Posted on 08/15/2002 11:18:49 AM PDT by Salvation
39-56. We contemplate this episode of our Lady's visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: "Joyfully keep Joseph and Mary company...and you will hear the traditions of the House of David.... We walk in haste towards the mountains, to a town of the tribe of Judah (Luke 1:39).
"We arrive. It is the house where John the Baptist is to be born. Elizabeth gratefully hails the Mother of her Redeemer: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? (Luke 1:42-43).
"The unborn Baptist quivers...(Luke 1:41). Mary's humility pours forth in the "Magnificat".... And you and I, who are proud--who were proud--promise to be humble" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary").
39. On learning from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth is soon to give birth and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity hastens to her aid. She has no regard for the difficulties this involves. Although we do not know where exactly Elizabeth was living (it is now thought to be Ain Karim), it certainly meant a journey into the hill country which at that time would have taken four days.
From Mary's visit to Elizabeth Christians should learn to be caring people. "If we have this filial contact with Mary, we won't be able to think just about ourselves and our problems. Selfish personal problems will find no place in our mind" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 145).
42. St. Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same words as the archangel "to show that she should be honored by angels and by men and why she should indeed be revered above all other women" ("In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
When we say the "Hail Mary" we repeat these divine greetings, "rejoicing with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the Lord, thanking Him for having given us Jesus Christ through Mary" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 333).
43. Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit to call Mary "the mother of my Lord", thereby showing that Mary is the Mother of God.
44. Although he was conceived in sin--original sin--like other men, St. John the Baptist was born sinless because he was sanctified in his mother's womb by the presence of Jesus Christ (then in Mary's womb) and of the Blessed Virgin. On receiving this grace of God St. John rejoices by leaping with joy in his mother's womb--thereby fulfilling the archangel's prophecy (cf. Luke 1:15).
St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: "See how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heard by his actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Savior is about to come" ("Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio").
45. Joining the chorus of all future generations, Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Spirit, declares the Lord's Mother to be blessed and praises her faith. No one ever had faith to compare with Mary's; she is the model of the attitude a creature should have towards its Creator--complete submission, total attachment. Through her faith, Mary is the instrument chosen by God to bring about the Redemption; as Mediatrix of all graces, she is associated with the redemptive work of her Son: "This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death; first when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in the promise of salvation and the Precursor leaps with joy in the womb of his mother [...]. The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood (cf. John 19:25), in keeping with the Divine Plan, enduring with her only-begotten Son the intensity of His suffering, associating herself with His sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which was born of her" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 57f). >{?The new Latin text gives a literal rendering of the original Greek when it says "quae credidit" (RSV "she who has believed") as opposed to the Vulgate "quae credidisti" ("you who have believed") which gave more of the sense than a literal rendering.
46-55. Mary's "Magnificat" canticle is a poem of singular beauty. It evokes certain passages of the Old Testament with which she would have been very familiar (especially 1 Samuel 2:1-10).
Three stanzas may be distinguished in the canticle: in the first (verses 46-50) Mary glorifies God for making her the Mother of the Savior, which is why future generations will call her blessed; she shows that the Incarnation is a mysterious expression of God's power and holiness and mercy. In the second (verses 51-53) she teaches us that the Lord has always had a preference for the humble, resisting the proud and boastful. In the third (verses 54-55) she proclaims that God, in keeping with His promise, has always taken care of His chosen people--and now does them the greatest honor of all by becoming a Jew (cf. Romans 1:3).
"Our prayer can accompany and imitate this prayer of Mary. Like her, we feel the desire to sing, to acclaim the wonders of God, so that all mankind and all creation may share our joy" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 144).
46-47. "The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are peace and joy. And the Blessed Virgin had received within herself all the grace of the Holy Spirit" (St. Basil, "In Psalmos Homilae", on Psalm 32). Mary's soul overflows in the words of the "Magnificat". God's favors cause every humble soul to feel joy and gratitude. In the case of the Blessed Virgin, God has bestowed more on her than on any other creature. "Virgin Mother of God, He whom the heavens cannot contain, on becoming man, enclosed Himself within your womb" ("Roman Missal", Antiphon of the Common of the Mass for Feasts of Our Lady). The humble Virgin of Nazareth is going to be the Mother of God; the Creator's omnipotence has never before manifested itself in as complete a way as this.
