The Assumption of Mary

~~~ Solemnity of The Assumption of 

The Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~ Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB ~~~ Psalm 45 ~~~

~~~ 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 ~~~ Luke 1:39-56 ~~~

...the Almighty has done great things for me

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation...

I never tire of reflecting on the 

beautiful words of Mary's acceptance speech.

The dogma of the Assumption
of the Blessed Mother was defined in 1950.

Mary was set apart and chosen by God for all eternity.
Because of his special favor bestowed on her and intimate
 relationship with the Holy Spirit...

The whole Trinity honored the Blessed Mother
 in the most profound manner.

The artistic depiction of Mary being assumed into heaven
is difficult for we as humans to accept.
The concept is very foreign to us.
We are limited by our own mundane existence.

We accept this as a matter of faith.
When you consider the purity and holiness
of her body it becomes more acceptable.

Her body was the Tabernacle for the Savior of the World.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...

The soul of Mary was wrapped
 in holiness from her conception.
She was filled with the pure love of God.
The great joy of her parents paled
 in comparison to God's joy in her. 

Mary is often referred to as Queen of Mercy.
Mary is our most loving advocate before Jesus.

She knows that his love and capacity
 for mercy is beyond limits.

Mary kept all things in her heart.
She looks upon each of us with her loving heart.
She takes to her Son our failings along
 with our good intentions.

Mary knows that we all have goodness within our soul.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.

We are part of the current generation who
still call Mary Blessed.

Mary will forever be the one who intercedes
on our behalf before her Son, Jesus.

Mary is the Queen of Heaven.
Her beauty shines brightly as she takes
 her place next to her Son.

Blessed Mother Mary
we honor you today body and soul
as the Queen of Heaven.

Blessed and protected
by the Blessed Mother, Mary.

~~~Peace~~~

Assumed into Heaven

~~~ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~ Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB ~~~ Psalm 45 ~~~ 

~~~ 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 ~~~ Luke 1:39-56

We believe that some of the apostles remained with Mary.
They cared for her and provided for her needs.
However we do not have much written about her life
 after Jesus was taken into Heaven.

The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

The remaining years of Mary's life must have felt like a desert at times.
She knew she would one day be reunited with her Son,
but still she had the vivid memories of his crucifixion.

From the moment of the Annunciation
God had a place prepared for Mary.

The goodness of Mary was evident from the beginning.
Her days without Jesus must have been spent
ministering and caring for the apostles.
Together they could share stories of Jesus.
Together they could support one another.
Together they would love one another.

On some occasions at Mass we use incense...
today was one such celebration.
The sun was shining brightly through the
large stained glass window above the altar.

We were all singing Ave Maria...
As our voices rose in song so too the incense rose
into the streaming colors of the stained glass window.

The vision was truly glorious to behold.
The smoke of the incense swirling and gently passing through the colors.
It seemed to linger awhile in the yellow...reminding me of
the radiance of Mary being Assumed into Heaven.

The incense was again used to bless the ambo before
 the Gospel was proclaimed.

As the words of the Annunciation were proclaimed,
once again the incense rose up into
the colorful shadows of the sunshine.

Once again the swirls of incense rose into the yellow light.

I so wanted to take a picture,
 but sadly that would not have been appropriate.

During the homily, as the priest spoke of Mary,
the incense gently disappeared.

The visual incense plus the music, the readings and the homily
made for a perfect liturgical celebration.

Mary allowed her soul to proclaim the greatness of God.

God filled her soul with unimaginable joy.

We do not have details of her death and assumption into heaven,
but her body must have been so filled with the glory of God
that it was glowing much like the sunlight in the incense.

God has a place prepared for you and for me.
It makes sense that he had a very special place prepared for Mary.

Today is a time to let your devotion
 and love for Mary be known.

The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

Today at Mass we were Blessed
 to catch a glimpse of golden sunlight.

Mother Mary,
pray for us.
Blessed are you among women.

~~~Peace~~~

We Call Her Blessed

~~~ Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB~~~ Psalm 45 ~~~
~~~1 Corinthians 15:20-27 ~~~ Luke 1:39-56 ~~~

And Mary said:
“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.

Yes, the Almighty did great things for Mary.
He chose her from all the possible, available
young women to be the mother of Jesus.

Her body became the holiest of holy.
Her blood, her oxygen, the very cells of her body
were brought together by God to form his Son into a human infant.
God made perfect every molecule of her human body.
She was to carry perfection himself, God the Son, Jesus.

It was not just her body that was made perfect,
but her soul was also purified.

Her soul and her spirit were overwhelmed with pure joy.

He, God, looked down and smiled on her.
God blessed her beyond all other women, beyond all other mothers.

Becoming a mother, carrying a child is in itself a beautiful miracle.
But Mary was chosen to carry Jesus in her womb.
Did every tiny cell in her body divide
 and develop with a sense of joy too?
I can just imagine the excitement
as her blood rushed to nourish each tiny cell.

Her joy was evident to Elizabeth and the child within her womb.
Imagine how radiant her face must have been...
how her eyes must have sparkled...
how the corners of her mouth turned up with her smile.

If you ever want to know joy just look at the Blessed Mother.
Parallel to her joy was, however, also her sorrows.

It is not too hard to believe that God, along with Jesus,
 would want to honor Mary by assuming her body
 into heaven when she took her final breath.

Jesus ascended into heaven under his own power,
but Mary was assumed into heaven by the power of Jesus.

