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| The Dormition of Mary |
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by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is a feast that traces its
origin to the earliest ages of the Church. Tied to this feast are themes of
Mary as Mother of the Church and model for the Church. In her the Church
witnesses the fullness of the effects of the saving death and resurrection of
Christ for humanity. The Preface for the feast’s Eucharistic Liturgy attests to
this.
Today the
Virgin Mother of God
was taken
up into heaven
to be the
beginning and the pattern of the Church
in its
perfection,
and a sign
of hope and comfort for your people
on their
pilgrim way.
The themes of the
Mass prayers and readings, and those of the Liturgy of the Hours, reflect the
basis of the Church’s teaching about Mary and the many titles accorded her in
popular Christian devotion.
The feast of Mary’s
Assumption honors her Dormition, as the feast is called in the East, her falling
asleep in the Lord and being taken body and soul to heaven when her earthly
life was completed. Mary’s Assumption is
analogous to Jesus’ Ascension.
The similarity
between the privileges of Christ and those of his Mother is in no way
identity. Christ has his prerogatives by
his very nature as God Incarnate. Mary
receives hers by a free gift from God.
“He who is mighty has done great things for me.”
We understand that
Mary is a creature only, dependent on Christ for everything. She is a woman and a mother, and her grace is
adapted to her own nature and to her own special function. Christ exists for God. Mary exists for Christ. God made Christ our unique Redeemer. Mary exercises her role as Cordemptrix only
through union with Christ, and she herself had to be redeemed by him. Christ is our necessary advocate with the
Father. Mary is our advocate with Christ
and through Christ. So it is with all
the privileges of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This analogy is the
work of the filial piety of the Son of God for his Mother. This was understood by the faithful from
earliest times, even though it was not formulated until later. In the eighth century St. John of
Damascus explained in regard to the
Assumption: “It was necessary that the Mother should have entered into the
possession of all the goods of her Son, and that she should have been venerated
by all creation as the Mother and Handmaid of God. It is a customary practice that the wealth of
the parents pass to their children. But
here . . . the springs of the sacred waters flow toward the height. The Son has submitted the entire creation to
the dominion of his mother.” Centuries
later St. Louis de Montfort wrote: “All
that is proper to God Incarnate by nature is proper to Mary by grace.”
Around 1930 the
renowned Marianist Mariologist and author, Father Emile Neubert, S.M.,
expressed this principle of analogy with theological exactness: “To the various
privileges of the humanity of Jesus there correspond analogous privileges in
Mary, in the manner and in the degree required by the difference between her
condition and that of her Son.”
Finally Pope Pius
XII solemnly defined Mary’s Assumption as a dogma and an article of faith in Munificentissimus Deus more than six decades ago on November
1, 1950.
In many countries
this feast is a holyday of obligation.
In Lebanon, August 15 is also a national holiday observed by peoples of
all faiths.
What meaning and
message does Mary’s Assumption have for us today? This doctrine and feast remind us of our
eternal destiny, that we are made for everlasting life with God. This feast honoring Mary points us to our
future and reminds us to live accordingly so as to achieve our goal. The Assumption of Mary also teaches us
respect for life and for the sacredness of the human body.
Queen assumed into
heaven, pray for us!
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