15 August 2017
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We have seen Jesus as the King of Creation and the King of the Kingdom of Heaven who freely submits to worldly authority. We submit to worldly authority because we, like Jesus, have come to serve the world. Today we remember the Assumption of Mary, the Queen of Christ’s Kingdom, Queen because she is the mother of our King. What does the Assumption teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven?
Jesus says in John’s Gospel, at the Last Supper: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” (14:2-3) We believe that at the end of Mary’s time on earth, her Son came to take her to Himself; whereas Jesus ascended to Heaven by His own power, Mary was taken up by a power other than her own, that where her Son was, there she may also be. The two Glorious Mysteries—the Ascension of Jesus and the Assumption of Mary—are intertwined, because the people in the center of each are intertwined. We profess in the Creed that “He ascended into Heaven”, and we believe He did so in the entirety of His Body and Soul, His whole being now “sits at the right hand of the Father.” But from where did this Body come? From Mary: there is a deep connection between Mother and Son, between her body and His. Was not the very first scar upon Our Savior’s Body the same scar we all bear that reminds us of the fact we once were one body with our mothers? The ascended Jesus draws Mary to Himself, for through not only her motherhood but her discipleship she is a part of Him; through our Baptism into His Body we, too, are a part of Him, and so we are drawn upward by the call to join Him, to be One with the Body to which we belong.
Mary referred to herself as “the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38), a title of supreme humility and lowliness. Who are we when compared to our humble mother? Yet today we see that God, truly, “has looked with favor on his lowly servant,” and we call her “blessed” to this day. In the Kingdom of God mercy is shown to those who fear the Lord, who are in awe of His power. The proud are scattered, whereas as the humble are gathered to Him, as He gathered Mary to Himself in Heaven. The mighty are toppled from their thrones, for in this Kingdom the Crucified Carpenter and His handmaid Mother sit as King and Queen. The rich cannot afford to eat in this Kingdom and starve, because they place their hope in their worldly wealth and not in the King who offers Himself as our Food: only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)
Jesus has gathered us into His Church, His Body, with the hope of gathering us fully to Himself one day. Live as members of His Body; live the life He gives you from the Cross and through the Sacraments. Draw nearer to Him until, at least, He draws you fully to Himself.