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Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:
A friend of mine refers somewhat irreverently to August
15 as “The day we assume Our Lady went to heaven!”. This is not so
far off the mark. On August 15 the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the
belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary, having completed her earthly life,
was in body and soul “assumed” into heavenly glory.
It is now generally agreed that this belief was unknown
in the earliest years of the church. While there is evidence that the
Church in Jerusalem celebrated the death of Mary from the 5th century,
the doctrine of her assumption was first formulated in the west by
Gregory of Tours in late 6th century. In Rome there was only one general
feast in honor of Mary (on January 1) until the Byzantine feast of the
Assumption on August 15 was introduced into the universal calendar at
the end of the 8th century. In the Eastern Church, the feast
corresponding to the Assumption is the Dormition (literally
‘falling asleep’) of Mary. It is included among the twelve principal
feasts of the year.
The earliest form of the celebration focused on Mary’s
death as a share in Christ’s paschal mystery. Later developments used
scriptural imagery to make Mary’s entrance into heaven more explicit. On
Nov. 1st in the Marian year 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the doctrine of
the Assumption and provided a new Mass for the feast which portrayed
Mary as an image of the Church. Vatican II enriched the celebration with
an extensive selection of readings and prayers and a new preface.
The Assumption is one of five Holy Days of Obligation
(in addition to all the Sundays of the year) in the liturgical calendar
for this province of Illinois, the others being the solemnity of All
Saints (Nov.1); the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Dec.8); the
solemnity of Christmas (Dec.25) and the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of
God (Jan. 1). The solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord has been
transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter for the dioceses of our
province (Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Springfield, Bellville and Rockford).
The importance of a celebration in the liturgical calendar is determined
by its rank (solemnity, feast, and memorial). Designating a feast as a
“holy day of obligation” does not change its rank; it simply means that
the solemnity is celebrated like a Sunday.
The readings for the solemnity emphasize what God did in
Mary. The first reading, from the Book of Revelation, depicts “the
woman” in the process of giving birth to a son and being threatened
by a dragon. God rescues them, evil is foiled, God’s reign is
established and Mary rejoices. In the second reading from Corinthians
Paul reminds us that Mary’s privilege will be shared by all who follow
Christ.
The Gospel emphasizes that Mary’s greatness comes from
her participation in God’s plan. Mary responds to Elizabeth’s greeting
with a splendid hymn of praise, The Magnificat, which Christians
have sung at the Church’s Evening Prayer from earliest times. The feast
is a good time for singing one of the many musical settings of the
Magnificat.
The preface of the Assumption gives us words of hope:
“Today the virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the
beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection, and a sign of
hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way.”
Let’s give our minds and hearts to the Lord!
Father Joe |