48-49. Mary's expression of humility causes St. Bede to exclaim: "It was fitting, then, that just as death entered the world through the pride of our first parents, the entry of Life should be manifested by the humility of Mary" ("In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
"How great the value of humility!--"Quia respexit humilitatem.... It is not of her faith, nor of her charity, nor of her immaculate purity that our Mother speaks in the house of Zachary. Her joyful hymn sings: `Since He has looked on my humility, all generations will call me blessed'" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way", 598).
God rewards our Lady's humility by mankind's recognition of her greatness: "All generations will call me blessed." This prophecy is fulfilled every time someone says the Hail Mary, and indeed she is praised on earth continually, without interruption. "From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God, under whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs. Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the people of God towards Mary, in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her own prophetic words: `all generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things for me'" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 66).
50. "And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation": "At the very moment of the Incarnation, these words open up a new perspective of salvation history. After the Resurrection of Christ, this perspective is new on both the historical and the eschatological level. From that time onwards there is a succession of new generations of individuals in the immense human family, in ever-increasing dimensions; there is also a succession of new generations of the people of God, marked with the sign of the Cross and of the Resurrection and `sealed' with the sign of the paschal mystery of Christ, the absolute revelation of the mercy that Mary proclaimed on the threshold of her kinswoman's house: "His mercy is [...] from generation to generation' [...].
"Mary, then, is the one who has the "deepest knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy". She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the "Mother of Mercy": Our Lady of Mercy, or Mother of Divine Mercy; in each one of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of the whole of humanity, that mercy of which `from generation to generation' people become sharers according to the eternal design of the Most Holy Trinity" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 9).
51. "The proud": those who want to be regarded as superior to others, whom they look down on. This also refers to those who, in their arrogance, seek to organize society without reference to, or in opposition to, God's law. Even if they seem to do so successfully, the words of our Lady's canticle will ultimately come true, for God will scatter them as He did those who tried to build the Tower of Babel, thinking that they could reach as high as Heaven (cf. Genesis 11:4).
"When pride takes hold of a soul, it is no surprise to find it bringing along with it a whole string of other vices--greed, self-indulgence, envy, injustice. The proud man is always vainly striving to dethrone God, who is merciful to all His creatures, so as to make room for himself and his ever cruel ways.
"We should beg God not to let us fall into this temptation. Pride is the worst sin of all, and the most ridiculous.... Pride is unpleasant, even from a human point of view. The person who rates himself better than everyone and everything is constantly studying himself and looking down on other people, who in turn react by ridiculing his foolish vanity" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 100).
53. This form of divine providence has been experienced countless times over the course of history. For example, God nourished the people of Israel with manna during their forty years in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4-35); similarly His angel brought food to Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-8), and to Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 14:31-40); and the widow of Sarepta was given a supply of oil which miraculously never ran out (1 Kings 17:8ff). So, too, the Blessed Virgin's yearning for holiness was fulfilled by the incarnation of the Word.
God nourished the chosen people with His Law and the preaching of His prophets, but the rest of mankind was left hungry for His word, a hunger now satisfied by the Incarnation. This gift of God will be accepted by the humble; the self-sufficient, having no desire for the good things of God, will not partake of them (cf. St. Basil, "In Psalmos Homilae", on Psalm 33).
54. God led the people of Israel as He would a child whom He loved tenderly: "the Lord your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went" (Deuteronomy 1:31). He did so many times, using Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, etc., and now He gives them a definitive leader by sending the Messiah--moved by His great mercy which takes pity on the wretchedness of Israel and of all mankind.
55. God promised the patriarchs of old that He would have mercy on mankind. This promise He made to Adam (Genesis 3:15), Abraham (Genesis 22:18), David (2 Samuel 7:12), etc. From all eternity God had planned and decreed that the Word should become incarnate for the salvation of all mankind. As Christ Himself put it, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
No. But I imagine it probably happened after she read the above dialog ... LOL! Just kidding.
Don't mean to be forthcoming, and forgive me if I appear that way, but there are two very interesting programs on EWTN that might clarify some of these issues. These are not lectures but informative discussions.
Saturday @ 5pm EST, 'The Truth About Scripture and Tradition', Hosted by Robert Sungenis and Patrick Madrid.
Journey Home - Hosted by Marcus Grodi - Monday @ 8pm EST.
I realize that Scott Hahn is viewed ambivalently by many protestants but I would like to share this story he told the other night on yet another discussion forum.
