August 15, 2021
Assumption of Our Lady Mary
(Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6, 10; Luke 1:39-56)
When it comes to teachings about the Virgin Mary, non-Catholic Christians are usually quite apprehensive of these seemingly wild claims that are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. This is largely because they adhere to a authoritative system called “Sola Scriptura,” which is Latin for “Bible Alone.” Given the tumultuous history of the church leading up to the Protestant Reformation and to the modern era, it is completely understandable why those who follow Christ would want to maintain a high standard of biblical authenticity reflected in church ritual and doctrine. But it seems to be a byproduct of Bible alone mentality of the last 500 years is the flippant dismissal of anything that isn't explicitly mentioned in the scriptures. Though it is worth noting that even the Bible itself quotes,
“But there are many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
This passage itself seems to imply the Bible in its entirety is only a small glimpse of what may be possible, namely with what Jesus had done during his earthly life. If God is omnipotent, then there is nothing on this earth that could limit him - not the Sacraments, nor to church or even the Bible itself. And yet, all of these things are accepted by Christians as God-given and inspired. This leads one to believe that Christians in general have a habit of compartmentalizing their idea of how God thinks by claiming if something isn’t in in the Bible, then it's not true!
But then again, who are we to decide how God thinks? If God is truly sovereign, then every one of his created beings is subject to his sovereignty, including the role of the Virgin Mary.
The Assumption of Mary is a Catholic dogma that claims the Virgin Mary was carried up into Heaven at the end of her life on earth. The first thing that often comes to mind regarding Mary's Assumption is that it sounds like she ascended into Heaven in the same manner Jesus did. This is often a cause of great criticism from non-Catholics, and where the importance of context comes in. The difference between the Ascension and the Assumption is Jesus went up to Heaven by his own power, (after all he is God). In Mary's case, she did nothing out of her own power, but rather it was God who carried her up into Heaven.
It is important to note that the Bible is not clear on Mary's fate. The consensus among non-Catholic Christians is all who are born of Adam have sinned, fall short of the glory of God, and are subject to die once before facing judgment. Granted this, non-Catholic Christians generally assume Mary had died like every other human born in original sin.
However, the Bible refers to a few persons who have been said to have been taken up into Heaven. Elijah was carried off by a flaming chariot into paradise, which would have been willed by the power of God. Enoch was supposedly taken up and not tasted death. The apostle Phillip was believed to have been snatched away from the earth. Enoch, Elijah and Phillip were faithful servants of God, yet were still born in Original Sin. Given what the Bible reveals about these people and lack of scriptural clarity, it is possible that Mary could have been raptured.
Many evangelicals are generally more inclined to give honor to patriarchs of the Old Testament as opposed to Mary as the mother of Jesus. It is especially evident when people claim that naming something after Mary such as a church building, an institution or event is considered elevating her above Jesus; yet will use the names like Elijah-fest and Calvin University (named after Protestant Reformer John Calvin) or First Baptist Church (easily a homage to John the Baptist). Provided that many non-Catholic Christians seem to have no problem honoring Old Testament patriarchs, I think it's worth pondering whether giving honor to Mary might stem from a misogynist view of women in the Bible. There appears to be an underlying fear of giving any sort of recognition of a woman living faithfully. Giving honor to mother of Jesus is vehemently condemned among non-Christians under the guise of giving glory to God alone. This is unfortunately at odds with the Jewish commandment of honoring our father mother in addition to the biblical verse, “… all generations shall call me blessed.”
As far as extra-biblical accounts of Jesus or the fate of the first Apostles, non-Catholic Christians generally don't seem to have a problem accepting the possibility of them being true. Jesus is said to have taken up clay from the ground and created living birds during his youth in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It is also generally accepted among Christian scholars that the Apostle Peter was martyred in Rome by being crucified upside down. St. Andrew is believed to have been crucified on an X shaped cross in the city of Patras. These accounts of Peter and Andrew not mentioned in scripture, but are widely accepted by scholars and theologians as truth based on historical account, relics and tradition. Mary, on the other hand, did not have any relics associated with her from her time on earth. Some have theorized that the body of Mary might have been hidden or stolen by relic hunters. But since there appears to be no historical documentation over such a possibility, and no relics have materialized, maybe a supernatural occurrence should not be so readily dismissed.
