“How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41).
Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Ps 45; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
If Jesus Christ is the cosmic bridge between God and Man, then Mary, as mother of the Incarnation, provides the physical body that is that profound mystery. A divine Person enters history though a human mother. His flesh and blood are her flesh and blood. As Mary makes Jesus human, so Jesus sanctifies her. After her death, the Assumption of Mary is the culmination of her role in the Incarnation. The mysterious transformation of all those who are embodied into Christ by baptism is celebrated today in the Assumption of Mary, the second human being, after Jesus himself, to have claimed the destiny that awaits us all — eternal life in God.
All of this theology highlights the much more tangible mystery of all the mothers giving birth in the great genealogy of salvation history. From Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, down through the twists and turns of the bloodline that includes Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba, comes Mary of Nazareth. Her Yes to the Angel Gabriel opens time to eternity, history to a divine destiny. The Spirit of the promise already present in the story that began with Eve becomes flesh in Jesus, Son of God who is also son of Adam, son of David, son of Mary.
Even the cosmic scene in the Book of Revelation affirms that the New Creation is inaugurated by a woman giving birth. The woman surrounded by stars is pregnant with the future of the universe, and no evil or resistance can prevent God’s ultimate design from being born.
We rejoice to be part of this immense and enduring story of hope. Our birth, then rebirth by grace, initiates in us the same journey from "Yes" to our share in the paschal mystery of Jesus. Each time we die to self we consent to the challenges of love; but we rise to new life in the same surrender, until we complete our own baptismal journey. Mary knows the way because she has led the way through her son Jesus to the glory in God that awaits us all. Her Assumption reassures us that we, too, will be born to glory in the passages we make each day by faith.
Revised from August 2016
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