Shortly following his conversion to the Catholic Church, he was invited to his former Theology teacher's home. They spent 6 hours discussing the differences between Sola Scriptura vs Bible + Tradition. Scott was batting 1000 and feeling quite good when the Theology teacher brought up the feast of Mary's Assumption. Scott groped for biblical passages and eventually tossed in the towel. His Theology teacher smiled, feeling that he had won that battle. By now it was quite late and Scott went to bed, after saying a prayer to Christ and the Blessed Mother, apologizing for not defending the assumption better.
The next morning, he "slept in" and awoke to the smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing. When he came downstairs, he looked at the clock. It was 9AM. He then looked at the calendar and noted that it was December 8., the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Not wanting to offend his hosts but, cognizant that this was his first year as a catholic and this was a "day of obligation", he asked if they knew the mass times at the local catholic church. "Of course not", proclaimed the wife but hastily grabbed the yellow pages and called the local catholic church. It was too late; he had missed the mass. She then proceeded to call several other churches with the same result. Looking harder at the yellow pages, she found a chapel in a local mall. They had a mass scheduled at 12 noon. Scott thanked them and off he went.
Following their directions, he found the mall. The small chapel was packed with holiday shoppers and it was SRO. The priest processed in ... or rather ... shuffled in to begin the mass. He moved at a snail's pace and Scott thought this would be a long mass. After the gospel, the priest came to the microphone to deliver his homily. Scott was stunned. As he phrased it, this priest delivered a homily on the Blessed Mother that rivaled the caliber of a Billy Graham sermon. He was so transfixed by the message, followed by the Offertory, the Consecration and Communion, that the mass was suddenly over. He sat down, relishing the moment.
The shoppers left and Scott was alone in the chapel. He noticed the priest return and boldly went up to him to introduce himself and congratulate the priest on a fine homily. He then told the priest that he was a recent convert to catholicism and mentioned the 6 hour conversation with his Theology teacher the previous night. He asked the priest if he knew of any books that would answer a question on the Assumption of Mary. The priest smiled. Yes, he said. There is only one book and it went out of print today. Amazed, Scott complimented him on his extensive knowledge of books. Nonsense, replied the priest. I wrote the book and the publishing house is now out of business. He invited Scott back to the Sacristy and produced two copies of his book. He inscribed the first with a personal message to Scott and his wife Beverly. The second book, he inscribed to the Theology Teacher.
Scott left for the airport to catch his flight home. When he arrived, his Theology teacher stopped by to send him off. Scott handed him the book. His teacher's jaw dropped!
Luther, Calvin, and Other Early Protestants on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary
All of the early Protestant Founders accepted the truth of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary. How could this be, if it is merely "tradition" with no scriptural basis? Why was its supposed violation of Scripture not so obvious to them, as it is to the Protestants of the last 150 years or so (since the onset of theological liberalism) who have ditched this previously-held opinion? Yet it has become fashionable to believe that Jesus had blood brothers (I suspect, because this contradicts Catholic teaching), contrary to the original consensus of the early Protestants.
Let's see what the Founders of Protestantism taught about this doctrine. If Catholics are so entrenched in what has been described as "silly," "desperate," "obviously false," "unbiblical tradition" here, then so are many Protestant luminaries such as Luther, Calvin, and Wesley. Strangely enough, however, current-day Protestant critics of Catholicism rarely aim criticism at them. I guess the same "errors" are egregious to a different degree, depending on who accepts and promulgates them -- sort of like the Orwellian proverb from Animal Farm: "all people are equal, but some are more equal than others."
General
Whatever may be the position theologically that one may take today on the subject of Mariology, one is not able to call to one's aid 'reformed tradition' unless one does it with the greatest care . . . the Marian doctrine of the Reformers is consonant with the great tradition of the Church in all the essentials and with that of the Fathers of the first centuries in particular . . . . .
In regard to the Marian doctrine of the Reformers, we have already seen how unanimous they are in all that concerns Mary's holiness and perpetual virginity . . .
{Max Thurian (Protestant), Mary: Mother of all Christians, tr. Neville B. Cryer, NY: Herder & Herder, 1963 (orig. 1962), pp. 77, 197}
The title 'Ever Virgin' (aeiparthenos, semper virgo) arose early in Christianity . . . It was a stock phrase in the Middle Ages and continued to be used in Protestant confessional writings (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Andrewes; Book of Concord [1580], Schmalkaldic Articles [1537]).
