August 15: Feast of the Assumption of Mary

On the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, we celebrate our belief that Mary, having born the Christ in the tabernacle of her womb, did not suffer the physical decay and corruption of death but rather was assumed, body and soul, into heaven.

A meditation for this Day of the Assumption: The Scriptures give Mary very few words. The first impression we get is that she was rather quiet and serene, just full of faith and trust. Yet, when we look more closely, Mary is a woman of action. She is on the move all the time, and, in her time and place, when most women (or people in general) probably never moved more than ten miles away from the place of their birth, she is exceptional. Her whole life was a journey and, on this Assumption Day, we celebrate the end of that journey.

First, though, here is part of why she is exceptional: She traveled to Judea to visit Elizabeth. She traveled to Bethlehem. And then she traveled to Egypt and back. She traveled to Jerusalem when Jesus was a teenager and then we follow her as she goes back to find her Son in the Temple. She traveled to find Him again when He was on His mission, wanting to bring Him home, perhaps to protect Him from the growing number of enemies. Then she made the one, most difficult journey of all, “the journey of tears” to Calvary and on to His tomb.

Finally, (again) she made the journey we celebrate on this Feast of the Assumption. In all of this, we see a “restless” woman of action who walks her way through every single human emotion: from the wonder of conception to the joy of birth, to the fear of a lost child, to the anxious moment when she leaves Him as He begins His “public” life. There is the defensiveness of a mother for her misunderstood Son, to the tragedy of mother who survives to witness His death and hold her dead Son in her arms. She knows the emotions, the fears, the joys, and the sorrows and the pain that a mother can ever possibly experience. In a sense, she is a mother’s mother! Our mother. A woman of few words, perhaps. But a mother’s mother. Again, our mother. Let’s thank God that He has given her to us.

Let us pray. Lord God, you have given us this ancient and beloved Feast as an invitation to look up and see Mary’s example. You desire that we see and marvel at the wonders you have done for her. Help us recapture the authentic meaning of our own lives and encourage us this day to walk in newness of life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Join us for a live-streamed Mass from Holy Cross church at 10am August 15 (available all weekend).

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