Sunday: ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Date: August 15, 2012 Year: B The readings: [1 Chr. 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:54-57; Lk. 1:27-28] The message: Preserved from physical decay. Prepared by: Catholic Doors Ministry Total words: 1676 |
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Welcome my brothers and sisters in Christ to the celebration of the Holy Mass. Today, we are commemorating the Feast of the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mary." This Marian Doctrine was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. Through this Doctrine, the Catholic Church proclaimed that, revealed by God, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into Heavenly glory.
While Pope Pius XII indicated that the faithful had no difficulty in accepting the fact that the great Mother of God had departed from this world as her Only-begotten Son had already done, he did not actually define her death. Therefore, the Catholic Church has never defined if (1) the blessed Virgin Mary was taken to heaven while she was still living, (2) if she physically died and her body was raised to Heaven, or if (3) she resurrected from the dead. There are no reliable records available to us to support either way.
The Doctrine of the "Assumption of Mary" progressively developed over the centuries. It was not something that was suddenly proclaimed, coming as a surprise to Catholics.
During today's Gospel reading, we heard that when Mary's cousin Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, she called Mary the "Mother of my Lord." This passage has led the Church to proclaim the dogma of Mary as the Mother of God.
During today's reading from the Book of Revelation, we heard that there is a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, it has been agreed upon that Jesus is the newborn male child referred to in this passage and the woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the same reading, we also heard that the child was snatched away and taken to God and to His throne. These words are symbolic, meaning that Jesus gloriously resurrected and He now rules at the right hand of the Heavenly Father.
Once the child was taken to Heaven, Satan, the dragon, pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. [Rev. 12:13] But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. [Rev. 12:14]
[Note: It should be noted that the Holy Bible used by "Novalis" in the edition of "Living With Christ" omits the reference to "the two wings of the great eagle" that is found in most Catholic Bibles.]
Prayerfully reviewing the symbolic meaning of the words, "the two wings of the great eagle," the Catholic Church was guided by the Holy Spirit to associate them with Deuteronomy 32:11 where reference is made to God as being represented by an eagle. The wings can then be understood to represent the two angels of the Lord God. Based on this symbolic meaning, the Catholic Church determined that the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up to Heaven by angels of the Lord God to escape to a place of refuge.
When the Catholic Church addressed the Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, it was aware of the fact that both, Enoch and Elijah, were physically taken to paradise from this world. Considering that the Blessed Virgin Mary was the mother of God in His incarnated human nature and she was free from all stain of origin sin from the moment of her conception, the Church concluded that it was appropriate to define that Mary was elevated in glory and honour above all the prophets, the apostles, the saints and the angels of Heaven?
Another passage in the Scriptures influenced the Fathers and theologians of the Church in their recognition of the Assumption of Mary. This passage is found in the Old Testament. In Genesis 3:15, it is understood that Mary qualifies as co-redemptrix alongside Jesus, pointing to her common lot with her Son in His resurrection and passage of glory. The passage states,"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." [Gen. 3:15]
It was decreed by God that there would be hostilities between Satan and Mary, between the fallen angels and Jesus. The offsprings of Mary include all the children of God who are saved through Jesus.
Of all proofs in support of the Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, the most convincing is based on the traditional knowledge of the Church that Mary, as the Mother of God, had to be free of all traces of original sin in order to be the perfect child-bearing Temple of Jesus.
For the Virgin Mary to be totally free of all traces of original sin, the threefold incorruption that we will one day receive, of body, soul and spirit, had to already be present in her. She had to be created by God as a second Eve, as an immortal being. Her soul, spirit and body had to be one hundred percent free of original sin. (St. Germanus, in the 8th century, in his sermons on Our Lady's Falling-Asleep, taught that Mary had to have a threefold incorruption of body, soul and spirit.)
When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, he lost his inheritance to eternal life. His soul, spirit and body, and those of his descendants, were called to experience physical and spiritual death. (Spiritual death in the sense of being denied admission to the Kingdom of God.) It is only through the Church Sacrament of Baptism that we receive our new creation, [2 Cor. 5:17. Gal. 6:15] our new heart and spirit [Ezek. 11:19, 18:31, 26:26] of the godly seed, [1 Jn. 3:9] as our assurance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. As Jesus said, "No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit." [Jn. 3:5-6]
Throughout the whole Bible, we find no evidence to even suggest that the Blessed Virgin Mary was ever baptised as Jesus was baptised. This leads us to believe that, as the first Eve, she was wholly created by God from the moment of her conception, there being no need for her to be baptised in order to become a new creation that would free her from original sin. Created immaculate in nature, there were no traces of original sin within her.
As the Temple of Jesus, had Mary been born as a result of the seeds of her parents, Saints Anne and Joachim, without question, she would have inherited the original sin and the sinful nature of her parents. But this could not be the case! Being free of the original sin as the Holy Catholic Church has proclaimed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it then becomes clear that by the grace of the Heavenly Father, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary [Lk. 1:35], the female and male seeds had to be implanted by God within her parents to provide her immaculate state. As the Immaculate Heart, Mary then qualified to become the mother of Jesus, ensuring that His human nature would be free of all traces of original sin.
Is there any biblical evidence to support that Mary was created completely incorruptible in nature? Yes, there is! As a result of sin, when God punished Eve, He told her, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children..." [Gen. 3:16] As such, it is logically concluded that had Eve remained in her immaculate state, she would not have been subject to the pangs of childbearing, bringing forth children in pain.
Does the Bible refer to a woman bearing a child without pain? Yes, it does! "Before she was in labour, she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son (Jesus). Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? (the spiritual Kingdom of God) Shall a nation be delivered in one moment? Yet as soon as Zion (Mary) was in labor, she delivered her children." [Is. 66:7-8]
While the Church has never proclaimed if the blessed Virgin Mary was raised to Heaven while still living or if she died and resurrected, the aforementioned proof supports that Mary could not have died. Being incorruptible, having been created as the new Eve and spiritual mother of the world, at the twinkle of an eye, while being raised towards Heaven, she had to be transformed into her glorious body of light that she now enjoys. While we await for the day when our perishable bodies will put on imperishability and our mortal bodies will put on immortality, [1 Cor. 15:53-4] this was not the case with the blessed Virgin Mary.
As has been explained, the passages from the Books of Genesis, Isaiah and Revelations support one another. When reviewing these passages in their entirety, they go beyond the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption of Mary. They reveal that the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, shines as the Immaculate Heart of Mary in her glorious fullness of soul and body. Created immaculate by the grace of God above all other Heavenly and earthly creations, she is inseparable from Jesus.
Based on these facts, it is clear that the Holy Catholic Church has been inspired by the Holy Spirit in its proclamation of the Assumption of Mary.
(References: Gen. 3:15-6; Deut. 32:11; Is. 66:7-8; Ezek. 11:19, 18:31, 26:26; Lk. 1:35, 39-56; 1 Cor. 15:53-4; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; 1 Jn. 3:9; Rev. 12:1-17; "A Catholic Dictionary on Theology", page 170, published by "Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd," 1962; Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 491-2, 966, 974)
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The readings...
[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]
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First Reading...
"David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. Then David gathered together the descendants of Aaron ad the Levites. The levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their kindred as the singers to play on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise loud sounds of joy.'
"They brought in the ark of God, and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before God. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord." [1 Chr. 15;3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2]
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Second Reading...
"Brothers and sisters: When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?'"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." [1 Cor. 15:54-7]
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Gospel Reading...
"As Jesus was speaking to the people, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!'
But Jesus said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!'" [Lk. 11:27-28]
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