The 15th day of August every year is the solemn celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The mystery of the Assumption holds that at the end of her earthly life, Mary, was taken up to heaven body and soul.
One of the difficulties that people have concerning the Assumption stems from the word itself. They understand the word, assumption, only as supposition, hypothesis or postulation forgetting that it also means taking a person to a higher state. The term assumption was carefully chosen to distinguish what happened to Mary from Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Whereas Jesus went up to heaven by his own power, Mary’s going to heaven, body and soul, was an action done unto her.
One other difficulty that people have with the Assumption is that it is not explicitly written in the Bible. So, the question is: How do we know that Mary was assumed into heaven? The simple response to this is that the truth was made known through the Church. The official declaration of the dogma of the Assumption was in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, but before then, Christians down the ages, believed and celebrated it. The need for a formal declaration only came when some Christians started to deny its veracity.
The Holy Spirit has continued to teach Christians the truth of salvation just as Jesus had promised (John 14: 26). The same Spirit that was with the Church under Saints Peter and Paul is with it under the Popes who came after them until Leo XIV. This is how the truth of the Assumption was made known to us.
Jesus made us a promise when he said that “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (John 12: 26). The Assumption is the fulfilment of this promise in Mary’s life. She is honored by the Father for her unconditional service of the mystery of the word made flesh.
Mary’s Assumption teaches us that serving God does not diminish a person and that submitting to the will of God does not disrupt our plans, but rather, it uplifts us. Serving God is the path of honor for us humanity. It makes a human being higher and greater. So, we should not be afraid to pour out ourselves in the service of God in the Church and the world.
The Assumption is also God’s definitive statement about the value of the human body. Our bodies especially through baptism are the dwelling places of the Holy Spirit whose presence gives us the assurance that our own bodies will be gloried, provided we lived after the example of Mary. In the meantime, we ought to learn from God to honor our bodies.
There are some traditional Marian prayers that can help us to honor Mary and be more devoted her this month: the Rosary, Hail Mary, Hail Holy Queen, We fly to thy patronage, Magnificat, and Memorare/Remember.
In thanksgiving to God, let us celebrate the Assumption with joy, and relying on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we apply ourselves to our GPS.
Finally, rejoicing with Mary, we welcome back our students, teachers and staff back to school. We would have more time to say this welcome. Mary assumed into heaven, pray for us.
-Fr. Bona