Her body gave life to Jesus.
Her body made it possible for Jesus to take on our human form.
Her body, sacred and holy, certainly belongs in heaven.
Her holy body was spared the decay of death.
Mary and Jesus had a closer bond than any other mother and child;
it was unique...one of a kind.

Today we celebrate the unique relationship that continues
between Mary and Jesus in heaven today.

Mary was chosen, touched by God.
She birthed Jesus into his own world and at the end of her life
he brought her up into his heavenly world...
his Kingdom of Heaven.

We are so Blessed to Mary as our heavenly mother.
She recognizes those who love her Son.
She intercedes on our behalf...
just ask for her help.
Mother Mary, pray for us and for the whole world.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Assumed into Heaven

~~~Assumption of the Blessed Mother, Mary ~~~

 

~~Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab ~~Psalm 45 ~~

~~1 Corinthians 15:20-27~~Luke 1:39-56~~

 

Today we commemorate the death of Mary the Mother of Jesus.

Today we not only remember her death,

but also our belief that she was assumed

 into heaven body and soul.

 

She was reunited with the Son she conceived, bore, and birthed.

She was reunited with the Word made flesh.

Her body and soul glorified and made holy by God.

 

The beautiful words of her Magnificat hymn clearly fill the heavens.

Her motherly compassion and joy grace heaven for all of eternity.

Her tenderness and unconditional love forever

shine as stars in heaven.

 

In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary

 into heaven a dogma of faith.

 

 

Had Mary not been receptive to being chosen by God to conceive Jesus,

he could not be the 'first fruit' of our salvation.

 

It is fitting that God, Jesus, would assume Mary into heaven.

Her body became sacred and holy the moment she become pregnant

with Our Lord and Savior.

 

Her body became the tabernacle,

the special place for Jesus to reside until his human body was perfectly formed.

 

Her womb was the new temple.

It was within her holy body that Jesus begins to fulfill the law.

Only God would allow such a process to happen.

Who would ever have thought that God would take on our

total human existence.

 

Mary knew as is evidenced in the words of her Magnificat

that she was humbly filled with the Spirit.

 

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.

 

Mary was spared the corruption of her body after her death.

She did not have to wait until the end of time to be

reunited with her physical body.

 

In the Bible there is not much more recorded about Mary

after the wedding at Cana until the crucifixion.

Certainly she spent as much time as she could following her son.

Imagine how she must have been filled with joy at hearing

 of his preaching,

 teaching, and many miraculous cures.

 

Mary was a mother who loved her son and took pride

in his accomplishments.

Mary was your traditional Jewish mother;

her son was extremely important to her.

 

As with most things concerning God,

 we cannot begin to comprehend the Assumption of Mary into heaven.

Instead we are asked to accept her Assumption with our faith.

There is no need to try and figure out how 

this could have physically taken place.

 

Since her death Mary has made numerous appearances

to individuals here on earth...

each time she always appears to have her physical body.

The same body which gave birth to the Messiah in a stable.

 

Religious artists typically portray

Mary as young,

 but when she died she was no longer a young girl.

 

By the time Mary died she had witnessed our whole salvation story...

literally from supernatural conception through natural death

and finally to the Resurrection.

 

Today I invite you to be thankful for the motherhood of Mary.

She blesses us in many ways

 with her loving words...

do whatever he tells you. 

The Assumption Experience

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother, Mary

~~~ Rv 11: 19a, 12:1-6a, 10 ab ~~~ Psalm 45 ~~~ 1Cor 20-27 ~~~ Luke 1:39-56 ~~~

The Assumption of Mary into heaven is hard to comprehend

because we have no eye witness recordings.

Surely those who remained closest to Mary after the crucifixion were present

for this glorious event.

Many were left behind who loved Mary and helped to care for her.

John, the beloved, entrusted with her care must have had mixed emotions.

She must have longed for the day when she would be reunited with her Son.

In my imagination the closest vision I have of the Assumption is

the Transfiguration of Jesus. I think the glory and the light that

enveloped Mary at the moment she was taken to heaven

must have been breath taking.

Did the angels come down from heaven to escort her as she left this earth?

Was there heavenly music of celestial choirs singing hymns?

Were those present reciting her Magnificat words?

Was Mary asleep or awake?

Had she been ill?

How long had it been since Jesus died?

Mary was clothed in glorious beauty for her willingness

to surrender to the will of God.

Mary is the most wonderful example of humility ever given to us.
She never acted as if she deserved to be chosen by God.
Instead she said,
"...the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name."

There are times when a frageance is associated with the
presence of the Blessed Mother.
I have not personally had this experience, but I can imagine that
those present for her being assumed into heaven experienced this event
with all of their senses.

Can you imagine the wafting fragrance of roses covering those present?
Often times certain odors can bring about emotions that are uniquely
connected to specific event.
Perhaps this is why we like the smell of roses so much...
and are so disappointed
when we buy roses today that have no fragrance.

Perhaps those present even felt a slight tingling of their skin
as the energy of the Triune God together enveloped Mary.
If you have ever been very close to a lightning strike
you would have experienced this tingling feeling just before the flash.
The tiny hairs on your arms even seem to stand up.

Mary was now sharing in their brilliant glory.
Oh what a day that must have been.

The only one of the five senses left is taste.
Many different things can leave a sense of taste in your mouth.
For a moment, just imagine this glorious event
causing your taste buds to detect sweetness.

The sweetness of the Blessed Mother, Mary.
The sweetness of her love.
The sweetness of her purity.
The sweetness of her devotion.
The sweetness that God chose her to be the mother
of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mary, chosen to be the Mother of Jesus,
Love us too as our mother.
Until the day we meet you in heaven.