Commentary
August 15, 2018, The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Fourth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary
Ark, Queen and Mediatrix
Commentary for Revelations 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab
One of the titles given to Mary in the Litany to the Blessed Virgin is Ark of the Covenant. Mary is the Ark of the Covenant because she bore the Word of God in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. And Mary gave birth to the Word and the Word became flesh. John1:14 The Word is in Genesis 3:15 where Mary is the woman and her Son, Jesus, is the offspring.
After Mary gave birth to Jesus, she and Joseph fled to Egypt with Jesus to escape from Herod who wanted to kill Jesus. Egypt was the place that God had prepared for Mary and Joseph to take Jesus. Why Egypt? Because: Egypt is where the exodus to the Promised Land began. Christ leads us on an exodus out of this life into the eternal life in heaven. In Revelations, where we see John's vision of the last day and the Kingdom of Heaven, it is the dragon—Satan who wants to kill the Son.
Mary is the Queen of heaven and appears in John’s vision clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and she wears a crown with twelve stars. This is similar to the way that Mary is depicted on the face of the Miraculous Medal which has the prayer written around it, “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Mary is also the Mediatrix of all Grace because Christ came into the world through her. Therefore, all grace comes through her from the Son and the Father. Nothing comes from Mary but everything comes through Mary. It is because Mary gave birth to Jesus that a loud voice cried out in Revelations saying, “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed.” Catholics honor Mary in such high regard because all of these things are true.
Because Mary Said, “Yes”
Commentary for 1 Corinthians 15:20-27a
Paul tells us that Christ is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep meaning that Christ is the first born from the dead by way of His Glorious Resurrection. Paul also tells us that because death came from man (Adam), it could only be resurrected by man (Christ). It is in Christ that we gain eternal life.
Paul tells us that when Christ comes again, those who belong to Christ will be resurrected. Then will come; the end when Christ will have destroyed every sovereignty, authority and power and hand over the Kingdom to the Father. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.
Paul is talking about the last day, the final judgment and the final victory over the beast who; is eternal death. What does this have to do with the celebration of Mary’s Assumption into heaven? All of this will come to pass because Mary said, "Yes" with these words from Luke 1:38, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Remember this: Mary, who came into the world without the stain of original sin, had the same free will as Eve who said, "No" with her sin. Mary said, "Yes" and our salvation through Christ is because of that "yes." That is what makes her the New Eve and all the more reason why she would be assumed into heaven; body and soul.
The Assumption of Mary
Commentary for Luke 1:39-56
The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Luke tells us that Mary made haste to a town of Judah and entered Zechariah’s house. Mary made this trip immediately after being told by the angel Gabriel that she would bare a son and so would her cousin Elizabeth in spite of her age. But Mary had faith that both of these sons were to be important people in God’s plan.
Mary was the perfect person to be the mother of Jesus for many reasons. One of those reasons was her zealous commitment to giving all of herself to someone else in need. In this way, Mary was just like the Father and her Son. Mary’s haste in going out of her way to visit Elizabeth is a demonstration of her humble generosity.
Elizabeth’s baby, John the Baptist, leaped in his mother's womb when Mary greeted her. Filled by the Holy Spirit, she cried out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” This is the gospel that the prayer of the Hail Mary comes from. We know that Blessed, means happy so Elizabeth said happy are you and happy is your baby.
This is also the gospel that the prayer of the Magnificat, comes from. Elizabeth asked, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me…Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Elizabeth professed her faith in God and acknowledged Mary’s faith. Mary’s answer to Elizabeth is the prayer of the Magnificat. There are several variations of it, one of them being the Catena which is said daily by active members of the Legion of Mary.
Luke tells us that Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned to her home. We know that when Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was with child, that he also told her that Elizabeth was in her sixth month. This means that Mary waited for John the Baptist to be born before returning home. This is another demonstration of Mary giving of herself.
“St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.” New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
Although the death of Mary and her Assumption into heaven are a mystery, Catholics believe that Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul. It is just one of many mysteries which we accept in faith.
We know that Mary was blessed to come into the world without the stain of original sin. This was necessary because Christ came into the world through her which is what makes her the Mediatrix of all Grace and the New Eve. Mary is the Queen of Heaven and the Ark of the Covenant as she appears in today’s first reading from Revelations.
Consider these questions: Would God the Father want the body of Mary, who came into the world pure, and remained unblemished as a virgin throughout her life, the mother of His Son and the Queen of Heaven, to be subjected to the corruption of death? Would the Son want the body of His mother, who He appointed as our mother in heaven, and who made it possible for Him to complete His mission as our Savior, to undergo the corruption of death? The only possible answer that I can give to these questions is, no.
Whether you agree with this reasoning or not, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was declared to be a dogma of faith by Pope Leo XII. We must not make the mistake of allowing our faith to be limited to the things that we can prove with tangible evidence. God does not work that way and if we try to think of God and His mighty works with that limitation, we will miss everything.
