The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Rev. 11:19.12:1-6.10, 1 Cor. 15:20-27, Lk. 1:39-56. Today we celebrate the great Solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day we commemorate the moment when Mary was raised to the glory of Heaven, in body and soul, by the grace of her Son, Jesus. In the Encyclical "Munificentissimus Deus" no. 44, of 1st November, 1950, Pope Pius XII formally states: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” Today's readings reflect the honoured position of Mary and her central role in salvation history.

As Paul has it in today's first reading, that death is the sting of sin. It means that because of sin, death becomes a natural consequence of our disobedience against God. Today’s Gospel picks up after Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, who announced the good news that she would bear a son. Mary journeys in haste to the house of her relatives, where she greets Elizabeth and the experience of David when he welcomed the Ark of the Covenant is hereby re-enacted. The Ark is the holiest object and the centre focus of Israel, because the Ark contained the two tablets of the Law of God, as the symbolic representation of God being present in the midst of His people. That is why the Ark of the Covenant was made from the finest materials, from gold and most precious wood and best of earthly matters available, to be the throne of God on earth. That is why the Church from the time of the Apostles held and taught the core belief that Mary has always been pure and free from the state of original sin, by the grace of God. God has made her to be special because she is truly the New Ark of the Covenant which far surpassed the old Ark of the Covenant. If the old Ark contained the tablets of stone of the Law and the bread of manna, then in Mary, the New Ark of the Covenant, is the Law Himself, the complete fullness of the Law and the Bread of Life. As such, Mary has to be pure and spotless, Immaculate and without the corruption of sin, to be the bearer of God.

May the Lord, who took the Mother of Jesus, body and soul into the glory where He dwells, keep our hearts set on Heaven so that we may share in His glory! Amen!! Good morning and have a pleasant day!!!