Love has won

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

There is a popular adage to describe the beginning and end of life: “from the womb to the tomb.” As poignant and insightful as this statement may be, it is inaccurate. Our faith allows us to broaden our vision and to recognise that human life begins with God, we were already part of His grand plan before we were formed in our mother’s womb, and we are destined not to end our lives in the tomb but to be united with Him at the end of our earthly sojourn. Mary’s life is proof of this. She, whose womb is greater than the heavens because it contained the Lord Creator of heaven and earth and “bore” Him to this world, could not be contained in an earthly tomb at the end of her earthly journey. Heaven welcomed her eagerly and joyously for she had accomplished what the heavens could not.

The story of Mary did not begin in the womb of St Anne, her mother. She was already prefigured in the pages of the Old Testament because her creation was already part of God’s design for humankind’s redemption. In the Book of Genesis, we see her coming being announced in the text known as the protoevangelium which gave us a glimmer of hope after the Fall of Man (Gen. 3:15-16). The prophecy is that a virgin will give birth without having a relationship with a man, and the Child will crush the head of the invisible enemy, namely Satan. In the Old Testament the Ρatriarch Jacob sees in his dream a heavenly ladder which connected Heaven and Earth, with the angels of God ascending and descending this ladder. The Fathers of the Church see this ladder as a prophecy of the Virgin Mary which, through her, connects man to God (Gen. 28:l2). When Moses finds himself in front of the flaming bush which was not consumed by the fire on Mount Sinai, the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary was to receive in her womb the Divine Logos, and that she was to remain a Virgin, are prophesied.

If Mary’s mission began before she was formed in her mother’s womb, we can only assume that it would have a far grander ending than in a tomb. It is only right that the mother’s life which was so intimately intertwined with her divine Son’s life should also share His eternal destiny at the end of her earthly life. If her Son’s empty tomb was the first sign and proof of His resurrection, her empty tomb would also be the first sign of her bodily Assumption to heaven.

Early Christian writings tell us that St John the Apostle took Mary with him to Ephesus, as he had been instructed by the Lord on the cross. There is some dispute about where the Blessed Virgin ended her life, perhaps there in Ephesus, perhaps back at Jerusalem on Mount Zion. Neither of these cities nor any other claimed her remains, although there are claims about possessing her (temporary) tomb. Why did no city claim the bones of Mary? Apparently because there were no bones to claim, and people knew it. Remember that in the early Christian centuries, relics of saints were jealously guarded and highly prized. Yet here was Mary, certainly the most privileged of all the saints but we have no record of her bodily remains being venerated anywhere. The Orthodox Shrine at the foot of the Mount of Olives, which Orthodox Christians claim was her final resting place, is empty, as empty as the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of the tomb of Jesus. There are no relics to venerate because Mary was assumed into heaven both body and soul leaving no remains behind.

Mary’s privileged beginning and ending is rooted in what makes her blessed, or in some translations “happy”. In today’s gospel we see how Mary is praised by an anonymous woman in the crowd because her womb bore the Lord and her breasts suckled Him. This is the first beatitude assigned to a specific human person, and Mary has the sole privilege of being the bearer of this blessing. But the Lord was quick to point out that Mary is more blessed because of her disciple’s heart: “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Pope Benedict affirmed this truth: “Mary lived on the Word of God, she was imbued with the Word of God. And the fact that she was immersed in the Word of God and was totally familiar with the Word also endowed her later with the inner enlightenment of wisdom.”

Most of the peoples of the ancient world, if they believed in life after death at all, believed merely in the immortality of the human soul: as if the ultimate human destiny was for us all merely to end up like Casper the friendly Ghost! Not much "good news" in that! But the Gospel message is not only that Jesus Himself rose again in a glorified body and soul, but that also, if our hearts live in union with His, we, too, shall rise to a glorified life, body and soul, just like His own. This is precisely what the Assumption of Mary proclaims: "Christ is Risen - and is now bringing all faithful hearts with Him to glory!" The Assumption of Mary is a loud and triumphant proclamation of the full truth of Easter. Her assumption—which flows from her unique participation in Christ’s victory—anticipates to some degree our own share in the fullness of that victory if we persevere as followers of Christ. The good news that the Apostles proclaimed to the world was not only that Christ is Risen, but that, precisely because He is Risen, He is bringing His whole mystical Body on earth to join Him one day in heavenly glory.

Yes, today is a day the Church rejoices, not only because the Blessed Virgin Mary has been freed from the prison of the grave and assumed into heaven both body and soul, but because of what her assumption means for the whole Church. From Mary’s pure womb, the kingdom of God was opened for us. And her ascent into the Heavens now also announces that the gates of heaven are also opened to us. Pope Emeritus Benedict sums it up in his homily for this feast: “The Feast of the Assumption is a day of joy. God has won. Love has won. It has won life. Love has shown that it is stronger than death, that God possesses the true strength and that his strength is goodness and love. Mary was taken up body and soul into Heaven: there is even room in God for the body. Heaven is no longer a very remote sphere unknown to us.”