Although the Assumption was not declared a dogma until 1950, the feast of the Assumption is really an ancient celebration of the life and destiny of our Blessed Mother. From the early 6th century on, this feast in essence commemorates the way Mary lived her entire life in union with Christ. The possibility of their union begins with her own immaculate conception, free from sin, while it becomes a reality at the Annunciation with her consent to be the mother of Jesus. Mary’s reply was more than passive acceptance of what the angel Gabriel said to her. Her consent expressed her profound belief that the Holy Spirit would accomplish all that was revealed to her (Lk 1:30-35).
Mary’s response in essence was to place her trust in God and devote herself to Christ even before she understood the full effects of that commitment. She acknowledges and gives voice to her trusting surrender to God in her great Magnificat at the Visitation. On that occasion, Mary says to Elizabeth, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” (Lk 1:46-49).
With these words, Mary becomes the first evangelizer, bearing in her womb the Word made flesh, bringing that Word to Elizabeth and the baby John. On this occasion, Mary also becomes the first “tabernacle” wherein the Son of God remains invisible to human eyes, all the while radiating his divine light through the eyes and voice of his mother. In this way, Mary’s life was a living Eucharist and her assumption the rightful culmination of the way she lived—in humble, joyful, and complete surrender to God.
Mary’s trust in God is a fitting model for how we too can live in union with Christ. As St. Paul reminds the Corinthians, our bodies are living tabernacles with Christ hidden in our hearts, eagerly waiting for the opportunity to express his love through us toward others (1 Cor 6:15-17). This feast is therefore a reminder of our own destiny as well.
Mary shows us how to live out our destiny most clearly at Cana when she said to the wine steward, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). In the same way, we demonstrate our own trust in Jesus when we do whatever he tells us. Like Mary, we do so without understanding the full ramifications of what that means for our lives. That is the nature of authentic trust. We do not need a complete picture of how it all turns out before we commit ourselves to the journey of trust in God. This is how Mary lived with Jesus throughout her life.
From the beginning, Mary also understood that Jesus came for others, especially the stranger, the foreigner, the oddly dressed, the downtrodden, the sinner. She knows that we encounter Jesus more often in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. Perhaps for this reason she and Joseph lived very ordinary lives with Jesus in virtual obscurity for the first 30 years of his life. At the same time, Mary understood that being in communion with Jesus meant sharing Her Son with others.
Mary’s trust in the way of God does not mean her life was easy any more than it means that for our lives. We know that Mary often endured deep pain and sorrow during her life, especially at the death of her beloved Jesus, just as we suffer for our loved ones. Despite the pain and difficulties she endured, Mary remained faithful to her son. She knew that Jesus is our ever-present, devoted companion who sheds light on our own way of life and helps us shed that light for others. It is no wonder that the union between Mary and her Son would culminate in her assumption, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life.
This is the spiritual legacy that we have inherited from our Blessed Mother. Her trust in God and humble devotion to Christ is the model for our own way of life. Mary embraced the two great commandments of love with her whole heart and soul in union with Christ. By following Mary’s example, we can expect that same union to continue into eternity at the end our own earthly life. May we always hold Jesus in our hearts like Mary and share his love with others as she did, especially with those who need him most.
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