Today's Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrating her glorious Assumption into heaven, is the climax of her glorification, which began with her Immaculate Conception; she who was without sin does not share in the corruption of death! The feast of Her Assumption reminds us of God's goodness to us, stirs our hearts in devotion to the Blessed Mother, calls us to recognise the dignity of our bodies (and reject everything contrary to that dignity) and inspires in us fresh Hope for the resurrection!
Only twice in history has a Pope spoken ex Cathedra, from the throne, to define a dogma of the faith to be believed as infallibly true by all the Christian faithful. Pius IX did it in 1854, and Pius XII did it just shy of 100 years later. On both occasions in which a Supreme Pontiff has seen fit to exercise the infallibility of his office, he has done so in order to define a dogma which relates to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Those two moments in our history are linked, theologically speaking, because the definitions which came from them are two sides of the same coin.
Blessed Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception of Mary – that she was conceived without stain of Original Sin, preserved from birth by the mystery of the Cross in order to be the singular vessel which would bear the Son of God – the second Ark of the Covenant to bear the living Word of God.
Pius XII declared what we celebrate today, that as a consequence of her never having been touched by the stain of original sin, neither too could she be touched by the bodily corruption of death which comes from that Sin – that when her life had run its course she was miraculously Assumed into heaven, body and soul.
We have this pictured for us in the great signs seen by Saint John in his vision; the woman, clothed in the Sun, standing on the moon, and with twelve stars for a crown, gives birth to a Son and, having given birth, is set upon by a dragon. But the dragon cannot touch her, she is taken away to the desert, to a place set apart for her. This of course mirrors the reality of her early life, having to flee to Egypt from those who would have harmed her son, but also what was to come; the dragon could not touch the woman – she was taken away by God to a place prepared for her.
Mary is, as our entrance chant said, wholly beautiful, without the blemish of original sin; the glory of Jerusalem and honour of our entire race. All of this, the honours given to Mary, are given on account of her station as the Mother of God. She is shown in revelation as glorious already in childbirth, robed in the sun and crowned with stars, because her glory is already realised in her immaculate conception, proved in her giving birth to Christ the Lord, and completed in her Assumption; she was preserved from sin, honoured in motherhood, and glorified in death above all others but her only Son.
What does this mean for us? Why do we need the Church to define this dogma? Why do we keep this feast as a Holy Day of Obligation?
Pius XII, in the bull Munificentissiumus Deus (the most bountiful God) written at the end of the Second World War - with Europe in ruins and the Iron Curtain falling over Europe, expressed his hope that this solemn definition would bring about four goods for the whole of human society;
First, that in recognising this great gift given to Mary we will recognise the magnificence and generosity of God in the Most Holy Trinity; that one of us was given this great gift and privilege not as a sole survivor of our race but as the forerunner and example. We are to give thanks to God, because in Mary’s assumption He has shown us the destiny of our own bodies and souls: to be glorified with Him in heaven.
Second, that our hearts will be stirred up with piety and devotion to the blessed Mother of God; that seeing the great glory of her perfect unity with our Lord Jesus Christ throughout her whole life we might seek to imitate her and ask for the protection of her prayers. She who was preserved from sin, adored the Lord in the manger, followed him as he taught, suffered with Him as he was scourged and crucified, and rejoiced in his resurrection, is the model of our Christian lives; to pray to be kept free from sin, to adore the Lord, to listen to his words of teaching, to unite our sufferings to his cross and yet remain joyful because of the promise of the resurrection.
Third, that realising the glory and dignity of Mary’s incorrupt body Assumed into heaven we might realise the destiny of every human body which is united to Christ’s body to be raised and glorified. Moreover, recognising this truth we are to cast off all errors which violate the dignity of the human body, whether that be the scourge of war, or other modern errors that degrade the human body and threaten to drown out the light of virtue.
Fourthly, that this great mystery of the Assumption may rekindle our Faith in the resurrection of the body; that we may proclaim with St Paul that Christ is the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep, going on ahead of us to raise and glorify our bodies.
This is a feast day of hope and exultation, in which we recognise and give thanks for the great gifts of rebirth given to us in Baptism and unity with the body of Christ given to us in Holy Communion, so that we may make Mary’s hymn of thanksgiving, her Magnificat, our own prayer as we say:
‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour… the Almighty has done great things for me, [and] Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.’
Entrance chant for today's Mass:
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