It is also worth mentioning the Eastern Orthodox Church upholds a similar belief as the Assumption called the Dormition of the Mother of God. The major difference is the Dormition is defined as Mary having ‘fallen asleep’ or died an earthly death before being taken up body and soul into Heaven. While this account is not mentioned in the Bible, it is largely derived from written documentation by the Early Church Fathers. In one instance Saint John of Damascus wrote in the apocryphal work The Account of the Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of God,
“Saint Juvena,l Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of Saint Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to Heaven.”
The Catholic teaching on the Assumption is silent on whether or not Mary died prior to acceptance into the Heavenly realm. Some have argued that she couldn't have perished if she had lived a sinless life, which relates to the teaching of her Immaculate Conception. But regardless of whether or not Mary's body perished, the outcome of the Assumption and the Dormition remains the same. They both imply that Mary holds a special position in Heaven with her son.
While most non-Catholic Christians would claim believing in the Assumption of Mary is not at litmus test for salvation, we would argue that it has more to do with whether Jesus is true to his word. Believing her acceptance in the glory of Heaven is viewed by some Christians as a symbol of Christ’s promise to all who endure through faith that they too will be received into Heaven. If Jesus meant what he said regarding the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, how little hope is there for us if it weren't true in the case of his own mother?
I tend to think that believing Mary is enjoying Heavenly peace with her Son is a safe assumption, pardon the pun.
Let us pray.
Today we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven and ask her to protect all in our parish and to beseech her beloved son, Jesus, to bestow on us the grace to love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly in our daily lives. We pray to the Lord.
As we celebrate the Heavenly reward of Mary who answered God’s call and committed her life to His service, we ask that we, too, be given the grace to also accept the will of God in our lives. We pray to the Lord.
On this great feast of the Mother of God, we remember all mothers and ask the Lord to bless them in their wonderful vocation. We pray to the Lord.
As we celebrate this feast of Mary, we pray that our family homes will be places where we experience healing, peace and forgiveness. We pray to the Lord.
As we reflect on today’s Gospel readings and the pregnant Mary, we pray for all young women who in their pregnancies were rejected by family and society. We pray that they may share in the blessings bestowed on the Virgin Mary and that their shared experience with her be a consolation to them. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for those who in the past weeks have been affected by wildfires, particularly those who have lost homes and loved ones. We pray also for an understanding and acceptance by all nations that we must urgently commit to protect our endangered ecosystem which is at the center of God’s wonderful creation. We pray to the Lord.
Holy Mary, Mother of our Lord, we honor you on this day because of the singular grace you received from God the Father. You were Immaculately Conceived in advance of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Because your son was to be God’s Son, you were preserved from the stain of sin so that God could grow in your womb in the person of Jesus. Because of this great honor, and due to your faithfulness, you remained full of grace throughout your life. And hence, Jesus would not allow your body to become corrupt. The ark of the new Covenant would be preserved and assumed into Heaven, so that you could be with your Son always and so you could continue to intercede for us, just as you did for the guests at the wedding of Cana. We ask you to stay with us in this day uncertainties and pray for us to be given the strength we need to persevere.
Father God, You chose and blessed Mary with the singular act of making her the mother of Your Son. No average or corrupt human body would do for Your Son to come into the world, and thus you allowed Mary to receive the salvation of Christ in advance of his Crucifixion. We ask that we recognize this great miracle and how important it was – and is – to our own salvation. Help us each to come to greater understanding of the doctrine of the Assumption of Our Lady Mary and to venerate her for the great gift you gave her, and in turn she gave to us.
Let us all join in together and recite the Magnificat. I have inserted it in the bulletins for those who may not remember the words.
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.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
May our Lady pray for us always! Glory be to God.
God Love You +++
The Most Rev. Robert Winzens
Pastor – St. Francis Chapel
San Diego, CA
