August 15
Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary
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| Fr. Raymond at organ |
ASSUMPTION Homily by Fr. Raymond 2014
If we compare
Mary’s title as Mother of God with the privilege of her bodily Assumption into
heaven then it is obvious that it is a greater thing to be Mother of God than
to be bodily assumed into heaven. There
can be no comparison. To be Mother of
the Word incarnate is, in an absolute way, greater than any of the other graces
with which Mary was favoured. All her
other privileges were either a preparation for this or a consequence of this.
However, one
thing can be greater than another in one way and yet less than another in
another way. For instance one thing can
be more beautiful than another yet less useful; more flexible than another yet
less strong, and so on. So there is a
point of view from which Mary’s Assumption has its own pre-eminence in her
destiny. Mary’s bodily Assumption into
heaven was the climax, the rounding off, the completion of her earthly
existence; the icing on the cake, as it were.
In saying that we
are considering the Assumption as a personal privilege of Mary, but there is
another viewpoint of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. We can look on it not just as
something personal to Mary but also as something which is intimately connected
with the destiny of us all. Not that we
can all hope for a bodily assumption into heaven after we die, but Mary’s bodily
assumption, like the ascension of Christ himself, is a kind of pledge and
guarantee of the ultimate destiny of our own body of flesh and blood. Christ, the New Adam, has entered the New
Paradise, of which the Old Paradise was just a foreshadowing, and Mary, the New
Eve, has been given to him as his first companion in the fullness of her
humanity.
When the doctrine
of the Assumption was first defined, our separated brethren asked, “Where is
this in Scripture? We can’t believe what is not in Scripture”. But we can answer that this wonderful event
in the history of God’s dealings with his children is well prepared for in Holy
Scripture. The mind of faith is prepared
for it by such events as the lifting up of Elijah from this earth in the fiery
chariot. We are prepared for it by the
disappearance from this earth of the bodies of Enoch and Moses for
example. But by far the most important
foreshadowing of Mary’s Assumption takes place in the very first chapters of
Genesis where it is said of the first Adam: “It is not good for Man to be
alone”. There were plenty of other
living creatures around, but none “like unto himself” to share his life with
him on a fully human level. So too
surely it must be with the New Adam in the new Paradise. There are plenty of angels and spirits of the
just there too but, for the fullness and perfection of all that beauty and
truth, he needs one by his side who can share his life in the fullness of his
human nature, body as well as spirit. Yes even for the New Adam in the New
Paradise “It is not good for Man to be alone”.
http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/20450
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, when the course of her life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, why would conform more fully to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death '. (Conc. Vat. II, 'Lumen Gentium', 59). The Assumption is the first fruits of the heavenly Church and a sign of sure hope and solace for the pilgrim church. The 'Dormition Virginis' and the assumption, in the East and in the West, are among the oldest Marian feasts. This ancient liturgical evidence was explicit and solemnly proclaimed the dogmatic definition of Pius XII in 1950. (Mess. Rom.)
Martyrology: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, who completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.This truth of faith received from the tradition of the Church was solemnly defined by Pope Pius XII.
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Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Caravaggio. The Church commissioned thousands of Baroque pieces like the one above, entitled Assumption of the Virgin Mary, expressly for that purpose, using them to stir the emotion of the masses while depicting religious themes and ideals. Early Baroque artists included Caravaggio, a painter who influenced the Baroque style through his use of chiaroscuro and intense realism, and Annibale Carracci, who was known more for his frescoes than his oil paintings.
http://www.pinterest.com/clownloach64/images-of-the-assumption-of-mary-the-virgin/
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