For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments and discussion.
I went to 7 pm Mass today at St. Anthony of Padua church. That Mass was said in remembrance of my late (paternal) grandfather. I was sort of disappointed, since I was the only one from my dad's side of the family there. I love the readings for the Feast of the Assumption. They are important examples from Scripture of Mary's importance. It also has the beautiful Magnificat prayer in the Gospel reading. Thanks for posting the readings, as always.
The Assumption of Our Lady
"The documents of Tradition show that the privilege was at least implicitly revealed...
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!
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Email: seanie@catholicweb.com
