The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
A mystery that concerns the whole Church
“Just as you accompanied Our Lord in this life
and lived and loved and suffered with him,
so, at the completion of your life,
he takes you body and soul into heaven.
With my whole heart I
share in your happiness
and pray that the world
may enjoy a similar fate.”[1]
Every year, on the 15th of August, we
celebrate the Solemnity of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That is why I invite you to meditate
in this mystery of the life of Mary; a mystery that actually concerns us all, each
one of us and the whole Church.
You accompanied Our Lord in this life
In the book of prayers Heavenwards, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, begins his meditation on this
marian mystery addressing the Blessed Mother as follows: “Just as you accompanied Our Lord in this life”. These words are
not only pious or tender thoughts; rather they express the conviction of our
Founder, that the Virgin Mary has a mission to fulfill alongside Jesus.
If we go through the pages of the Gospel we will see
how intimately united was Mary to Jesus during his whole life. From his
virginal conception and birth (cf. Lk 1:35.
2: 6-7), going through his first sign in Cana of Galilee (cf. Jn 2: 1-11) up to the Cross (cf. Jn 19: 25-27) and the beginning of
the Church in Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:14). Truly, Mary has “accompanied Our Lord in this life”. She
has walked through this life with Jesus and his disciples.
This constant presence of Mary alongside Jesus shows
us her mission: She is the constant Helpmate and Companion of Jesus Christ in
his Redemption work.
He takes you body and soul into
Heaven
And
because she has been so intimately united to Jesus during her life, at the completion
of her existence, He takes her, “body and
soul into Heaven”.
 |
| Coronation of the Virgin Mary in Heaven - Detail. Chapel of the Maison Marie Saint-Frai. Tarbes, France. May, 2012. |
If we realize that the faith of the Church always contemplates
the Virgin Mary as “so wondrously united with Jesus Christ”[2];
then, we will understand that the Assumption
of the Virgin Mary is a consequence of the fidelity of God to each person in
his plan of salvation. She was called to participate of the earthly life of Jesus;
therefore, she is also called to participate in his glory in Heaven.
And this participation of the Virgin Mary in the
heavenly glory of Jesus is in body and soul. That means that the totality of
the human personality of Mary participates in the fullness of life of the Risen
Christ.
When the faith of the Church says Assumption in body and soul of Mary to Heaven; we should not
imagine a new “localization” of Mary´s body. But, rather we should think of a
change in the condition of Mary´s body. That is, the transit from an earthly
condition to a glorious condition of the whole being. She is presently united
to the spiritual and glorious body of her Risen Son.
I pray that the world may enjoy a similar fate
This
marian mystery, this salvific mystery, is far from being just a particular privilege
accorded to Mary alone. We should look at this mystery as a concrete realization
of the History of Salvation; history that always involves the whole Church and
the whole of humanity; a history that is the work of God the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. A history, in which God, with his action, takes the
initiative in favor of the man, grounds his life and makes possible his free
answer to the divine initiative and takes it to his fulfillment.
That
is why the Assumption of Mary signals
us the destiny of the whole of the Church and of the whole of the humanity.
Just as Mary was assumed in body and soul to Heaven, we too are going to be
assumed in the totality of our humanity and of our life into the full and
definitive presence of the Risen Christ.
But,
in order to get there, we must, as Mary, walk through life with Jesus Christ
and his disciples. If we live with Him, love and suffer with Him, then we will
participate also in his new life, in his Resurrection.
That is why, with faith and hope we can pray now as we still walk in this life: “With my whole heart I share in your happiness and pray that the world may enjoy a similar fate.” Amen.
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