{Raymond E. Brown et al, ed., Mary in the New Testament, Phil.: Fortress Press / NY: Paulist Press, 1978, p.65 (a joint Catholic-Protestant effort) }
Mary was formally separated from Protestant worship and prayer in the 16th century; in the 20th century the divorce is complete. Even the singing of the 'Magnificat' caused the Puritans to have scruples, and if they gave up the Apostles' Creed, it was not only because of the offensive adjective 'Catholic', but also because of the mention of the Virgin . . .
[But] Calvin, like Luther and Zwingli, taught the perpetual virginity of Mary. The early Reformers even applied, though with some reticence, the title Theotokos to Mary . . . Calvin called on his followers to venerate and praise her as the teacher who instructs them in her Son's commands.
{J.A. Ross MacKenzie (Protestant), in Stacpoole, Alberic, ed., Mary's Place in Christian Dialogue, Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1982, pp.35-6}
Martin Luther
Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.
{Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan (vols. 1-30) & Helmut T. Lehmann (vols. 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (vols. 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (vols. 31-55), 1955, v.22:23 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }
Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.
{Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }
A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . .
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:199 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .
When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom.
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:206,212-3 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Editor Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran) adds:
Luther . . . does not even consider the possibility that Mary might have had other children than Jesus. This is consistent with his lifelong acceptance of the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary.
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.22:214-5}
John Calvin
Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ's 'brothers' are sometimes mentioned.
{Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. 2 / From Calvin's Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55}
[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called 'first-born'; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 107}
Under the word 'brethren' the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 283 / Commentary on John, (7:3) }
Huldreich Zwingli
He turns, in September 1522, to a lyrical defense of the perpetual virginity of the mother of Christ . . . To deny that Mary remained 'inviolata' before, during and after the birth of her Son, was to doubt the omnipotence of God . . . and it was right and profitable to repeat the angelic greeting - not prayer - 'Hail Mary' . . . God esteemed Mary above all creatures, including the saints and angels - it was her purity, innocence and invincible faith that mankind must follow. Prayer, however, must be . . . to God alone . . .
'Fidei expositio,' the last pamphlet from his pen . . . There is a special insistence upon the perpetual virginity of Mary.
{G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395 / The Perpetual Virginity of Mary . . ., Sep. 17, 1522}
Zwingli had printed in 1524 a sermon on 'Mary, ever virgin, mother of God.'
{Thurian, ibid., p.76}
I have never thought, still less taught, or declared publicly, anything concerning the subject of the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our salvation, which could be considered dishonourable, impious, unworthy or evil . . . I believe with all my heart according to the word of holy gospel that this pure virgin bore for us the Son of God and that she remained, in the birth and after it, a pure and unsullied virgin, for eternity.
{Thurian, ibid., p.76 / same sermon}
Heinrich Bullinger
Bullinger (d. 1575) . . . defends Mary's perpetual virginity . . . and inveighs against the false Christians who defraud her of her rightful praise: 'In Mary everything is extraordinary and all the more glorious as it has sprung from pure faith and burning love of God.' She is 'the most unique and the noblest member' of the Christian community . . .
'The Virgin Mary . . . completely sanctified by the grace and blood of her only Son and abundantly endowed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and preferred to all . . . now lives happily with Christ in heaven and is called and remains ever-Virgin and Mother of God.'
{In Hilda Graef, Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, combined ed. of vols. 1 & 2, London: Sheed & Ward, 1965, vol.2, pp.14-5}
John Wesley (Founder of Methodism)
The Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as when she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.
{"Letter to a Roman Catholic" / In This Rock, Nov. 1990, p.25}
Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange comments: "It is probable that the revelation made to the Apostles, or to one of them, was even explicit, since otherwise it is hard to explain the universal tradition in the East and the West from the 7th century at the latest, which manifests itself in the celebration of the Feast (Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Mother of the Savour and Our Interior Life (Golden Eagle Books, Dublin, 1948) (henceforth RGL), p. 164).
"For if the revelation had been only implicit at the beginning, how could it happen that the different bishops and theologians in the different parts of the Church, both East and West, would agree that it was implicitly revealed? For such agreement much preliminary work and many preliminary councils would be required, of which there is absolutely no record" (RGL, p. 165).
