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Spread the good news

John 20: 11-18
"But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she replied, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that he had said these things to her." 

“Blessed are you among women”: Mary taken up to Heaven

15/8/2020

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Picture
Roma, Assumption of Mary, 2020
 
In some countries the Assumption of Mary is not only observed as a a Solemnity in the Catholic Church but also a Day of Obligation where RCs are required to attend Mass. In Europe, countries include Austria, Croatia, France, Germany (southern), Italy, Poland, and Spain, in Latin America, Chile and Guatemala, and Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, where the Assumption kept as a national holiday! What is referred to as Assumption Day is celebrated as a national holiday in 48 countries across the Catholic world!
 
So what’s so special about Mary? After all, there isn’t a whole lot about her in the Bible. And there is no mention of the Assumption anywhere in the Scriptures. Yet, what is written about Mary has tremendous depth and implications for our salvation. The Bible contains key Marian passages in the New Testament and even prophesies in the Old Testament, but I will focus on the Solemnity being celebrated August 15th -- the Assumption of Mary.
 
Revelations 12 identifies a woman with a crown of twelve stars around her head in the pangs of giving birth. The woman refers to the Virgin Mary because she is the one giving birth to a male child who is to rule the nations. This male child is Jesus; the mother, is Mary. This woman with 12 stars, therefore, symbolises Mary for only she gives birth to Jesus and no other. Twelve stars refer to the disciples, the early Church. St. John who writes the Book of Revelation, knows shortly after Jesus’ birth, Jesus was endangered by Pilate who had babies slaughtered looking for the “newborn King.”
 
The Apostles were similarly persecuted and executed as they brought the light of Jesus into a dark world. And so, Satan, Pilate,the anti-Christ who follows, are there to devour the baby; and to crush the Church. This woman who carries Jesus in her womb carries our salvation -- an innocent baby in her womb. The symbols of the crown of 12 stars, we can think of Mary as surrounded by the Apostles after finishing her life on earth, when Mary is taken up into heaven.
 
St. Paul’s letter highlights the first fruit in 1 Corinthians 15 of Jesus saving act; Mary, the Mother of Jesus is the first fruit of His saving power: Jesus is the first to be resurrected but Mary is the first of creation to be saved. Mary is the first of salvation because with Mary’s yes to God’s plan, the Holy Spirit descended upon her (Luke 1:26-38); Mary is first because Mary gave Jesus His flesh; Mary is first because she is without sin; and so Mary is the first of creation to be take up into Heaven.

​In St. Luke (1:39ff) we have the beautiful magnificat of the Virgin Mary where Mary proclaims, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” But even before Mary’s magnificat, the words of her cousin Elizabeth contain prophetic truth. Elizabeth, a humble woman also chosen by God, will give birth to John the Baptist and he will prepare the way for Jesus. Elizabeth acknowledges who Mary is in relationship to Jesus, and based on this Mother-Son relationship, Elizabeth has the conviction to say, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me , that the mother of my Lord come to me?” Elizabeth who is Mary’s older cousin and six months pregnant acknowledges Mary as the Mother of her Lord; Mary carries the Messiah within her womb, and so, Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women.”
 
These are the sacred words of the Scriptures, powerfully charged, teaching us why Mary is blessed among woman, and this blessedness comes from her Son Jesus. And for this reason, she is that woman crowned with the twelve stars, who gives birth to Jesus while Satan waits to snatch and devour; and is taken up to heaven, body and soul, when her earthly journey is over.
 
Jesus saves us: this is real. It’s not a thought or an idea. It’s so real that the first to be  taken up to Heaven is His very own Mother. If we hope to go to heaven with our repeated sins being forgiven, surely, Mary, having been preserved from original by Jesus in advance, and never committing any sin, was the first to be taken up to Heaven.
 
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
 
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    Fr. David Bellusci, O.P.
    is a Roman Catholic Priest, and Assistant Professor 
    of Philosophy and Theology at Catholic Pacific College in Langley, B.C.

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  • Home
    • About Father Bellusci
    • Contact
  • TALKS
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
  • ARTICLES
    • Homilies
    • Catholic Pilgrim >
      • Photos
    • Book Reviews
  • FRASSATI
    • Reflections
  • Books
    • Pier Giorgio Frassati Truth, Love and Sacrifice
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    • Amor Dei in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    • Beating The Drums
    • Readers Review
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    • Theology of the Body >
      • Introduction
      • Lessons 1-9
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    • Andrzej Skulski
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    • Lara Paniagua