25. PRAYING THE LIFE OF JESUS: THE FOURTH GLORIOUS MYSTERY - THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY INTO HEAVEN

APPETIZER:  Finally 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, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.  By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and wholly unique member of the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" of the Church.   (CCC #966-967)

MAIN COURSE:  The last two mysteries of the rosary focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are still "praying the life of Jesus" but in these mysteries we pray (ponder) on how this life of Christ is lived in his disciples, that is, in us today. You see, as the last sentence in our Appetizer tells us, Mary is the first and most perfect Christian (preeminent, wholly unique), she is the model disciple for each one of us. And the Church teaches that what God did for Mary he will also do for us, her spiritual children in the family of the Church. This is the very heart and soul of devotion to Mary which has been present in the Church in various forms since the first Good Friday when St John the Beloved Disciple took her into his home and heart (see John 19:25-27). 

So while the mystery we are contemplating in this Bitesize lesson is the Assumption, we need to take a small step back and look at all that God has done for Mary.  In this way we can better see what he has and will do for us.  First of all we need to never forget that Mary (Miryam in her native language of Aramaic) was an ordinary teenage girl when God called her. She lived in the backwoods village of Nazareth and was engaged to a day laborer of the same village whose name was Joseph (Yosef in their language). And yet God who is mighty has done such great things for her! And he will do the same for us if we are faithful as she was faithful.

God made her the Immaculate Conception, free from sin and full of grace form the very first moment of life in her mother's womb. And God frees us, her children, from the  alienation of sin and fills with the grace of the Holy Spirit from the first moment of our baptism. She is Mother of God who brought Christ into the world so that others may encounter him and receive the gift of eternal life. We are called to give birth to Christ in our lives by our fidelity to his Gospel; through us others are to be granted to opportunity to come to know, love and serve him. Our Lady is Ever-Virgin which means she is totally dedicated to God in mind, body and soul; her whole being proclaims Christ's unique status and presence among us. Like her we are each called to be totally dedicated to Christ and to love God with all our being: mind, soul, heart and strength.

And so this bring us to the gift which Christ has given to his Mother: her Assumption, body and soul, into the eternal life of Heaven. We, too, have been promised this same assumption when Christ comes to bring all human history to its completion. When he comes again we will each be lifted up from the dead and enter into the glory of eternal life with both body and soul. Theses what the Assumption of Mary proclaims to us. And intimately united with this is the 5th glorious mystery of her Queenship which we will consider in next week's Bitesize lesson. 

One question people have when pondering the Assumption of Mary is not so much that it happened, but wondering why it happened right away for her while we have to wait till the end of time.  The answer to this can be found in her in those two words that were sued to describe her relationship with Christ in the appetizer: preeminent and unique. These adjectives are directly related to Mary's gift from God as the Immaculate Conception, and inform us that she is both one of us and the greatest among us as disciples of her Son. Because she was immaculate and therefore, untouched by the original sin, she was not strictly speaking under the it's effects which included death along with the natural consequence of decay in the tomb. We look to her and see what God will indeed do for us (who have been freed from sin in Christ by baptism) by raising us up body and soul to eternal life. The Assumption of Our Lady is the guarantee of our own resurrection from the dead when Christ comes a second time to judge the living and the dead.

Another question that always roses on this topic is this: did Mary die or was she simply "taken up" into Heaven when it was time for her to leave this world? Official Church teaching does not answer this question, but the ancient tradition and liturgy of the Church seems to affirm that like her Son, and like all human beings, she died.  The oldest name for the Assumption is "the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Mother of God".  "Falling Asleep" was the ancient Christian term for death.  Ancient Christian icons of the Dormition show Mary laying on her deathbed surrounded by the Apostles, whom tradition says were summoned by the Holy Spirit to be with her.  in this icon we see the Risen Lord Jesus coming to take her to heaven, holding her soul like a little doll in his arms.

Church teaching on the subject simply says that when Mary's time on earth was complete she passed into eternal life body and soul.  Some traditions say that she came to the end of her time on earth in Jerusalem while others say she was in Ephesus (Turkey) when she passed from this life. At some point afterwards the Lord raised her body, reuniting it with her soul, and brought her into the glory of Heaven. 

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven is celebrated liturgically in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches on August 15. Belief in the Assumption of Mary was widespread across the Christian world, since the earliest days of recorded Church history. The feast of the Assumption was celebrated as early as the 5th century.  St. John Damascene (d.749AD) records the following: St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Church Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian, 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 St. Thomas the Apostles, was found empty and so the Apostles concluded that the body had been taken up to heaven.

Along with the assurance of our own assumption into Heaven one day, I think the Assumption also teaches us that we have a Mother in Heaven who is a most loving and powerful intercessor for us here on earth!  Because she is reunited with her Son, and in the Presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit we can pray to her with total and utter confidence saying, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hours of our death. Amen. And she does!

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking...

Pope Quote: “Mary, who is a human creature, one of us, reaches eternity in body and soul. This is why we invoke her as the “Gate of Heaven”. There she awaits us, just as a mother waits for her children to come home. Every time we take the Rosary in our hands and pray to her”, he said, “we take a step forward towards our life’s great goal”. (Pope Francis, Assumption Feast, 2019)

Assumption Feast Hymn from the Liturgy of the Hours: The Liturgy (that is, the official worship) of the Church consists of  two parts:  1) Mass/Sacraments and 2) Liturgy of the Hours (often called the Divine Office). These are the highest form of public praise and adoration given o God by his people.

Praise to Mary, Heaven's Gate,
Guiding Star of Christians' way,
Mother of our Lord and King,
Light and hope to souls astray.

When you heard the call of God
Choosing to fulfill his plan,
By your perfect act of love
Hope was born in fallen man.

Help us to amend our ways,
Halt the devil's strong attack,
Walk with us the narrow path,
Beg for us the grace we lack.

Mary, show your motherhood,
Bring your children's prayers to Christ,
Christ, your son, who ransomed man,
Who, for us, was sacrificed.

Virgin chosen, singly blest,
Ever faithful to God's call,
Guide us in this earthy life,
Guard us lest, deceived, we fall.

Mary, help us live our faith
So that we may see your son;
Join our humble prayers to yours,
Till life's ceaseless war is won.

Praise the Father, praise the Son,
Praise the holy Paraclete;
Offer all through Mary's hands,
Let her make our prayers complete. 

Short Prayer to Memorize and Repeat During One's Day: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Scripture Verse to Memorize:  "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has looked upon his servant in her lowliness and all generations shall call me blessed." (Mary's words of praise to God in the Gospel of Luke 1:47-48)