St. Epiphanius (315-403) wrote concerning Our Lady's earthly end: "If the Holy Virgin had died and was buried, her falling asleep would have been surrounded with honour, death would have found her pure, and her crown would have been a virginal one...Had she been martyred according to what is written: "Thine own soul a sword shall pierce", then she would shine gloriously among the martyrs, and her holy body would have been declared blessed; for by her, in truth, did light come to the world." - Panarion (Haereses), 78, ch. xxiv. (See also St. Augustine "De Virginitate", 11, 2, wherein he compares Mary to the Church.)
The 'falling asleep' was officially established throughout the empire by Byzantine Emperor Mauritius (582-602) about the year 600 (Mother of the Redeemer, ed. Kevin McNamara (Gill, Dublin, 1959), p. 193). St. Hippolytus associated the Ark of the Covenant of Rev. chapter 11 with Mary's incorruptible flesh from which Christ's flesh was taken: "Now the Lord was without sin, being in His human nature from incorruptible wood, that is, from the Virgin..." (Fragment of St. Hippolytus, quoted by Theodoret, Dialogue I, P. G. 10, 864-5). See also Psalm 132:8: "Arise, O LORD, and go to thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy might".
From the 7th century, almost the whole Church, east and west, celebrated the feast of the Assumption. Pope Sergius (687-707) ordered a solemn procession on that day ( Liber. Pontif., P. L., t. CXXVIII, c.898). In the East, Saint Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 634) in his "Encomium in dormitionem Deiparae (P. G., t. LXXXVI, col. 3288ff) testifies to the belief (RGL, p. 162).
Bishop Theoteknos of Livias, in Palestine, preched a long and important homily on the Assumption probably in the second half of the sixth century. (Galot, J. S.J., "Aux origines de la foi en l'Assomption", Nouv. Rev. Theol., (87) 1955, 631-6) in 3Mother of the Redeemer", p. 195-7). He called his homily the "Assumption". Theoteknos spoke as though the doctrine were commonplace, and this in the late sixth century! The homily describes how Christ, having ascended into heaven, gathered all the saints round the immaculate and pure Virgin. Mary, because of her exalted position, was to receive more than all the other saints: "She found what Eve lost.." (Encomium, 25).
"Mother of the Redeemer", p. 196: "Theoteknos found passages befitting the glories of Mary throughout the Old Testament. He saw the words addressed to the queen of Psalm 44 as addressed to Mary, whose beauty is desired by the heavenly King."
"For it was fitting (he said) that the holy one who begot Him should see her Son upon a high throne. raised above all, and should see every knee bend before Him of those above the earth and of those upon the earth, and every tongue confess Him that will judge the living and the dead." (Encomium, 8) "It was fitting...that her all-holy body, her God-bearing body, godlike, undefiled, shining with the divine light and full of glory, should be carried by the apostles in company of the angels, and, aftr being palced for a short while in the earth, should be raised up to heaven in glory with her soul so loved by God." (Encomium, 9)
"Theoteknos recalled the special privileges traditionally accorded to Henoch [Gen. 5:24] and Elias [2 Kings 2:1-13] of escaping the normal end of human life, and declared that Mary's end must be more privileged than theirs: "How much more then, will He glorify in body and soul the one who has beem His mother according tothe flesh! in truth He has glorified her, and he will glorify her still.' (Encomium, 17)." (see also Matt. 27:52-3)
[Of course, the above argment would hold little value were it not for Mary1s keeping the Word of God: "Blessed rather are they that hear the Word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28) Her biological relationship with Christ would have made no difference to her glory otherwise.]
RGL: "Two arguments, taken as expressing tradition, show that the privilege of the Assumption is implicitly revealed.
"1. Mary received fullness of grace and was blessed by God among women in an exceptional way. But this exceptional blessing negatives the divine malediction to bring forth children in pain and to return to dust (Gen. 3:16-19). Mary was therefore preserved through it from corruption in her body: her body would not return to dust but would be resuscitated in an anticipated resurrection. Since the two premisses of this argument are revealed, the conclusion is capable of being defined..It is, then, clear that the privilege of the Assumption is contained implicitly revealed in the plenitude of grace and the exceptional blessing with which Mary was favoured. ( RGL, p. 166-7)
"2. Christ's perfect victory over Satan included victory over sin and death. But Mary, the Mother of God, was most intimately associated with Jesus on Calvary in his victory over Satan. Hence she was associated with Him in His victory over death by her anticipated resurrection and her Assumption. As before, both premisses are revealed (the major premiss (Jesus' victory) in John 1:29; 16:33; the minor (Mary's association) in Gen. 15; Luke 1:38). Since, therefore, Mary was associated very intimately with Jesus in His perfect victory over Satan, it follows that she was associated also with Him in the different parts of His triumph" (RGL, p. 168-9).
