will indeed glorify the body of her mother, the blessed flesh that was at the same time arch and nourishment for him. The risen Christ is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep, in the temple of Jerusalem, the feast of first fruits pre-announces the abundant harvest, now, the glorified Christ pre-announces the glorification of the all the believers. It is a glorification that will take place in his second coming at the end of time. The definitive Easter of every Christian is not possessed, rather it is a certain and sure hope. Mary is the only woman who already lives in the definitive Easter, because in her blessed flesh, her Son Jesus Christ realized in fullness the work of redemption. In a certain sense, we can affirm that Mary together with Jesus, through his works, are the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. As such, we cannot but raise our gaze to Mary Assumed into heaven with love and hope.

     The first reading (Ap 11: 19; 12: 1-6a.10ab) instead presents Mary in relation to the Church, the woman presented in the book of Revelation symbolizes Eve, Israel and the Church. In the passage the child that is born is the Messiah, for in verse 5: “the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter”, these messianic qualities were attributed to him as in Psalm 2:9, and again fostered by the proclamation that follows his exaltation to God’s throne. Thus, there is a question that arises from this passage: who is the woman that is described in this passage? There are three possibilities as regards the identity of the woman in question: ●Some regard her as the representation of the old Israel, the nation from which the Messiah came, this is a suggestion of the Old Testament literature (cf. Is. 66:7). ●Secondly, she is seen as the image of the Church, the new Israel, the mother of the faithful, it alludes to Rev. 12:17 that talks about the other children belonging to the woman. ●Thirdly, as a fruit of recent catholic exegesis, the woman is identified as the Blessed Virgin Mary. Indeed, of these three interpretations it does appear they all converge into the image of Mary, the daughter of Zion, an iconic expression of the old Israel as well as the new Israel. The dragon is the old serpent that tempted Eve, and made her to be sent away from Paradise (cf. Gen. 3). However, in the passage of our second reading in verse 15 there come rays of hope, with the woman that conquered the serpent, marching on its head. This woman is the new Eve, Mary, on whom the serpent had no power, and for this she can with total freedom obtain the victory on the serpent. The woman represents the people of Israel, the woman-spouse with whom God contracted spousal covenant, a woman beautiful like the sun, powerful as a great queen, in expectation of a baby. In the person of Mary, the vocation and the hope of Israel is realized in a perfect way. She is beautified with divine splendor, powerful for her humility, in expectation, for she carries in her womb the Son of the Most High. She is also the symbol of the Church, the Church in the splendor of her sanctity, in her fecund maternity, in the situation of persecution for the work of the Devil, in the desert to regain power and to prepare for battle of victory. Mary as the daughter of the Church brought even to God her sanctity, her fecundity, her victory; as the mother of the Church, from heaven she assists the Church in her trials and consoles her in pains.

     In all, the Assumption of Mary is a guarantee of our hope. The glorious destiny of Mary is our last and definitive destiny as well. Her glorious presence in heaven does not only reveal the privilege of Mary, but also of the call of God towards all to participate in this same life in fullness. Where our Mother is, there we shall be also! May Our Blessed Mother Mary the Bright Morning Star continue to intercede for us in our earthly sojourn towards our Promise Land.

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)