On August 15 we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This solemnity is good medicine for the soul in these dark times. The Gospel reading offers us the image of two expectant mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, embracing each other, celebrating their hope in the future (Luke 1:39-56). Remember, babies are God’s argument that the world should go on.
More to the point, the miraculous had occurred. Mary, a young Jewish girl, had accepted the invitation of the Angel Gabriel to become the mother of our Lord. Elizabeth, in her old age, had received the blessing of a son who would become the new Elijah, St. John the Baptist. The miracle of new life is reason enough to rejoice, but they had even more to celebrate.
They were the first recipients of the Gospel of salvation — especially Mary, for she gave to the invisible God our full humanity. This little bit of theology, that Mary offered the omnipotent God a full humanity in the Incarnation, is essential to understanding this feast day, because every doctrine about Mary is ultimately about her Son, Jesus Christ.
Why is this doctrine such good medicine? Every generation endures dark times, because we are sinners. There is a brokenness inside every human person that we simply cannot fix. This is original sin, that terrible instinct that rebels against the Author of Life. One need only watch the news to be reminded of all the horrible ways we find to hurt each other.
Original sin is like a spiritual cancer in the heart of humanity that makes us less than human, less than God intended us to be. God’s solution was to send his Son with a full human nature — one without sin — so to re-create our human nature for the sake of our salvation.
But how could our Lord attain a full human nature unless his mother was also fully human — without the cancer of original sin? In the fullness of time, in the stormy waters of sin and death, God created an island in Mary. Through Christ’s redemptive action on the cross, which transcends time, Mary was kept free of original sin so to be fully human. Mary had to be fully human so Jesus could unite his divinity with our humanity, thereby opening the gates of heaven for those who die and rise with Jesus in baptism. In the sacrament of baptism, our human nature is redeemed.
This brings us to the Assumption. If Mary was born fully human, it simply wouldn’t be fitting for her to taste death the way we do. Because she is “full of grace” — fully human — it is more fitting that Mary be assumed body and soul into heaven. Because of her unique relationship with Christ, Mary is the first to receive the gift Christ wants to give us all: eternal life and joy with God. Where she goes, we hope to follow.
In her Magnificat, Mary praises God with profound joy for the good he has done. The Church wants us to celebrate with her. The Assumption is an opportunity to embrace hope amid so many worries, and to join Mary in her timeless prayer: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
Northwest Catholic — August/September 2022