The doctrine of the Assumption cannot be isolated from a general consideration of Mary's role in God's salvific plan. The Mary- Eve antithesis is brought out by Saints Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ephrem, Epiphanius, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and John Chrysostom. Implicit here is the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (cf. Lke 1:28, 42; Gen. 3:15). Tradition becomess explicit with St. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373) (Dict. Theol., art Ephrem, col. 192, in RGL, p. 57). The Lateran Council of 649 (Denz. 256) calls Mary "immaculate". It was affirmed also in 1661 by Pope Alexander VIII (Denz. 1100) that it was through the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savious of the human race, that Mary was preserved from original sin. (RGL, p. 53). So we have some idea here of the background for the doctrine of the Assumption, which itself is based on Mary's privilege of her Immaculate Conception.
Question : if the doctrine were implicit in the Scriptures, why were the Christians so slow in realizing it?
It must be remembered that the apostles and disciples of Jesus were often shown to be slow to understand. The disciple on the road to Emmaus did not understand the Scriptures till Jesus explained them (Luke 24:25-6). Likewise at Jesus' Ascension, the apostles still did not understand Jesus' mission was not a political one. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, all things would be made clear: "But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I have said to you." (John 15:26).
Paschasius Radbertus (Pseudo-Jerome) cast doubt upon the dogma of the Assumption as being too closely involved in the disrepute of pious legends that were unauthentic and unhistorical. He made the mistake of thinking these stories were the real basis for it1s acceptance. What he forgets it that all the other legends disappeared, also the celebration of the feast was universal from an early date. Soon it became reflected in the Liturgy. Once the nature of the Son was fully established in Ephesus and Chalcedon, the full dignity of the Mother began also to be appreciated. Note that the Liturgy reflects, but does not determine, what the Church believes.
Finally, one or two other points. The Assumption can be understood in light of the mystery of Christ in that it demonstrates the power of His resurrection in raising Mary to the glory of Heaven. The Assumption should also be understood in light of the mystery of the Church. Vatican II's "Lumen Gentium" has this to say: "65. But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle (cf. Eph. 5:27), the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues. Devoutly meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, the Church reverently penetrates more deeply into the great mystery of the Incarnation and becomes more and more like her spouse. Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith: and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father. Seeking after the glory of Christ, the Church becomes more like her lofty type, and continually progresses in faith, hope and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things. The Church, therefore, in her apostolic work too, rightly looks to her who gave birth to Christ, who was thus conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that through the Church he could be born and increase in the hearts of the faithful. In her life the Virgin has been a model of that motherly love with which all who join in the Church's apostolic mission for the regeneration of mankind should be animated. . .
"68. In the meantime the Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10), a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God."
Also : consider the fact that there are no relics of Our Lady, nor mention of them -EVER!
Oh, that's rich. Accuse the person who points to the Scripture as authoritative of denying the Bible.
Mary has a mediatory role as you can plainly see in this account
You're right. I'm denying it just to be divisive and deny the truths of the Gospel. </sarcasm>
It is a HUGE leap to go from that section to Mary as being mediatory in all things for all people. You make it sound as though Mary bugs God to do things He wouldn't otherwise want to do.
John 21:25 does not say anything against sola scriptura which maintains that everything necessary unto salvation is contained in Scripture. The position of sola scriptura is not to eliminate the importance of tradition in the church, but to keep the church from appealing to tradition as authoritative OVER Scripture. Again, this is what creates problems when we try to debate certain doctrines because when one argues that a certain doctrine is unscriptural, the response is to point to tradition as an authoritative proof that the doctrine is correct. When I challenge the position of tradition as being authoritative to that extent, you point to Scripture!
I think that tradition is something that a lot of the Protestant world has cast aside to its detriment. But I maintain that if Scripture and tradition are at odds, Scripture must necessarily win out EVERY SINGLE TIME.
And when the sources you study are at odds with each other ... ?
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